Thursday, April 16, 2009

Friday's Fave Five #33


Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Welcome to Friday and of course, the Fave Five. Details are here if you need them. Jump right in if you're new. Don't be shy.

As compared to some other weeks that have been somewhat hard, ok, downright tough, this week there were so many great things for me it was hard to choose just five. Yay for that. If you're having a hard week this week, bless you. I encourage you to try to do the list anyway. I found it really helped to uplift me in the hard weeks as I looked for the good things. And there were good things, even if they were hidden under the piles of yuck. I don't know why I said all that, but I feel strongly to leave it, so it will stay.

Onto the five.

1. At the top of the list. This awesome incredible gift from the Lord on Good Friday:


After a wonderful afternoon visiting, enjoying sweet fluffy yellowness, and partaking of the simple goodness of life we headed home from the Hutterite colony and the Lord had one more gift for us that day.
And I have to say that the colors were even more brilliant in real life. It was breathtaking. Hubby was good enough to pull over so I could snap a few pictures. I wished I could have set the pics up more but we were under a time crunch to get a young person back to work on time. Isn't God the most incredible artist?

Not even 5 minutes after getting back in the van and getting going again, we got a flat. In fact, the whole sidewall blew out. That's the scary thing that I mentioned. A flat, in the middle of nowhere, on a secondary hiway, while it was getting dark. But after that incredible sunset, who could get upset? We just dealt with it and trusted God to keep us safe, and because of a hubby who knew how to change that thing we were back on the road in no time. Thank God he was with us, or I would possibly have not been quite so confident. As in not at all. I wouldn't have had a clue how to get the spare from underneath the van. And guess what? I didn't even think to take a picture of hubby doing all that wonderful work.

2. Having the family all home for Easter. Definitely a favorite thing for me. Kay was home and Hubby's and my moms and sisters and their families joined us for Easter dinner. Having everyone together is always special.

3. Having Monday off. I was able to have those Monday morning hours with my girl before she headed back to school and then was able to take her to the city where she catches the bus. We could put her on the bus here in our city but then it's a 12 - 16 hour ride for her but if we take her to the city an hour and a half from here it's a 6 hour bus ride. Go figure. But it gave me more time with her and that's always a good thing.

4. Gift turkeys. LOL. We recieved two turkeys for gifts at Christmas, so I put one away for now and it was really nice to be able to pull that bird out the freezer and feed everyone and not kill my budget. I'll never look a gift turkey in the mouth. ;v)

5. Having family pictures done. Can you believe other than Sears or Wallymart sessions we have not really had "professional" family pictures done. We had them done, finally, on Friday by a friend who is just starting out in the business. And was it ever fun. We went down to the river bottom and spent an hour doing a "photo shoot". LOL. I haven't seen them yet, but I know there's going to be some great shots just because of the scenery that was around us. And because of how many shots she took. The law of percentages says with all those shots there's got to be a good one in there somewhere. We were all dressed in black shirts and blue jeans and even Samson the dog, got in on the action. It was too much fun.

So what were your favorite things from the week. Did something make you smile, a word, a deed, a gift, a written word, something you saw, or heard or tasted? If you've done a Fave Five post, sign on to Mr. Linky and let us come and smile with you!


30 comments:

Michelle said...

What a lovely time you must have had at the Hutterite colony.Wonderful that you had extra time with Kay.

Jientje said...

Family, a breathtaking sunset, feeding a whole family with delicious food ... a photo shoot ... Oh my, you did have a great week! I hope the next one will be just as good!

Anonymous said...

What a great time you must have had. And I hope we get to see the family pictures. Sounds just wonderful and the pictures are worth a 1000 words. Excellent Week

Mo said...

Well, good for you, Susanne; sounds like you had a FABULOUS week (well, save the flat, but that even turned out okay, huh? Beautiful sunset shots, BTW) Glad you got a little extra time with your daughter, and that it sounds like you all had a Wonderful Easter! Hope this week turns out wonderfully, as well!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for letting me join in...This is my first week...I hope to have more details in my next weeks post :-D

Faith said...

I always enjoy what your faves are! how awesome that you got some time with your daughter. God is GOOD! love those pics. Mine is up now!

Barbara H. said...

What a gorgeous sunrise and sunset! I don't know how anyone can not believe in God when they see things like that displayed across the sky.

Glad you had a good time with family, a hubby who could change tires (and that it wasn't quite nighttime yet or rainy), and that you had a free turkey! And Monday off and extra time with your girl -- how special. That's crazy that a drive like that by car turns into 6-10 hours on the bus!! I'd make the drive, too, if I wee in your shoes.

Have a good weekend, and thanks again for hosting!

Jamie said...

"A gift turkey"...that made me smile, you are too funny. Great faves this week, that sunset was amazing. I'm with you, if I was without my hubby and had a flat I'd be stuck.

Hope to see some of your family pics!

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

I cannot wait to see those pics! I'm sure it's hard on K going back, too, even though she may not show it. But all of this arriving and leaving again is part of the process.

Laura said...

Wow that sunset is something else. How wonderful you got to soak in its beauty. Oh and family pictures are such a treasure. We haven't had any professional ones done in three years but I definitely think it's time. Outside shots are my favorite!

Jerralea said...

What a great week! We've not done a photo session as a family in many years. I definitely hope to do that this year!

I adore sunsets, too! God is such an incredible artist, which is one reason I have always loved landscape pictures.

Kari said...

Great pictures and wonderful family time. Sounds like a great week.

Have a great weekend too.

ellen b said...

Good morning Susanne! Wow that was an incredible sunset you got to see. So glad you had some great times with your extended family and with your daughter while she was in town. Thank goodness for hubby being the one driving when you got a flat and that he was there to change it! :0)
Sounds like a wonderful week Susanne!

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

WOW! Catching up here. I love the pictures. God is so good!

nikkipolani said...

Wonderful wonderful fives, Susanne. I love it that you saw the sunset and didn't miss it for the flat.

Brenda said...

Your pictures are beautiful! I think we are all thankful about family and Easter. Nothing is like family.

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

What a beautiful sunset. We serve such an artistic God!!!!

I can't wait to see your pics...I've always wanted a real photo session for our family too:).

Alphabet Soup Momma said...

Thank you for such a great idea! I needed this today!

TXDidi said...

Gorgeous sunset. I wouldn't have known how to fix my tire, either. I've always told my kids that when something like that happens and it's only you, it's a disaster but when others are along, it's an "adventure." Glad your adventure turned out fine.

Tabitha said...

Your "gift turkey" comment cracked me up!! We served my hubby's Thanksgiving turkey from his company for Christmas dinner! Anyway, lovely pictures, and so glad you got to spend so much time with family! What a blessing, I hope to never take that for granted--family really is everything. That and our health--which we had in abundance this week, too. "Good weeks" are always nice--and the not-so-good ones remind us to appreciate the good ones even more! Either way, it's great to be grateful! :)

Willow said...

Fun times driving! Glad you had a great Easter!

I am still traveling and so I'm not posting my fave fives this week. I'll be back next week!

Brook said...

What a precious gift to have your picture taken professionally, especially outside! Two family friends took pictures for our wedding and it was so much easier since I abhor having mine taken, but I forgot these two had their cameras, so they got some authentic shots. :)

Janet said...

I'm joining in a day late. Hope it's okay... I do love Fave-Fiving!

Those sunsets are glorious, and your family photoshoot sounds like a blast. I'm sure the fun will show up in the finished products.

Karyn said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful week! Love the sunset photos! I think sunsets are one of my favorite "God Gifts". When we lived in Louisiana the sunsets were one of the things I missed the most about home....hard to see the sunset when you live in the middle of a forest.

Glad you had such a good week, Susanne!

Mountain Mama said...

I love your sunset photos. They are just beautiful!

I think the Fave Five is a wonderful thing too. It certainly helps to see the positive side of our life.
I wish I had time to do it but I have been so busy in the yard I don't have much time for conputer right now.
Hope you are having a great week end!

Karen said...

Great idea to do a family photo. We've had exactly ONE done and it was when Em was a baby. If I can squeeze it in the next time my son is home, that would be a great idea.

So sorry about the flat tire. But, yes, the scenery was beautiful!

Sandra said...

I am so late on this, sorry I only came by now, I've been so sick since friday.

Loved your list, as always Susanne.

FlipFlop Mom said...

I always .. always love reading these from you!!! I love the positiveness!!!

Shalee said...

Ha! It must be turkey season because we pulled out the gift turkey from my work that I had thrown into the freezer and had it for dinner on Saturday. With a couple of different families and all the trimmings, we had a great Thanksgiving in Spring!

Shawna said...

Looking forward to seeing some of your new family pics, Susanne!