A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful that The Saint went to preschool PSR on his own on Sunday. The first week, I had to go w/ him & ended up missing most of Mass. All week we talked about him going by himself & thankfully he did.

2) I'm thankful for sweet hugs, kisses, & "I love my Mommy!" songs from The Saint. He is fascinated w/ arms & will hug & kiss mine, saying he loves my "fluffy arms!"

3) I'm thankful for a semi-successful garage sale we had this past weekend. All the stuff that didn't sell got boxed up & placed in the crawlspace to hold for another sale next spring.

4) I'm thankful for my recent discovery of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's writings. Yes, I've known for years who he was, but have never read anything he'd written until just recently. I'm reading "Your Life is Worth Living," a collection of his recordings in book form. WOW! What insight & inspiration I've found so far...& I'm only on chapter seven (out of fifty).

5) I'm thankful for the opportunity to listen to Judy as she was the guest speaker on last night's Ultimate Homeschool Expo. She shared a lot of great knowledge & inspiration for homeschooling moms. Thanks, Judy!

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Matt for holding my hand as I fall asleep most nights. We both read in bed, but I'm usually the one to turn my light out first. What a comfort for me to fall asleep as he's reading still.

2) Lovin' Matt for volunteering to make dinner for us on Sunday. He took some pita pockets, added pasta sauce & shredded cheese, then baked them until the cheese melted. YUMMY! He's becoming quite the chef around here w/ his treats & creative meals!

3) Lovin' Matt for calling me each night as he leaves work. He doesn't get a chance to call me during the day because he's too busy at work, so it's nice to hear his voice telling me that he's on his way home. And, he usually asks if there's anything I need him to pick up on the way home, too...so thoughtful!

Small Successes

Recognizing the small things we accomplish each week helps us realize that even when it doesn't seem like it, we are getting things done! To link up your Small Successes each Thursday, go to CatholicMom.com. Here's the link.

1) I went through the kids' clothes to see what still fits for cooler weather & made a list of what they'll need. Usually, I don't get to this until we start to see signs of cool weather. YAY for being proactive this year!

2) I made Crockpot yogurt & it turned out GREAT!

3) We harvested our corn! Our garden didn't do well this year, but we did manage to get a bunch of cherry tomatoes & nine itty-bitty cobs of corn. Aren't they just adorable? LOL! I ended up taking the kernels off the cob & we had them for dinner last night. Not bad for our first year of corn!

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful for The Prophet's interest in the homeschool band starting this week. He wants to play alto sax, but it's the most expensive of the beginner instruments. So, he's going to start w/ clarinet (we already have my sister's old one) & after a year, if he's still interested, he can easily switch.

2) I'm thankful for the homeschool band will be affordable for us. It boils down to about $5 a week for a 50 minute band class & we can make several payments spread over the school year.

3) I'm thankful for beautiful weather we've had this week. It's been great to open the windows & let in the fresh air. The only drawback...the kids are all showing major signs of allergies!

4) I'm thankful for the wonderful experience my nephew will be embarking on come January. He just found out this past weekend that his LDS mission will be in Milan, Italy, where he will stay for two years.

5) I'm thankful for the exercise my mind gets when I do the crossword & Sudoku puzzles in our daily paper. I'm also thankful for the dear employee Matt works w/ who sends the daily paper home w/ him.

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Matt for putting up w/ my good-natured teasing at times. Laughter & fun really helps keep our frustrations & stresses in check.

2) Lovin' Matt for all the yard work he did on Labor Day when I went in to work for a few hours. While the kids played, he got a lot of much needed weeding done.

3) Lovin' Matt for his flexibility, esp. when our plans get interrupted (like our van not starting before Mass on Sunday & we all had to pile into his Taurus to go to church!) Then, when we had other things planned to do Sunday afternoon, we ended up dropping the van off to be repaired.

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful for the rain we've had off & on the past couple of days. It's not enough to save many of the already drought-spoiled crops, but is still very welcome & much needed.

2) I'm thankful for the opportunity to pick up a few extra hours (at time & a half) on Labor Day. One of the other receptionists called off, so I was able to go in for her.

3) I'm thankful for some great clearance sales we found on organic/natural foods at Kroger this past weekend. Organic cheese & veggieballs (meatless) were marked down to 99 cents. They weren't bad either!

4) I'm thankful for The Archangel's interest in making pancakes & doing a great job by himself. Today, he used half white flour & half wheat flour, then added chocolate chips to the batter. YUM!

5) I'm thankful for the great talks I have w/ the kids when we take our morning walks. We start our school day w/ prayer & some type of devotional reading, then, weather-permitting, we take a walk around the neighborhood...no bikes or toys...just the five of us walking & talking. Even if someone complains about the walk at first, by the time w/ get going, everyone is enjoying it. Once the weather is a bit cooler, we're planning a day trip to a park...taking our schoolwork, lunch, & enjoying the fresh fall air. I can't wait!

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Casinodad for being okay w/ me going into work for about 4 hours on Labor Day. The evening receptionist's car broke down & she asked if I could fill in for her. We can definitely use the extra money (time & a half for the holiday).

2) Lovin' Casinodad for getting the kids fed, having everyone straighten up the downstairs, & finishing putting clean sheets on the beds yesterday while I was at work.

3) Lovin' Casinodad for being open to trying out new foods & trying to eat healthier around here. After watching Food, Inc., I'm really concerned about where our food & household cleaners come from. We're taking baby steps, but I'm happy he's on board w/ it.