Photo Hunter ~ Public

Today's Photo Hunter theme is Public.


Looks like this person wasn't too interested in any of the public pests, human or otherwise, giving him a visit.

For more takes on the theme or to join in visit Photo Hunter home.

Friday's Fave Five #99

#99!? Oh my goodness! I can hardly believe it. Welcome to Friday's Fave Five! Join us as we look back over the week and find five favorite things that blessed us. If you need more information you can go here and then come right back!

1. This week's number one is most definitely my oldest daughter arriving for her two week stay at home. It's so nice to have her home for an extended visit. I really miss her. It's also really nice having all my kids all together. This year we actually co-ordinated a week of this visit together so that I have had this week off. So nice that she can come home and relax and just be and I don't have to worry about the dayhome kiddos waking her up or me being tied up working instead of getting to spend time with her.

2. Key Lime Tea Cookies. Oh my word. These were melt in your mouth goodness.

3. President's Choice Loads of Cherries and Chocolatey Chunks ice cream. They are not kidding when they say "Loads". This ice cream was so full of semi-sweet chocolate pieces and tart cherries I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen and tasted it for myself. My new favorite brand and of ice cream and definitely in my top five flavors. I hate to say it because two of my kids work for the D Q but it is just as good as a blizzard and you get waaaay more ice cream for your money. Sorry to my American friends but I think it's only available in Canada. But yay for us Canucks.

4. My sweet hubby who knows how to work his way into my heart. He came home with a gorgeous decorator vase I had been eyeing on the clearance table at his work place. He put it on the fireplace mantle and just let me find it. When I took the 5 love languages test it came up "Acts of Service" but I'm thinking that "Gifts" is right up there, too. And he knows it. LOL.

5. Reading. I've been on a reading roll this year. I've just finished my 26th book this year all ready. That is a new record for me. It's almost as much as read in a whole year last year. I've just really been enjoying reading and have been choosing that over television and whenever I can grab a minute. This year I seem to running across some really great reads so it's making keeping the reading roll going quite easy and enjoyable. I love reading. Now if I could just figure out a way to get paid for it. :v)

What have your favorites been this week? Do a post and then link onto Mr. Linky so that we can come and visit.

Still Here

Just popping in to say hello. There is lots of painting, both inside and outside, going on here. Hubby is tackling the outside and our pure white house is now becoming a lovely dark taupe called Kingsport Gray, which I am loving. It is quite the difference. The dayhome playroom, which is my project, is going from "What was I thinking yellow" to a really nice shade called "Moccasin". It has sort of a leathery look just as it's name implies. But all the cutting in? It's doing a number on my neck, I tell ya. And there is lots of cutting in in the playroom. Two doorways, furnace ducts and upper and lower cupboards along a portion of one wall. If I could paint without all the cutting in, I'd be a happy camper.

Lots of good times with our visiting oldest girl and lots of good cooking happening. Must make all her favorites that she doesn't get unless she's home. So far we've had bbq steak, taco salad and plans are in the works for chicken paprika with nokedli (tiny dumplings), bbq chicken, and ham with scalloped potatoes. I just hope I don't gain a ton of weight eating all these good meals jammed into two weeks. LOL.

In other words, the days are pretty full this week. Satisfyingly full. Friday's Fave Five is a go tomorrow so please join in!

Friday's Fave Five #98

Hello and welcome to Friday's Fave Fives! Are you ready to share you five favorite moments from your last week? Those things that blessed you, made you smile or feel good inside? Whether it's a easy or a bit tougher to find them, there are moments that encourage us if we but take the time to look. Please join us and if you need more details there is a link in the sidebar for that. Then come on back and join right in!



1. This:
Dipped in this:
My new favororite snack. Yummy. My bloggy friend Faith loves nutella and I don't know if she's ever mentioned to dip pretzels into it or if I thought of all by my lonesome, but discover it this week I did.

2. Good deals at yard sales. I've been looking in the stores for a small chest of drawers for my spare bedroom. And I can't believe what they want to charge for a bunch of pressboard held together with staples. And then I have to assemble most of it myself, to boot. Well I stopped at few yard sales last Saturday on my way somewhere and I found a small chest of four drawers and they took $15 for it. I nabbed it. Much better that $100.

3. Peaches. Fresh, juicy peaches. The peaches are out at the grocer's and we bought this year's first batch. So good. I love when they get a little more local than "Chile" because they aren't so hard when you buy them and the flavor is so much more intense.

4. Snagging tickets for the day and time we want to go see Body Worlds in the big city. We wanted to go on a certain day at a certain time and I'm really glad we got the tickets to those. That way we can also take my oldest, who'll be visiting to the big, new mall which she's never been to and have lunch at a fave restaurant that we don't have in our own city. Son wants to be a paramedic so he's really looking forward to seeing the exhibit.

5. Cleaning the spare room. What?! Cleaning? Yes, because my oldest is coming home for two weeks tomorrow so cleaning the room that will be hers is a joy! I figured she might like somewhere to lay her head at night, so I cleared off the top of the bed and thinking she might like to put her bags down somewhere or maybe, like, walk around, I took out all the dayhome paraphenelia that seems to build up in there. Hubby was under strict orders to remove the cans of paint we've been using and painting trays out of there too! Fresh, clean sheets on the bed and it's waiting just for her.

What were your favorites for the week? If you've shared in a post, then link on up and we'll come around a give you a visit!

Change, Paint Color and Crazies

Change. It only took 17 years to talk hubby into it. But change is a-coming around the Living to Tell household. It's going to go from this:


white, on white, on white to a nice taupe. And by white, I mean white. For 17 years in this house and 6 years in our other home I have had a very white, I do believe the name of it was Marine Super White, house, fence, garage, shed. To say our backyard was bright was an understatement. It was nice and clean looking with it's dark green trim but I always longed for color. And hubby finally caved to my asking nagging shameless begging.

But then we had to pick a color. Which around our house is a huge involvement of time and energy, debate and compromise. In fact, the little men in uniform are on standby with the straight jackets in hand. First we took our color fans, yes we own our own decks of color fans. (We finally broke down and bought them when he started working at the paint store. If you knew us and color and the great color debates and discussions that occur around this topic, this purchase would make total sense to you.) Then we drove around a newer neighborhood burning gas for two hours trying to match colors and finding something we both liked. Good luck, Mr. & Mrs. Living to Tell. To say our tastes differ in the understatement of the decade.

Finally we settled on a few options. Then we had to buy the big, I believe they are about 18" x 18" color cards of the chosen options and tape them up on the house. In several spots. Over and over again. At different times of day so we could see the color as different light hit it. As we stood as far away as across the street. And this is the part that explains where we looked like the loony tune family on the block, hence the nice men with the straight jackets. Yes, we are nothing if not thorough in our color decisions.

Finally we picked one. And all excited we painted the front porch. But then we weren't so sure. Darn paint changes once you get it all up. It was really nice and all, but a bit too beige and a bit too olive. So back to the drawing board with the big cards. And we picked another. I like it. Hubby likes it, though he wants to go darker but I'm digging in the heels on that one.

So other than Friday's Fave Five which will be as per usual, if I'm really sporadic in the next while, I'm painting or visiting with my girl, whom I'm picking up on Saturday for a two week visit. You just gotta live life before you can blog life, ya know?

Book Tour ~ In a Heartbeat

"In a Heartbeat - Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving" by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy with Sally Jenkins

Publisher's Summary:
First came the best-selling book, then the Oscar-nominated movie; the story of Michael Oher and the family who adopted him has become one of the most celebrated true stories of our time. The Blind Side—both the New York Times #1 bestseller and the Hollywood blockbuster—introduced the world to Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, the Memphis couple who was out for a morning drive when they saw young Michael Oher walking alone along the side of the road. They stopped the car that day, and their lives changed in a heartbeat. That’s the story we all know, but now, for the first time, the remarkable couple depicted in The Blind Side tells their own story, and “The story is greater than we are,” explains Leigh Anne. The Tuohy family story demonstrates that taking a chance on someone is worth the risk.

In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy with Sally Jenkins (Henry Holt, July 13, 2010) takes readers on an extraordinary journey of faith and love and shares unforgettable lessons about the power of giving. The Tuohys’ deeply inspiring memoir offers readers a detailed picture of a family that makes giving a way of life, the huge blessings that decision has brought to them, and the ways we can all make a difference in our own communities.

Just a few of the lessons in generosity from the Tuohys include:

If you can’t give something big, give something small.
“Get one, give one”—when you receive something, give part of it away.
Giving does not mean enabling—before you give intelligently, you have to learn the value of a dollar.
Generosity starts at home.

One aspect of the story that people haven’t heard is just how close the Tuohys came to continuing on their way without giving Michael a second thought, as so many others must have done. “I was going to keep on driving,” Sean Tuohy says.

Adjusting to their new life with Michael was not without its complications, and the Tuohys speak frankly about the issues faced by everyone in the family. All three Tuohy kids reflect on their experiences. In a Heartbeat reveals:

How bringing Michael into their lives was as much an awakening for the Tuohys as it was for him
The awkward gaps they confronted between privileged and poor and black and white, and how the family worked together to bridge them
Their worries and concerns at several stages in their growing relationship with Michael

The Tuohys’ goal is not so much to tell their own story but to show others how they can make a difference, one person at a time. “There are a million Michaels,” Leigh Anne says. “Not every kid has the potential to become a star player in the NFL, but that kid may be the person who grows up to cure cancer, or who becomes a great husband or wife to someone.” Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohys’ compelling, funny, and profoundly inspiring voices encourage readers to move past the “no” in their heads and follow the “yes” in their hearts to see how—in a heartbeat—anyone can harness the power of giving to change the world.

The Tuohys believe The Blindside was so successful because people see themselves in the story, and that they too could make a difference. They wrote In a Heartbeat to show others how they can do something—big or small—to change someone’s life for the better. The Tuohys feel that it was their family that received the blessing in helping Michael, and they want others to receive the blessings that come with cheerful giving as well. “He had a much greater impact on our lives than we did on his life,” says Leigh Anne.

The Tuohys taught Michael what this book teaches all of us: Everyone has a blind side, but a loving heart always sees a path toward true charity.

My Thoughts:
I loved the movie "The Blind Side" and have watched it several times with different people. It has always provoked much great conversation afterwards, which I love, and much inspiration. I remember saying to my friend, who took me to see it in the theatre: "I want to be like her (Leigh Anne Tuohy) when I grow up!" But being a movie, I knew there had to be more to the story than what can be shown in a couple of hours and I wondered how much of the movie story was artistic license. So when this book came up for review written by the actual couple who lived the story, I immediately wanted to read it.

This book is not so much a huge rehashing of the movie, though it does tell the story, it is so much more. It gives some background to Leigh Anne and Sean's lives growing up, some family history but it is more about the philosophy of giving that the Tuohy family live by. This aspect fascinated me. The fact that they actually had a giving philosophy that was discussed and decided upon, then lived and walked out and deliberately passed on to their children. They were giving before they were wealthy. They were givers before Michael came along so it was almost a natural progression for them to see the need in Michael and then work to meet it. Their deep personal belief of being cheerful givers and "trying to help those that pop up right in front of you" has directed and focused their lives.

There were so many deep truths and inspirations written in the book that I did much underlining. It's a book I will read again most definitely.

Thank you to B & B Media for providing the book for review.

To purchase the book you can go here: Macmillan

Friday's Fave Five #97

Hi! Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. The place to look back over our week and find five favorite things that stood out to us. If you need more detail you can visit here first and then come on back and join in!

1. A challenging bike ride. Hubby and I love to go on bike rides when we can. We usually ride all over the city and love to look at houses and neighborhoods. But this week we went down the hills to the river bottom. We got on a trail that was just a small skinny trail made with bikes and headed down hill. It hooked up to a paved walking trail. It was a might nice ride going down. But boy, oh boy. Coming back up was hard tough a killer. I had to get off and catch my breath and take a short break a couple of times and hubby had to push my bike up the short flight of steps that were there (thank you, Hubby) but I did make it up. I felt exhausted but like I'd really accomplished something.

2. My hubby who without even being asked made a chip & dip run for me yesterday when I had a huge headache. If you're new here, I have a bizarre little solution that works for me on certain headaches. Plain potato chips with Philadephia Brand Herb & Spice Dip. Works pretty much every time. I know, it's weird, but when I've got that headache I don't care if it's weird, I just care that it works. But anyway the favorite was not the chip and dip but the fact that my sweet man went out and got me some without me even asking. Love ya, Sweetie!

3. The smell of fresh cut watermelon. So summery!

4. Ladies Night Out. And what did we do? Went to Toy Story 3D, of course! And it was wonderful. We had such a great time. A great way to relax and have fun and build relationship outside of bible study!

5. Jewel tone purple nail polish. Totally frivolous, I know. I never paint my fingernails but love the darker colors on my toes. Sally Hansen Insta Dry in Pronto Purple is one of my faves this year.

What were your favorites this week? Join us with a post and sign up on Mr. Linky. (Hopefully he'll play nice this week. :v) )

Bits and pieces. This and that. That pretty much sums up my life as of late. We still have not found an easy summer rhythm around here. I think the weather has a lot to do with it. We have a few days of blazing hot days, and by blazing I mean around 29*C which to you down south is probably mild spring, around 85* or so F. Then we're being plunged into cold and wet and windy and grey. Like today. As I type it's actually warmed a degree or two and it's sitting at 12*C which is a cool 55*F. 55* in the middle of July is just wrong! I actually have on long jeans and short sleeved knit kind of shirt as oppossed to a t-shirt or tank. It's hard to get into a lazy dazy routine when the days are all over the board like that.

But one hot sunny day, we found this fella soaking up the rays on my celosia:

So yesterday when it was super windy and cloudy and generally yucky we stayed inside and let him inspire us to make these guys:

Can you tell our guys had no sunshine on the celosia to sun on? My little purple daisies were so sad about that they wouldn't even open.

So instead of lounging around on a chaise in the backyard, my ladies group went to the movies to get out of the rain. And what did we see? Well, the obvious choice for a ladies group. We went to Toy Story 3D. With no kids. Just us ladies. And we all loved every. minute. of. it. We laughed ourselves silly. And we cried. Every one of us pulled out the tissue. LOL. It was great. I think Toy Story is one of the only series of movies that actually got better as they went along rather than worse. Worth every penny of the outrageous amount they charge for a 3D movie.

So now we are off to the playground for a bit. Hopefully we wont get poured on.

Questions Answered #4

Here we are at another edition of answering the questions that you guys asked!

Brenda said: Tell us some lessons you have learned by doing child care for so long, I'm sure you have a lot of interesting stories related to that.

Whoo Nellie. There are plenty. If you are new here, I have been a child care provider for 20 years now. So lessons there have been aplenty. Now if I could just recall some of them because I have to relate them. LOL. It's such a vast topic I'll try to narrow it down to a few that are really standing out at the moment.

~Preschoolers thrive on routine. Knowing in general what will happen through out the day takes away a lot of anxiety. Surprises are fun and nice, but if they can't count on anything throughout the day, it produces stress that manifests in behavior. I'm not talking about being so regimented you can't at all be flexible or change things up, but I do some flexibility within a schedule. My kids thrived on it and so do my dayhome children over the years.

~Not every preschooler is ready to roll with unbounded energy the moment they arrive. Just like us adults, some are not morning people. I make allowances for those who need that extra hour to get with it.

~Use timeouts wisely and for definite bad behavior and/or breaking of rules. And be consistent with it. Using it willy nilly nullifies it's effectiveness.

~I'm still learning this one after all these years but realize food issues will happen. For years and years I used to majorly stress about this one. I came from a household that belonged to the clean your plate club. I couldn't stand when kids were picky and I was throwing all this food out. Being on a budget, that made me crazy. But kids are developing their taste buds and what one loves, another will hate. Put that together with 6 preschoolers in the house and it could major stressville.

~ That being said I also do not run a short order kitchen. Snack and lunch are at specific times. (Again, that is part of the routine they can count on.) I give a couple of options on their plates. For example: I never just put a sandwich down in front of them and demand they eat every bite because that is all they will get. I also put veggies or maybe serve a soup with it, so that if they absolutely can't stand one they at least can still eat the other. If I do serve sandwiches I try to give them options within the sandwich. For example: If it's ham that day, I let them choose with cheese or butter or mayo. Lettuce or not. It gives them a sense of control and they are more likely to eat it. If they absolutely refuse, I try to stay calm and encourage them to just take a taste in case they've changed their minds from the last time and then I try to encourage them to at least have as many bites as how old they are. A biggie I have learned is serve small, (sometimes what seems to me like teeny portions to the more picky child) and then let them have seconds if they want. So much better than stressing about throwing out food. And they feel proud because they were able to taste and eat their portion rather than being overwhelmed by what seems to them an insurmountable amount set in front of them.

~Again, along those lines, they may not help themselves all day long to food and drinks. Snack is at snack and lunch is at lunch. Juice is for snack time, milk at lunch and if they are thirsty water is available whenever their little hearts desire. They soon learn if they refuse food, it's a ways away until the next eating time. And I always remind them of that fact if they are refusing what the meal of the time is.

~But along that road is common sense. I do not do this with babies or toddlers who don't understand. This is for the preschooler who is starting to have understanding of consequences that come with their choices. No child ever leaves my house starving but I do have parents tell me all the time that they can't believe their child will eat certain things at my house while at home they won't. I know it's because at my house they know the routine and they learn the consequence of not eating their lunches or snacks. They know they are not allowed to help themselves into my fridge or cupboards anytime they want and so that makes what they are served just a little more appealing. :v)

~I have also learned all sorts of underlying causes will manifest themselves in outward behavior. When consistent bad behavior is being displayed, I try my best to stay as calm as I can and maybe try and discern if something else is going on. A preschooler does not always have the skill and capability to voice what is really going on. Not feeling well, lack of sleep, out of routine, even watching something on tv that upset them but they can't put words to, affect behavior.

~ But the biggest thing I have have learned and still remind myself about constantly is Don't sweat the small stuff. And most of it is small stuff in the bigger picture!

Whew, that was a few. If you are still with me after all of that, bless you. You deserve a reward! :v)

Photo Hunters ~ Free

Today's Photo Hunter theme is free. And what came to mind is the saying "Free as a bird".


Oh to be able to free and just soar above it all.


For more on the theme free or to join in visit Photo Hunters.

Friday's Fave Five #96

** Updated with Mr. Linky**
Sorry everyone. I'm not sure what I did with Mr. Linky, but here it is.

***Updated. Again!*** Well apparently Mr. Linky is down due to emergency maintenance. So just let us know in the comments if you have a post up. Guess we'll do it that way this week. We shall go with the flow. :v)

Hi everyone! How was your week? It's Friday so time to look back over the last week and find those five favorites things whether you had a great week or not. There are small subtle blessings if we but take the time to look even on those rougher weeks. Share them with us. You can go here if you need details.

1. Amazing clouds.

There is just something about the clouds and skies that really draws me and we've had quite a show lately with really different cloud formations. The layering and swirls on this particular night was unreal. I couldn't capture the 3D effect they were giving near well enough.


2. Beautiful Sunsets. The colors this summer have been amazing. I can't get enough of it. And it disappears so quickly. I have to enjoy every second I can get.


3. Blue skies breaking through storm clouds. A metaphor for life.


4. Leaving the skies behind now, this pudgy little fella.


Yeah, must be nice, he's chasing his morning nap with an afternoon nap. But when he's awake he's darn cute and makes me happy. Well, to be honest when he's sleeping he's cute too. But this sleeping beauty snores to beat the band. Big time. So the awake cuteness edges out the sleeping cuteness by a hair.

5. The humble little pansy. Beautiful in her simplicity. It makes me smile. This year a few new colors are showing off in my flower bed. This lovely lady dressed in lemon sherberty yellow. Is sherberty a word? No? Well, it is now, I declare it.


And this pretty lavender girl. Sigh. Love the different shades of lavender.

So what has made you smile, warmed your heart, cheered you up or floated your boat this week? If you do a post, please link on up so we can come and visit.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Questions Answered #3

There were some awesome questions posed in this post when I asked for them. I've been plugging away answering in one post a week and it's been lots of fun. If you still have a question feel free to put it in the comments.

Karyn, my fellow Albertan blogger, asks:
"I'll add another....can you share with us your journey to faith? What church do you attend?
One more ?? .... What's your favorite worship song?"

Oh, I love to read and listen to people's testimonies. A couple of years ago in blogland there was a "Tour of Testimonies" that I participated in. So I'll just direct you to this, my post, where I shared my journey of faith.

We attend a small, but quickly growing, interdenominational church in our city. We've been going there about 7 years now. I love the smaller church atmosphere, though I know it will not stay like that. We have people coming from every age group which I totally love. I think every age has something to contribute. I'm involved in the "Ladies Only" small group and working in the library. I'm in charge of food pantry for those in need and of "Operation Christmas Child" campaign.

Naming my favorite worship song for me is very difficult. I love so many of them and my favorite today is not necessarily my favorite next week or last week. It depends on what I'm going through at the time and what is touching my heart. I will say though that I don't care for "worship" songs that focus on too much on me as a human factor. The only way I like "me" or "I" in the songs is if it's saying "I will worship" or how much I need Him. I like worship and praise songs that totally focus on God and His attributes and His majesty. I guess if you pin me down I would have to say "Shout to the Lord"



But I think my absolute favorite that just makes me want to drop to my knees every. single. time. is "Agnus Dei"



My favorite worship DVD's that I've constantly turned to are "John Tesh Worship at Red Rocks" and Michael W. Smith Worship (from which the song above is taken and that was filmed at Canada's largest yearly youth conference that my kids have attended).

It's Not My Fault. Really.

This?


This is all her fault. At least that is what I told hubby.


All because of this post, I thought I'd go looking too. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And I found one. Half price is the same as buy one, get one. Right?

Of course with the money saved, I just had to have this cute wrought iron stand. I mean, the flowers do need somewhere to sit, don't they? At 2/3 off, really, how on earth could I pass it by. I heart wrought iron. And like I said, none of this is my fault. Really.

And you know what? I'm not sorry at all.

Seven Things

Over the last few weeks a couple of new to me bloggers have given me a couple of really nice awards. I always like to meet a new blogger and what a way to meet them.

The Beautiful Blogger Award from Apple Blossom who posts over at 4 the Love of Books. You are supposed to name 7 interesting things about yourself and then pass it to 7 other bloggers.



The versatile blogger award from Crystal at Crystalized Reflections. (Don't you just love the name of her blog? Very witty.) This one is share 7 things you may not know about me.

Thank you ladies! What a very nice surprise when you gave me these!

The questions are similar so I'm going combine them, though after having blogged for four years I think I've pretty much said everything different, interesting, weird about me. You all know it all. LOL.

1. I hate horror shows. They stick with me for a really, really long time. Even if the premise of the show is good, the scary stuff will all of a sudden rise up and get me even years later. Hate that. So I don't watch them.

2. I love to cook but hate to bake. I will take cooking a full course meal and enjoy it over baking something simple anyday. I don't know why. Probably because I have way more success with the cooking than the baking.

3. I will bike ride for hours on end but I won't run to the end of the block. I hate running for the sake of running. Always have, even as a teen/young adult I'd rather have played hours of hard tennis against a male competitor than to run anywhere. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.

4. I have discovered since blogging that I love taking pictures. And I want to take a course to learn how to work our "big boy" real camera. Off the automatic setting. Like a real photographer.

Whoo boy, I'm running out of "interesting" things here.

5. My husband and I have totally different taste in scents. Which is really interesting when it comes to wearing fragrance. 'Cause he wants to me to wear scents that make my eyeballs cross and literally make the backs of my eyes hurt. And well, the stuff I just love he says stinks. So we have fragrance power struggles.

6. I love watching sports. Well team sports anyway. I refuse to watch even two minutes of golf. My husband detests it. That also makes for interesting remote power struggles when it comes to playoff time.

7. I want to some day own a cherry red Ford Mustang convertible. Right now I drive a dark green Plymouth van. I think I have a ways to go.

And now the part I find really hard with awards is passing them on. All the blogs I read are worthy of both awards, otherwise I wouldn't read them, right? But in the spirit of the award, I will name a couple of blogs for each one:

The Beautiful Blogger Award: Rachelle at Livin' Life on Bixby Avenue. I just met Rachelle not long ago and we are both child care providers. But her blog is chock full of absolutely beautiful garden photos. Love it.

Jientje at Heaven is in Belgium. Jientje blogs from Belgium and take the most breathtaking photos. I love her blog. It's like visiting Belgium without really going there.

Anne at Nikkipolani. Again, such a talented photographer. Her blog is an absolute breath of beauty!

Now for the Versatile Blogger Award: Karen at Over the Backyard Fence. I love Karen. We have so much in common she could be my long lost twin. I love reading about her life in Colorado.

Faith at Gold in the Clouds. From family to hiking in the Adirondacks to recipes to matters of faith she truly is a versatile blogger.

Friday's Fave Five #95

**Updated with photo and plan B

Welcome to the first Friday's Fave Five of July. A whole new month, officially in my mind the start of summer. Join us in finding your favorite things from the past week, those things that were blessings to you, large or small. If you need details they are here, otherwise just join right in!

This week was really, really ultra busy so those little things might have gone right past me if I didn't take the time to look for them or be aware of them. But they were there in spite of and in the midst of busyness.

1. Feeling appreciated. Parents of children in my dayhome, who let me know I am appreciated are a real blessing to me. This week was a tough one as a family who has been with me for 7 years have moved past the stage in their lives of needing my dayhome. I will miss both the children and the parents incredibly. They started at my home when the oldest was just one and I have daily watched them grow and change for 7 whole years. Now the youngest will be starting grade 1. In those years, they let me know often they appreciated having me and it meant the world. They blessed me with a beautiful outdoor pot of flowers, which I forgot to take a picture of, but will post as soon as I can. And a gift certificate to get a spa treatment of my choice.

**Here they are, better late than never. I ran out in the pouring rain (yes, again), and my jammies just to get this picture for you all! :v)

2. Pizza. I love pizza and can eat it most anytime. Hubby blessed me the other night after an extremely busy and exhausting day by taking me to a local pizza place that serves all kinds of unusual pizzas. They are award winning and one of their pizzas won the best new pizza in Canada and the owner has won best Pizza Chef in Canada by Pizza Magazine. (Who knew there was a pizza magazine). LOL. They have competed in some kind of pizza competition each year in Vegas and several of their pizzas have been in the top 25 and top 50 of their category and one even made top 13, coming out as top Canadian entry. We chose their most popular one, the one that got them named best new pizza in Canada. And may I say it was absolutely delicious. Ranch dressing, chicken, bacon, red peppers, and cheddar (along with the mozza). Melt in your mouth pizza goodness. It will be a place that I'll only go to once in awhile because of the price but it sure was a nice treat.

3. A holiday day in the middle of the week. After such a busy three days it was nice to have a holiday day. Yesterday was July 1, which makes it Canada Day and a holiday here in Canada. Well for most of us anyway. Malls and restaurants and big stores are still open but at one time they never used to be. But for me it was a day off and it was nice. Hubby and I went for a 2 1/2 hour bike ride in perfect weather. We finished it off with a hot dog bbq, something we were both craving and a nice Starbucks drink. Then a nap finished off the afternoon nicely. This is the first year I didn't watch the fireworks and I didn't even miss it. I just stayed home and relaxed until it was time to pick up my youngest from her job.

4. Unexpected days off. Today is an unplanned and unexpected day off for me. None of the kids are showing up in dayhome. Yipee for me. It's like an extra long weekend. Now that does not happen too often and I am going to take complete advantage starting with sleeping in. I see a walk around the lake coming up and maybe a little trip to the library. I'm sure I'll think of more through out the day.

**Well, wouldn't you know it. When I wrote this yesterday it was lovely outside, a little cool but nice. I woke up this morning of my unexpected day off to pouring rain. Yes, again. So now after I put those downspout extenders on, you know, the ones that made another fave five list, I am moving to plan B. Jammies, pot of coffee, this movie and my book!

5. A neighbor who dayhomes too. My next door neighbor also has a dayhome and what a blessing that has been since they moved in. To actually have another adult to chat to over the fence for a few minutes while the children play outside is absolutely wonderful. We share ideas and bounce things off of each other and it's a great support.

What are your five favorite blessings from the week? If you do a post, please link that specific post up in Mr. Linky so that we can come and visit with you. And a Happy Canada Day a day late to my Canadian friends and Happy July 4th to my American friends.