Friday's Fave Five #752

Hi everyone.  It's Friday and that's our day to intentionally slow ourselves enough to think about what was a blessing in our lives this week and that the time to be thankful and grateful.  We all lead busy lives.  Our culture not only encourages it but expects it.  In the running from one thing to another it can be so easy to lose sight of all the good blessings that actually make up our very ordinary days.  Even though all my "kids" are now adults, I find if I let myself, I can still get overly busy to the point of just existing on the merry go round.  I must push that "emergency stop button" and get off and intentionally looking for my blessings does just that.  It allows a pause in the busy, resets my focus and actually helps me to make decisions in line with my values.  But it has to be intentional as this world is only to glad to suck us into it's vortex of overly busy, always wanting, always searching for the next best thing craziness.  Looking for my blessings makes me see how much I really have to be thankful for.  Won't you join us as we develop the discipline of pausing to be grateful.

~ signs of fall ~ The signs of fall are definitely with us in my area.  One of my favorites is the leaves turning yellow against the gorgeous pure blue sky.  It just brings happiness looking at the lovely colors fall brings.  

~ new to me bird sighting ~ this was on a walk when we visited my daughter.  So technically not this week and not in my area but when I was looking through pics in my camera there it was.  I always get excited when I see a bird I haven't seen before out in the wild.  After putting the picture in Google it tells me they are Cormorants (probably the Double Crested Variety).  Spotting wildlife I've never seen before is always a blessing.  There is so much to this world God created. 

~ homemade salsa ~ I was gifted with a box of tomatoes from a Hutterite colony.  They were all pretty ripe so I had to use them right away.  A bunch has been giving us yummy toasted tomato sandwiches for lunch or sliced tomatoes for supper but a whole bunch went into making homemade salsa.  There is nothing like home made.  I don't can so I froze them into 2 cup containers and we'll enjoy lots of nachos with them through the winter.  This was just the first batch, I'll be making another this weekend.

~ Saturday matinee ~ Hubby and I have not been on a movie date, just the two of us since before covid.  This past Saturday we went to a noon showing of Mission Impossible:  Dead Reckoning pt 1.  Because it was noon the theatre only had a few other people there and the popcorn was fresh.  It was fun to have a date together at the movies after so long a hiatus.

~ open spot filled ~ a dayhome child graduating to kindergarten left an opening in my dayhome and this week it was filled.  I am thankful it was filled fairly quickly with not too much interviewing.  The interview process is always the most nerve wracking for me.  Most people only go through a few job interviews in their life time but as a home child care educator we are constantly in interviews with families.  It's not an easy process, I interview the families as much as they are interviewing me as we both try and determine if we are a good fit for each other.  But it's over and done and the spot is filled with a sweet 3 year old.  I can now breathe a bit easier again for a while.

What have been your favorite blessings from the last week?