Another Thankful Thursday

This Thursday will find me in teacher meetings and preparing my classroom most of the day, so before heading off to bed on this final day of my summer vacation, I wanted to take stock of all the blessings of this week.   Here are just a few of the things I have been thinking about with gratitude in my heart.  

My doctor.  I went to a new orthopedic surgeon for another evaluation of my knees today and was very impressed.  There will be an MRI and then possible surgery.  He offered me realistic hope and just seemed like a very nice and caring man.

My job.  I think teaching is about the best job in the world, after being a wife and mom.  I truly enjoy my students, my colleagues and my subject matter.  I love learning and helping others learn.  Each day in the classroom is different - some better than others, but it is never boring, and every fifty-five minutes brings a brand new opportunity for success.  

My husband.  He is truly an amazing man.  He works hard then comes home every night and lets me know that I am loved. He is my best friend and biggest source of encouragement.  I love him with all my heart.  The last 34 years have been great and the next 34 will be even better!

My summer.  Really, this has been a wonderful and memorable summer filled with family and friends. I feel a little sad that it is over, but only because it was so good while it was here.

My youngest son.  He is as kind, gentle and caring as ever a 17-year-old could be. For many, many reasons, he is a great blessing in my life. I will miss our summer lunch outings. 

My oldest son.  He is as challenging as they come and he has forced me to grow and change as a mother.  Just when I think I have things figured out, this guy throws me a curve ball and teaches me something about love.

My daughters.  They are both strong, intelligent women, who are not afraid to tell their mom what she needs to hear.  I do appreciate their candid perspectives and input.  They fine, faith-filled women and great wives and mothers.  

My problems and challenges.  There will always be problems of one sort or another, so why not grow through them and be grateful for what I have learned.

My blog and blogging friends.  I have learned so much since joining the community of bloggers.  I have been inspired, motivated and educated by those who read and write in this cyber-realm. Thank you for sharing your lives and thank you for sharing mine.

My faith in God.  Without this, my life would be infinitely more difficult.  My faith gives me peace for today and hope for tomorrow. It is the iron rod I cling to day by day.

I hope you take the  opportunity to ponder the blessings of  your life today, and remember...

Happy Homemaker Monday July 29, 2013

I decided to join once again with Sandra at Dairy of a Stay at Home Mom and Liz at Attempting to be a Super Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.  Since I go back to school later this week, and Mondays are always a little crazy when school starts, this may be my last Happy Homemaker Monday post for a while.

 sunrise this morning

The weather is... sunny and hot.  The thermometer on my back porch is reading about 108.  The official Phoenix high today was 104. No rain or even clouds today. Sunny. Arizona. Hot!

Right now I am... sitting at my computer in the spare bedroom, writing this post. My husband is at the computer right next to me playing an online game (Evony). We finished dinner about an hour ago, then I drove my son to a friend's house for the rest of the evening.  It was a busy cleaning day (that's why this post didn't get done in the morning) but the chores are complete for the day and I get some time to do what I want.  

Thinking... of my children who are grown or at least almost grown, and now have problems and issues much bigger than anything I could actually help them solve when they were little.  I am trying to trust God that everything will work out, but my mind seems to be so busy lately with anxiety, worry and trying to figure out how to solve these problems.  Unhealthy.   I need to let go and let God.

my reading stack this week

On my reading stack... 

• Scriptures
• Parenting Teens with Love and Logic
• 25 Truths  - Life Principles of the Happiest and Most Successful Among Us
• Let Him Ask of God
• Every Day a Friday (audio book I am listening to while cleaning and ironing).

On my TV...  Haven't watched much TV today.  Last night hubby and I watched Masterpiece Mystery - Endeavor.  

On the menu... spaghetti tonight, maybe chicken something tomorrow.  It really is just too hot to cook and my appetite has succumb to the heat as well.

On my to do list... folding clothes and ironing tonight, maybe a walk with hubby after sunset, orthodontist appointment for my son tomorrow, orthopedic surgeon appointment for me on Wednesday, 

Looking forward to this week... going back to school - NOT.  I truly wish summer could on a bit longer, but all things must end, so back I go, with a good attitude and looking forward to a good year!

Looking around the house...   after a busy Monday, bathrooms cleaned, floors mopped, furniture dusted!

There is some "back-to-school" clutter as hubby sorts through things he will need for his new classroom.

From the camera... pictures from Saturday morning when son and I went with hubby to help him set up the classroom at his new school.

It was nice to have a big strong 17-year-old along to help carry things to the classroom.

 Sorting posters deciding which ones to hang up and where to hang them. 

Classroom set up and ready for students!

On my prayer list... again this week, my sons - especially the youngest - are foremost in my thoughts and prayers.   Also praying for my husband and I to have success as we prepare for and begin a new school year. 

Scripture...   

"...If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth

And straightway the father of the child cried out and said, with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

                                                          ~Mark 9:23-24

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday, as I was trying to clean out and organize part of my closet, I  was watching/listening to this show on TV (which incidentally I had never watched before).  At the end, the show host, Marie Osmond, read this quote, "ingratitude is the backdoor through which our blessings escape us."    I thought about that all afternoon and so decided to join with my blogger buddy Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos for Thankful Thursday.

I am thankful for more rain this morning.  It waters the dry ground and cools the intense summer temperatures here, even if it does replace heat with humidity.

I love that the rain always greens up my little container garden which is in a little outside entry alcove by the front door.  I am thankful for my home - this shady little spot of welcoming greenery is one of the things I love about it.

It began to rain hard this morning literally minutes after hubby and son carried this desk outside.  We are donating it to a charity that will pick it up today.  I am thankful that I have two strong men in the house to carry heavy things, and I am grateful that we have been able to clean-up and declutter at least parts of the house and garage this past week.  I am thankful for charities that pick-up donations (another load will go out on Saturday) and I am thankful for Craig's List which allowed us to get a little extra cash for some unneeded items.

I am thankful that, after the decluttering and reorganization of a spare bedroom, we now have more room for our indoor clothes dryers, which are saving us A LOT of money on our electricity bill.  Who knew that it costs so much money to run a clothes dryer?  I am actually thankful that our dryer went out in May because we discovered that air drying clothes in the house, or outside (although our homeowners association does not allow clothes lines) is very economical and really no more work.  Our dryer is fixed now, but I have only used it once since May!  The little trial of having our dryer go out turned out to be a big financial blessing. 

I am thankful that our trusty land land phone is finally fixed after being out for four days.  A very nice young man came and rewired almost all of the phone jacks in the house and also fixed some outside wires yesterday.  Even though he was young and inexperienced, he was personable and went the extra mile to trouble shoot and remedy the problem.  

I am thankful for a nice book club meeting last night with a group of women from church.  The book we all read is The Rent Collector by Camron Wright, a book which I highly recommend.  (Read my Goodreads review here).   We talked to and ask questions of the author via Skype, had a delicious dinner and generally enjoyed visiting and chatting with one another.   It was a nice change-of-pace evening.  

I am thankful for books, like this one I am currently reading, that have great ideas and help me see things from a different perspective as I struggle to become the best parent I can be.

Things I am thankful for that I don't have pictures of:

• Youngest son is safely home now after spending two weeks with relatives in Utah after our family vacation. He had a great time and I am so thankful to everyone - family and friends - for treating him so well.  He can't wait to go back!
• Son is willing to get his hair cut at the beauty college to save some $$. We both have an appointment there later today.
• Hubby is very pleased, so far, with his new teaching position for next year.  It is much closer to home and so far the pre-school year training and support has been awesome.  He is excited to meet all of his new students on the first day of school in a week and a half.
• I have been blessed with many kind and supportive family members and friends.
• I have been blessed with challenges that are making me grow and stretch (sometimes painfully) to become a better person.  

Hope you also have much to be thankful for today - I know you do!

Happy Homemaker Monday

I decided to join with bloggers Sandra at Dairy of a Stay At Home Mom and Liz at Attempting to Be a Supermom for Happy Homemaker Monday!  (I began this post mid-afternoon but didn't get to finish until evening, so I have included an "evening update").

The weather..... The thermometer on my back patio indicates that it is only about 90 this afternoon - very nice for Arizona in July.  The rains over the weekend cooled us down here. The sky is overcast - maybe more thunderstorms tonight.  (Evening update - the sky cleared to blue with beautiful pink and yellow clouds at sunset.  Very muggy but no rain tonight).

Sunset over Phoenix tonight.

Right now I am....Waiting on hold to schedule repair to my home phone. (Evening update - finishing this post after dinner, walk with hubby and a trip to Costco). 

I am Thinking.... that I hope someone comes and helps me before the battery on my cellphone runs completely down! (Evening update - someone did eventually come on the line,but my cell phone was giving me a beeping low battery warning). 

On my reading pile.... Scriptures, Two textbooks about autism for an online class I am taking, and a little daily devotional book Let Him Ask of God.  (Evening update - I really can't get excited about reading those darn textbooks). 

On my TV..... I have been watching Glen Beck and The Blaze network while cleaning this morning.  I don't agree with everything that is said, but it is always quite interesting.  (Evening update - watched about 15 minutes of Judge Judy while I fixed dinner.  That has been the extent of my TV viewing today).

On the menu for this week....Quiche, Deli  "take and bake" pizza and barbecue beef sandwiches, to name a few things planned. (Evening update - we had the quiche tonight). 
  
On my to do list....Finish mopping this afternoon. (Evening update - yep, got it done).

In the craft basket....The granny square blanket I've been working on for over a year. (Evening update - it is still in the craft basket). 

Looking forward to this week....Getting more unneeded items out of the house and garage via Craig's List and a pickup from the Salvation Army.  Also looking forward to making significant progress in my class and getting caught up.  (Evening update - still looking forward to the same things). 

Looking around the house....Lots of laundry hanging to dry in the spare bedroom which we cleaned out and rearranged over the weekend.  The furniture from the kitchen (chairs and bar stools) is all int he family room, waiting for me to get the mopping done.  Better get to it! (Evening update - mopping and all cleaning finished - house back in order). 

From the camera.... A few more favorites from vacation.

Me, my daughter and granddaughter, near the Piedras River in Colorado.

Grandson (age 2), Granddaughter (age 5), hubby and daughter, near the Piedras River.

LDS Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah

View of Temple Square from 21st floor observation deck of LDS Church office building.

Youngest son on the roof of the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

Hubby's childhood home in Salt Lake City, where his mom still lives.  We spent several days visiting her here.

The first home that we bought as a young married couple, in West Jordan, Utah. Youngest son wanted to drive by and see it, even though he never lived there.  We had the highest house payment we ever had in this home.  We lived there for three and a half years when our two daughters were very little.  Sadly, the house has not been kept up, but I am pretty sure the big blue spruce in the front yard is the one I planted there almost thirty years ago.

Late night view of Las Vegas from the 15th floor condo where we stayed one night.  

View from the same window the next morning.  The area in the foreground where there are only a few trees and telephone polls (the dark area in the night shot) was an apartment complex that was demolished before the real estate crash of 2008.  It now still sits vacant. Hubby and I thought it a rather sad sign of how bad the recession was in Las Vegas.

On my prayer list.....My two sons, especially the youngest, and my husband.

Bible verse..."...for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save they children."                                                                       ---Isaiah 49: 25
 

Gratitude Sunday - A Rainy Weekend

This Sunday finds me thankful for...

...cooler, stormy weather, even it it did come with a bit of dust.  Can you see the dust storm raising behind the house of the left in this picture?  At least a good solid, heavy rainstorm followed the dust last night.

The rain came again this afternoon.  Rainy days in the hot desert summer are always something to be thankful for!

I am also thankful for textbooks that FINALLY arrived in the mail.  They were ordered on July 2 and my online class began July 8!  I am WAY behind, but the teacher has been very understanding and said I can turn in the assignments late.  I will be busy playing catch-up this week for sure!  Another book that was assigned for the class, Elijah's Cup, arrived earlier and I finished reading that today!  It was good, so I am also thankful for class books that are actually interesting to read.  

I am  grateful that our family had the opportunity to spend some time cleaning our church Saturday morning. Different members of the congregation take turns spending an hour or so on Saturday morning, making sure that everything is clean and ready for Sunday services.  We spent about 45 minutes Saturday vacuuming, cleaning windows, and making the chrome on the drinking fountains shine!  I recently read an article that said that those who give volunteer service rate themselves as much happier than those who do not, so I am always thankful when I get to serve and help out, because it makes me happy!

I am thankful that my husband and I tackled a huge job yesterday which was cleaning out part of the garage and one of our spare bedrooms.  Nothing like choosing a hot, humid day to work in the garage!  The work got done though.  We made two trips to our favorite used book and media store, Bookmans, to trade in some books and games.  The rest went to Goodwill, with the exception of these reptile/snake cages and assorted equipment (from my oldest son's reptile and snake keeping days) that will be sold on Craig's List or donated.  It's great to have much more room in the bedroom, the closet and the garage.  It's also so nice that my husband worked right along side me through almost the entire day and into the evening.  (He really is such a great guy!)

I am mostly thankful that my husband's car will be in the driveway a lot more this school year.  He has taught school on an Indian Reservation the past two years and that has meant a lot of time on the road.  This year, he will be teaching locally and that means he will have more time at home! 

It has been an overall good weekend, with much to be grateful for.  What are your grateful for this Sunday?

Joining again this Sunday, with Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday!

More Getting Away - Vacation Part II

I wanted to share some more pictures from our Colorado/Utah/Nevada vacation.  We had such a great time and made memories that will last a lifetime!

While staying in Pagosa Springs, we took one day and went to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

It was an interesting place and we love all of our National Parks, but because of the distance we had to drive to get there, we arrived in the middle of the afternoon and did not have time to see and experience all the park had to offer.  We did spend some time walking on the sand dunes...

...but then afternoon rain clouds moved in.  Park rangers say to leave the dunes right away when storm clouds develop because of the possibility of lightening strikes, so we cut short our climbing and playing on the dunes and drove back to Pagosa Springs.

The next day was the Fourth of July and we attended the Pagosa Springs July 4th Parade.  

We had not been to a Fourth of July parade for years.  We figured that the last parade of this sort we went to was when our 29-year-old daughter was in kindergarten and we lived in a very small town in Central California, so it was fun to be a part of the Pagosa Springs festivities.  We all cheered loudest for the soldiers who marched in the parade...

...but we enjoyed the floats,

animals,

and walking waffles as well.

We had great seats right at the beginning of the parade route and a good time was had by all!

The next day, we went on another family hike to the Piedra River.

This was a longer hike than the Treasure Falls trail...

...but it wasn't too hard, even for the little hikers among us.

Although the trail went on miles further, we stopped when we got to the beautiful Piedra River.

It was really a lovely place place to hang out for a while, enjoy each other and make some memories.

The water in the river was cool and not too deep.

Hubby and son took their socks off and waded in.

Being there together, on the banks of the cool, clear river made us happy.

Some friendly fellow hikers we met at the lake, took some pictures of us all together...

...so we could remember what a wonderful time we had!

Even more memories to come in a couple of days!