Friday's Fave Five #553

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  We are here to notice the miracles and blessings in our week, whether they be big and obvious, or whether are smaller or quieter.  Please join us in being intentional noticing the good things in our lives from God and being grateful for them.

It's been a wild week here at Living to Tell.  If you missed our glorious fall weather event you can go here to be shocked.   LOL.  So I'm sure you won't be too surprised when most, if not all my favorite blessings will have somehow been inspired by the crazy storm.  It's kind of amazing how much we take for granted and it takes a bit of shake up like a weather event to make one realized just how blessed we are in this country (with my country being Canada).

1.  Shelter.  With the crazy storm, I was reminded how very thankful I am for my home.  A roof over our heads, walls to surround us.  How very aware it made me that not everyone in my city has this.  I know the shelters were probably brimming with people and even though the stores in the mall were closed they kept the mall doors open in case anyone needed shelter.

2.  Forewarning.  Thanks to our meteorologists we had warning that a storm was coming.  I think we were surprised at the severity and amount of snow that dumped in such a short time and how it ended up literally shutting down the city but with that warning we could prepare.  We had time to stock up on grocery items, fill the car with gas (not that we could go anywhere, Haha) and change plans if we had to.  So thankful for that.

3.  Electricity.  Nothing like a good ol' power outage in the middle of a winter storm to make one realize just how much we depend on electricity in our lives.  Our power cut out for close to an hour and a half on Monday morning.   Gone was the central heating, the electric fireplace, the stove, the microwave, the tv, netflix, computers, chargers and land line phone.  It's kinda scary how much we rely on electricity to survive.   So thankful it was restored before we really did start to feel it.

4.  Hard working hubby who got out there and was shoveling our great big driveway and sidewalk in case any of my  families showed up.  The snow was so heavy and there was so much of it it took him a couple of hours.  Very thankful for my hardworking man.

5.  The opportunity of relaxation.  Funny how it takes a storm to force one to slow down and just relax for a few days, and realize just how much crazy running around we do on a weekend.  We couldn't go anywhere so no shopping, no gym, no grocery runs.  We relaxed, cooked comfort food, popped popcorn, watched movies and read books.  And some of us even grabbed a nap or two.  It really was nice to have that time and option to just do nothing.

A bonus fave:  I'm thankful to all the employees who were out in that storm trying to clear priority routes and restore power, all the police and EMS and firefighters who still had to work their shifts.  They were definitely a blessing.

And after all that in typical Southern Alberta style it is supposed to be 17*C (63*F) on Monday so sunshine and warmth are coming back for more of a normal fall experience.

And don't forget to be thankful for them.

What were your favorite blessings from the past week?