Thankful Thursday

It has been a little rainy today, the temperatures are mild and the leaves are beginning to turn color around our area. These are just some of the things I have to be thankful for today

Other things I am thankful for

I found chicken and beef broth on sale today for 49 cents a can. I make a lot of one pot meals and soup in the winter, so I stocked up. My parents always had a pantry when I was growing up. and I used to tease them about what they were going to do with all that food, especially when they became Empty Nester's. (we now resemble this, ha ha) Husbands grandparents lived on a farm, so their pantry was full with all they had grown and canned over the summer. That mentality has influenced us...you never know who you might want to feed.

I am thankful for my DIL's sister who came over yesterday morning and helped me clean up around the house before Care Group. My first response was to refuse (it's that self sufficiency thing going on) but the truth was, I did need the help.

I am thankful for flowers that are still blooming in the garden

I am thankful that all is well with Sweet Lady, her most recent MRI should no changes from last year.

I am thankful for people that the Lord has put into my life that take the time to encourage.

Encouragement should be sincere and is different from flattery. I love when someone shares a scripture or comes up to me and mentions how they see a change of attitude or behavior that I may have been struggling with and praying about, or the encouragement to continue to press on.

I am thankful for praying friends, for those that tell me how they are praying and are willing to encourage with scripture. (It spurs me to do the same for others)

How about you, are there things in your life today you can be thankful for.

"So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthen in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness"
Colossians 2:6-7

An Ordinary Day

I am sitting at a coffee shop, across the street from where Sweet Lady is getting her teeth cleaned. I was told it would take about an hour, so I decided a cup of tea and the sweet smell of freshly baked goods might be just the thing to give me a little boost. Notice I said "smell" I didn't actually eat any of the pastries, even though Bear Claws are a particular favorite.

It's been a busy day, I have baked some bread for later in the week, finished cleaning up the terrible mess I made yesterday after I spilled half a container of Oxy-Clean onto some freshly laundered clothes and into every crevice of my dryer. It was a horrible mess, every time I thought it was all clean I would find more grit

I have stopped at the post office and mailed a small package to my "Frontier Family" dropped off some donations at the thrift store, tried to return a router,  and have voted.

I tire of the election season, the never ending ads, phone calls and candidate promotions that fill my mailbox for the weeks prior to the election. I believe we have a responsibility to be informed and to vote, but realize our hope is not in a political party or a particular candidate, our hope is in Christ alone, remember that tomorrow morning, whatever the results of your election happens to be.

Finally, remember we are instructed in Timothy to pray for our leaders and those in authority. for hearts, and for righteousness.

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth"  1Timothy2:1-4

October Moments

I would suppose you could say October was a month when things started to fall into a routine again for us. Our trips to take care of family were done for awhile and we were beginning to figure out what life without the grands was going to look like.

After losing interest for a time, I've picked up my camera this month and started taking photos again.

























October is apple picking season in Virginia and we were able to pick enough apples to last us the winter with some to share. We learned last year that if stored properly apples will last for months.

Our "Frontier Family" is adjusting as well and we hear from them regularly. The best news is they now have a mailbox AND internet, so we have been able to Sykpe. 

 I love being able to see them when I talk to them. The above photo is them going on a hike. I love how Little Miss had to take a purse on a hike...kind of reminds me of me.  Photo below was taken after son and I had hiked up a hill in California (years ago) . He ended up carrying the purse I carried about half way up the hill, because I was having a hard time getting up the hill, let alone carrying a bag too.  His response to me.."Why did you bring your purse with you?" I really had no answer.

We are continuing  to get our produce basket each week and the veggies consist of more greens and root vegetables, so I have had to learn how to cook things that I'm not familiar with. We have gotten kale in several forms and I have discovered all go good with bacon.. who would have thought! Does adding the bacon cancel out all the health benefits of eating kale?

We've put summer clothes away, then had to drag some back out when the temperatures climbed back into the 80's. finished some outdoor projects and planted pansies for fall and winter color.

Our Care Group has been a tremendous blessing to us during this time. Focusing on the needs of others, has been healing to some extent, it has truly been a means of God's grace in our lives and we are so thankful to have this opportunity.

                                           Linking up with  Cheryl in Gathering the Moments

Fall Garden

The weather has been, oh so delightful, and my garden has taken on new life. Our roses are putting on one last show before the temperatures plummet and the marigolds are dominating the flower bed with their orange and yellow blooms.

The garden centers around town are full of pansies. I stopped by one garden center today that had pansies and viola's on the clearance racks, trying to make room for Christmas trees and decorations. I was only too happy to take advantage of the reduced prices. I spent the afternoon filling up pots with pansies for some fall and winter color.

                                               The mums are still going strong as well

I know I am going to have to put these flip flops away for the season soon but until that day I am going to continue to enjoy this beautiful weather. 

A Time Away

My husband and I  needed to get away, the last several months have been taxing both physically and emotionally for both of us.

I was afraid when our son and family moved away that there would be this huge void left in our lives, that days would be empty and without purpose. That hasn't been the case, in fact there are times I think that the Lord allowed this change in our family, so that our time could be freed up for other purposes. Make no mistake, I miss them terribly but, I see the good in the difficult. God has given us much grace during this time. The ways we have been shown love through the kindness of others is a post in itself. We are truly blessed, but still, physically and emotionally exhausted, so we decided to take a little trip.

We went to the mountains hoping to find some fall color and pick some apples. It was a short excursion but long enough to recharge our batteries. The weather was foggy and rainy but it didn't matter, we had time alone. We had a chance to window shop, play a board game, and share our hearts. We needed to talk to each other without the distractions of everyday life. We grieved a little, shared our hopes and dreams for the future, and debated on what God's purposes were in everything that is going on in our lives right now.

A truth we need to take hold of,  we may not understand God's purposes in the difficult, but we can trust that He is good and His purposes are always good...always, and he will give grace in the difficult

We also picked apples, a lot of them.  We've done this before, so we came prepared with rain gear and boots. It was a good thing, because the orchards we muddier than they were last year (it had been raining for the last several days) and even though it really didn't rain the day we picked, we stayed wet because the fog never lifted.

Now, you had the option, of buying the apples at the Apple Barn, or hiking up the slippery hill and picking them yourself. I wanted the experience of picking the apples (you knew that right?) and my sweet husband was happy to oblige. Going up the hills wasn't too bad, it was the coming down that made me a little nervous. I brought a change of clothes  in case someone got too muddy, but thankfully the only thing we had to change was our shoes.

After our apple picking was done we headed to the Apple Barn for some Hot Apple Cider and warm Apple Cider Donuts, something my husband looked forward to after a challenging trek through the orchard.

We were hoping we would come home refreshed, and we did. Our little night away didn't change our circumstances, but it was a means of grace that the Lord gave us is walking through our "difficult".