Thankful

I will re-cap last weekend's visit with my youngest brother, his wife and his daughter as soon as I can, but for now, here are a couple pictorial "teasers".  Miss Kaelynn turns two Friday and so we had an early birthday party for her when she came to TX to see Granny, Granddad and Aunt Sarah - and the extended TX family on Granddad's side.

I am so thankful for her little life - her health, her laughter, her smile; how she says "yes" instead of "yeah", how she has to know where all her people are at all times.  I am thankful for the most precious moment of last weekend when we were quizzing her, asking "who's that?" and pointing to the person.  When she got to me, she took my face in her little hands, cupped my cheeks and whispered my name.  It was like a moment froze and just the two of us were there.  It's hard to describe, but it was so sweet.  :)

I am also thankful for other loved ones whose privacy I must respect and not mention specifically here. 

I have so many blessings.  I try to be thankful not just on Thanksgiving, but every day.  Because our Heavenly Father, the Giver of all Gifts, is worthy of all our praise and thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for our Veterans!

"Thank you" somehow doesn't seem quite enough. But it's all I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, to all our veterans. Thank you for serving and fighting to keep our country free. We certainly owe you more than one day of gratitude! God bless you and your families!

Remembering His Faithfulness

(12) All you that are righteous be glad because of what the LORD has done!Remember what the holy God has done,and give thanks to him.--Psalms 97:12 (GNT) this verse reminds me that no matter how overwhelmed or stressed I get in my exhaustion level at this point in the quarter, The Lord is still the same. He has been faithful, and will continue to be!

Where strength comes from...

(31) But those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed.They will rise on wings like eagles;they will run and not get weary;they will walk and not grow weak.---Isaiah 40:31 (GNT)

This was the theme verse of my local chapter of Teens for Christ growing up. I just looked it up in the GNT version I have on the iPad, and it's still just as encouraging.

The worst month of this quarter is over, all 283+ hours of it! by God's grace. I have a ton of studying to do this weekend since I worked all last weekend and didn't study. Of course, this section has lots of graphs, formulas and math! I know the LORD will continue to be faithful.

Hanging on by a thread...

(5) You, LORD, are all I have,and you give me all I need;my future is in your hands.
(6) How wonderful are your gifts to me;how good they are!--Psalms 16:5-6 (GNT)

These verses have been so encouraging to me, as I've been working 60-70 hrs/wk, doing PT for my ankles and hips twice a week, and taking an online class. I struggle several times a day with feeling overwhelmed, but The Lord is faithful to get me through. Only a few more weeks at this pace, and by Thanksgiving, things should finally slow down a little! It can't come soon enough.

CA vacation, part 8 (the end)

Kristan and Dick decided we would go to Squaw Valley, the home of the 1960 winter Olympics, to go up to the top of the mountains.

A map showing how expansive Squaw Valley is:

It ended up being prohibitively expensive to ride the tram up, so we just walked around the little village that no doubt is buzzing during skiing season.  There were shops on bottom and condos on top.

I thought these stools were so cute at the gelato shop.

I was just in awe at the beauty of God's creation.  Growing up in the flat soybean and corn fields of Ohio, and now living in the flat, concrete filled city of Dallas, TX, I loved all the change in terrain and topography.  I so enjoyed my time with Kristan and her husband. The last morning I was there, I woke up to the outside temperature of 46, and the inside temperature of 61!  Love it!!  It will be another month or so before I can begin to hope for even a chance of weather like that here... It was hard to say good-bye, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to have been able to visit her and her retirement piece (and peace) of paradise.

CA vacation, part 7

It was such a gloriously beautiful day and drive up to Lake Tahoe.  We got Beau into his travel vest and settled in the back. (He has to be tethered to the vehicle because if not, he gets so excited to get out when the car stops that he bolts out and could be hit by a car or cause an accident.  This way, he is safe and has plenty of room to roam around in the back.)

I took so many pictures because I couldn't get enough of the views.

It was very windy that day, and the Yosemite wildfires had been burning out of control only a week ago.  We didn't know what it would be like closer to the top.   Thankfully, it was beautiful.  We ate at Gar Woods, which is right on the water.  I want to publicly document that on 5th day of September, I had a jacket on outside and was cold - thanks to the lovely CA weather! (it was over 100* back in TX!)

This was, by far, the most beautiful view I had for lunch ever!

Here's a view from the beach back up to the patio we had lunch on:

These beautiful black-eyed Susans were near where we parked.  I took the picture for my Mom since they are some of her fave wildflowers, and as pretty as the vibrant greens and blues of all the scenery was, the pop of yellow was welcome.