Friday's Fave Five #621

Hi everyone.  Welcome once again to Friday's Fave Five.  It has been a crazy week here in most of Canada.  We are being slammed with a "polar vortex" and it is absolutely frigid.  So many areas in my province have hit record cold.  It is crazy, dangerous cold.  As I type it's -31*C with windchill taking it to -40*C (-24*F with windchill to -40*F).  So I think a lot of my favorites this week have to do with staying warm.  

~ Williams Sonoma Mulling Spices and Five Apple Cider ~   my son had gotten this as a gift for us Christmas before last and I was saving it for Easter 2020 when the whole family would be together.  Then covid hit and ruined all our plans and I told myself Thanksgiving and that came and went and I changed it to Christmas and that came and went without being able to celebrate together.  So with this frigid week I threw caution to the wind and cracked it open all for myself.  And I have been enjoying every sweet, spicy, hot drop.  It's delicious and perfect to warm me up in this cold. 

~ a place in the sun ~  it hasn't been sunny everyday but when it has I've been sitting in this spot when it hits the patio doors in the afternoon.  The sun coming through the glass door radiates a nice warmth for a short bit.  Long enough to read a chapter or two.

~ furry or sherpa knit throws ~  every evening covering up on the couch to watch a show or read a book calls for a nice warm blanket these days.  It's nice to have a variety of these soft throws to choose from

~ feather duvet ~ I like a cool room to sleep in but I love the warmth of our fluffy feather duvet.  Warmth without a ton of weight.  So grateful for it this week!

~ warm vehicles~  I haven't gone out much this week but when I have I was extra thankful for features in my car such as a really good heater, heated seats and heated steering wheel.   I know it's totally first world privileges but I am no less grateful.

What are the blessings in your life this week that you are thankful for?

 

Friday's Fave Five #617

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five!  Time to pause and reflect on the blessings in our lives the last week.  Are you ready to join in developing a life of noticing the good things and being thankful to God for them?  

~ books that I can't put down ~ I love when I hit upon a book that is so good I find it hard to put down, that I pick every time I have a spare minute just to get another page or chapter in, that I stay up past my bedtime because I just got read a bit more.  It's not often that I come upon stories that hit me like that but I have found one this week.  It's an older one but Winter Garden by Kristen Hanna has stole my heart and ripped it to shreds.  I'm still finishing it up so no spoilers please if you've read it!

~ gettin' 'er done ~ there has been some specific chores that have needed doing around the Living to Tell house that I have been avoiding for awhile.  I've been chipping away at them and I'm starting to see a bit of progress.  Which is encouraging and motivates me to keep at it.

~ hugs from little arms ~ one of the dayhome kids has been especially affectionate this week and has regularly run up to me and given me big hugs.  Don't know why it's happening but I'll take them.  There is something truly special when a child spontaneously gives you a piece of their affections.

~ finding a purchase I forgot about ~ I finished burning one of my favorite winter scents awhile back and until I went rooting thru the cupboard shelf that has my candles for something totally different,  I totally forgot I had purchased another at the end of the season last year.  I was a happy camper as there is none left of this  scent in the store until next season.  

~ great lotion at a great deal ~  On a trip to Winner's before Christmas I scored a favorite lotion in a scent I absolutely love for a great deal.  They are usually sold in salons for an arm and a leg but I got it for around half the price.  A couple days later I wished I would have bought another but of course they are out of them probably never to return.  I was sure kicking myself.  But when returning a sweater for my Mom to Marshalls this week, lo and behold, there they were.  Didn't hesitate whatsoever to grab another bottle. Great lotion with a great smell at a great deal.  Now that made me happy.

What were your 5 favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #614

Edit:  Mr. Linky is having some kind of issue this morning so if you like go ahead and leave your link in the comments

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Our little space on the internet to purposefully share 5 of our blessings from the past week and be thankful to God for them.  In doing so, we hope to cultivate a nature of thankfulness so that noticing those blessings becomes easier and more natural even in difficult circumstances or times.  Please join us.

~ moments of peace and quiet ~ if you are new here and don't know I have had a family dayhome for 30 years in my home.  My days are filled with kids, noise and activity.  So when I can notice a moment in the midst of it all and grasp a pocket of peace I try to savor it as much as possible.  That moment of silence when everyone decides they want to color and are doing it peacefully at the table, that moment I get to take a few sips of hot coffee before my cup gets put down and I need to go redirect, the moment a little comes for a cuddle, well you get the idea.  It is a bit of heaven in the middle of the day.

~ Barista Oat Milk ~ this fall I have been trying to cut back on my dairy because of some throat issues I have had.  If you know me, you know I love my dairy, so this has been a hard thing.  But I found this Barista Oat Milk that I really love to use instead of cream in my coffee.  It has a nice rich, thick feel to it and the taste does not overwhelm my coffee like coconut milk products do. And when I shake it really well it give a nice foam in the coffee too.  And if you are into steaming your milk for your coffee this Barista edition will not separate.  Finding this has been a huge blessing for me because I don't enjoy black coffee no matter how hard I've tried to get used to it, yet love my coffee with cream.

~ face time chats with Mom ~ technology.  Sometimes its a blessing and sometimes a curse but in the case of being able to "visit" with my mom in hospital it truly has been a blessing.  Alberta placed more restrictions a couple of weeks ago and one of them was only one visitor allowed in hospitals and it always has to be the same person.  Okay if the patient is only there a few days but going on 4 weeks with my mom it has been brutal.  But my sis and I connect live on our phones and my mom and I can have a quick chat.  Thankful for this technology in this case!

~ tree lights and coffee ~ I've been loving having my morning coffee sitting in the living room with just the tree lights on.  It's so beautiful and peaceful.  A perfect way to start the day.

~ costco money back ~ we finally decided to bite the bullet a year ago and get the credit card linked to this company and we are so glad we did.  We use it all over and pay off what we put on it right away but at the end of the year we get a nice little check back to spend at the store.  Helps with all those Christmas goodies!

I think Faith shared this thought on thankfulness somewhere and I loved it so much I saved it.  It really does sum up what I strive for in doing Friday's Fave Five.  I pray it is true in your life also.  

What are 5 blessing from the last week are you thankful for?

 

Friday's Fave Five #613

Hello and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Sharing 5 of our favorite blessings of the past week is how we are intentionally teaching ourselves to naturally keep our main focus of what good things God places into our lives so that we can develop grateful hearts.  Please join us.  If you are new the guidelines are linked in the sidebar.

So it's been quite a week around Living to Tell's parts.  Alberta is doing horrible right now in the Covid case department going into a second or third week with upwards of 1500 cases a day.  The Alberta government has brought in a boatload of tighter restrictions with all sorts of business' being once again shut.  Stores that get to stay open are only allowed 15% capacity so we'll be looking at lineups once again right when the weather is going to turn colder.  Masks are now provincially mandatory.  And there is no social gathering inside or outside.  That means for Christmas we are only allowed our own households.  Unless you live by yourself.  So that means it is highly unlikely two of our kids will be home for Christmas.  Our youngest is a student out of our city and so is allowed to come home because otherwise she would be by herself.  But in spite of all the hard stuff there are still bright spots to be thankful for.

~ healthcare workers and medical help ~  my mom is still in the hospital going onto it's 3rd week come Sunday.  It has been brutal because part of the restrictions that came down was hospital visitation has been reduced to one person that the patient (if they can) names.  Which is fine and dandy as long the patient was only in there a few days, but this has been an extended, longer term for my Mom.  So last Friday, the load of visiting my mom has fallen on my sister.  It has been really difficult and stressful, for her because she has to be there everyday and for me because I can't,  but at the same time we are so grateful that because she is in the hospital she is finally being assessed and helped with the debilitating pain she suffers from.  And we are so thankful for all the healthcare workers, that in spite of the scary time, are showing up everyday for work and working their tails off in the midst of all the extra stress and still manage to show loving care.

~ new bookstore ~ a gutsy husband and wife team, right in the middle of a pandemic, opened a little independent bookstore in town a couple of weeks ago.   It has been well received and I excitedly made my shopping appointment to go last Sunday.  It is charming and has such a cozy vibe with antique typewriters for decor, a fireplace with a couple of comfy chairs and a resident beautiful, friendly cat.  I bought a couple of books I've been wanting:  The Scent Keeper and The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek to support them and had a lovely time looking through all their shelves.  It's lovely to have a small, independent bookstore again in town.  

~ tree decorated ~  in spite of not really feeling the Christmas decorating at all this year for the first time ever, the tree went up last weekend.  It was a bit bittersweet as it was the first time that I have done it on my own.  Last year even tough Tamara was living elsewhere, she was in the city and still came home and decorated it with me.  But this year she is taking some courses out of town and wasn't around to come make it fun.  But I put on some Christmas music and soon the mood perked up and the tree got finished.  And now that it's up, it makes me happy.

~ bbq ~ we found a little bbq restaurant in a town about 1/2 an hour out from us that was getting rave reviews on facebook so we decided for our date night to take a drive out and bring home some bbq.  It was worth the drive and now we have another little "hole in the wall" kind of place to add to our list of faves.

~ Christmas candle ~ I have found a new brand of candle that I have been enjoying:  DW candles.  Marshalls/Homesense/Winners sells them around here.  So when I wanted a new Christmas scented candle I decided to see what they had.  They had quite a good selection of different Christmas-y scents but I finally settled on this one.  It smells so nice, like a walk in the woods on a cold, crisp day.  And it's not overpowering which I love.  Bonus for the lovely jar it came in and for being a decent price.

What were your favorite blessings that lifted you over the past week?

Friday's Fave Five #612

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  I missed last week but am glad to be back to take note of the blessings in my life.  Though the last couple of weeks have been emotional and difficult, there are so many good touches from God throughout and if I don't pause and take note I might let the difficult win the upper hand.  So here I am, happy about intentionally looking for the gifts in my everyday life.  Please join me. 

~ caring nurses ~ with Mom in the hospital I am so thankful for those nurses who are caring and kind. Their jobs are not easy right now.  They are stressed and run off their feet.  Our local hospital is almost at capacity right now with all sorts of restrictions.  Yet for the most part they have all been kind and gracious, answering our questions.

~ incredible weather ~ this week has seen incredibly warm weather in our city.  Today it reached 15*C (59*F)!  And no wind!  That is crazy warm for December!  I had my light fall jacket on outside with the kids today.  We've had lots of outside time soaking it all up.  January and February are predicting horribly cold and snowy so I'm very thankful for this opportunity to soak in the warmth.

~ little library finds ~ I love checking out the Little Free Libraries in my area, and there are quite a few!  In the last "tour" of my favorites I found quite a few books that are on my to read list.  All for free.  And then I always leave some books I no longer want hoping it will be well read by someone else.  

~ caring friends ~ after a huge inner struggle, I had to make the decision to step down from leading my church small group, at least for the time being.  It was one of the hardest decisions ever.  But these wonderful ladies that I call friends are still a huge blessing.  Just this week, one of them arranged a zoom meeting just so they could touch base and we could pray together for my mom.  That more to me than they can imagine. 

~christmas lights ~  they are starting to turn up around the city.  I just love looking at them and they bring back such fun memories as a kid.  Back then most people had a string on their homes and most were simple but most houses were lit.  Now they seem fewer and farther between every year but a lot of people that do have them really go over the top.  I think I prefer more houses decorated in a simpler way.  What do you like?

What are your favorite blessings from the past week?

Friday's Fave Five #611

Hello and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Our little corner of the internet where we are training ourselves to look for the blessings in our lives no matter what is going on.  Won't you join us in being intentional to take note of the good things God sends our way?

I will be doing my post later today.  It's been an insane and emotional week starting with a COVID test for me on Sunday, to a hard appointment for my Mom on Monday and culminating with an ER trip for my Dad.  And last night I was prepping for a phone call appointment with my Mom's doctor later today.  I have to write everything down because we're allotted only 10 minutes and that time goes really fast.  My brain is starting to scream "Time Out".  So I won't get a post up tonight but will join you all tomorrow.   Mr. Linky is up so please go ahead and link your own FFF post.  I'll catch up with you all. 

UPDATED:

Okay grabbing a few minutes here, hopefully I can get 5 done!  If nothing else I am learning to go with the flow of what life is handing me right now.  I can rage against the inconvenience and interruption of it all and become stressed and see nothing but problems or I can relax in it, take one step at a time to move forward and keep my eyes open for those blessings which I know are there.  The secret is to keep looking.

~ negative covid test ~ last Sunday saw me going into the third day of a headache which advil was not helping, which is not normal for me.  And having a bit of a stuffy nose in the mornings, which can be normal.  It was very stressful as I had to go to church to receive the Operation Christmas Child boxes and pray over them.  But if this was something related to covid I certainly did not want to make my church members have to end up quarantining!  This darn uncertainity is so stressful. i ended up making a call to the province's COVID line and their recommendation because it was a secondary symptom was to either isolate until it resolves or go for a test.  So Sunday afternoon I went for the test, called in a sick day for Monday and sat and cried about not being able to do what is passion at church.   But 28 hours later my test results, thankfully, came back negative and by Monday afternoon the headache was gone.  The blessing in that rambling story is, of course, the negative test result but also the understanding and encouragement of so many people.  The person I called to tell them I couldn't come to church, the person who stepped in and did my job for me, the understanding and sweet words of all my parents in dayhome, and my sis taking on so many extra shifts with helping my mom.  Grateful for them all.

~ compassionate nurse in charge ~ there was a couple of things that happened with Dad's er visit that we lacked understanding on.   So rather than get angry or make assumptions  it was decided  I would inquire and I called and talked to the head of the nursing department in er and though she wasn't on shift she graciously took the time to find out what went on and then explained everything to me.  I'm so thankful for compassionate, caring medical staff even in the midst of their crazy hard days right now.

~ pizza with cauliflower crust ~  one of my favorite foods is pizza and hubby makes sure we have it on a regular takeout basis.  This last Friday we thought we'd try the cauliflower crust from one of our usual places because we're trying to cut our carbs.  I was a bit skeptical and so ordered a regular crust too in case we hated it.  But it turned out it was delicious and we will be getting it again. 

~ soup ~ with the colder weather, and the busyness of my life right now, I seem to have turned to soups a lot lately.  In the past couple of weeks I've made Hungarian Goulash, Tortellini Vegetable and Turkey soup.  And we've enjoyed every spoonful!

~ Christmas movies ~ This last week I've enjoyed a couple of Christmas movies.  Though not a person who has to watch every single one, I have turned them on early this year because they are a nice escape and that is what I needed this week.  Reading has been a bit tough cause my mind was too full but the happy cheesiness of the movies fit the bill.

What were your favorite blessings that you appreciated this week?

Friday's Fave Five #610

Welcome to another Friday and another day to look back over the week and find those blessings that God has brought into our lives.  Please join us and share five of your favorites.

~ simple recipes ~ found a super simple chicken recipe that will make be a keeper.  It took minutes to put together and was delicious.  

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

5-6 chicken breast 

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Mix ingredients all ingredients except chicken.  Place chicken breasts on greased baking sheet.  Spread mayo mixture evenly onto the chicken.  Bake for 45 mins. 

That's it.  Easy peasy.  Everyone loved it.  And that makes it a favorite.

~ consideration ~ we had a crazy blizzard here over the weekend.  So crazy that the school district actually called a snow day for Monday on Sunday night.  If you know our school district it's got to be bad if they call a snow day and usually they hum and haw about it right up until some students have already arrived at school and then have to turn around and go home.  So for them to call it Sunday night?  It was bad.  Anyway, I didn't close.  But I had a wonderful parent who after they dropped the child off texted me back and said that if he was the only one to not hesitate to call them and they'd come back and pick him up so I could have a snow day too.  Turns out he wasn't the only one who came but I really appreciated the consideration.

~ hot tea on cold, blustery nights ~ a hot cup of herbal tea has hit the spot after dinner on these cold nights.  I also find it helps to keep me from munching.  The favorite this week has been peppermint.  I love peppermint tea.

~ winter tires ~  we never used to purchase winter tires before but when we got our new to us car in February it came with winter tires.  In this last storm, I really noticed the difference it makes.  Thankful to have them this year.

~ heated steering wheel ~   this is a totally spoiled thing but boy I sure am loving it.  The feature came with the car, it's not something we sought out, but for someone who always has cold hands in the car in the winter and now add aching hands from carpal tunnel and probably a bit of arthritis and over use from lifting kids all the time and that heated steering wheel feels oh, so good.  

What have been your favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #609

Thank you everyone, for understanding my lack of a post and visiting yours last week.  It's been stressful and emotional this week but I think things have found their way into a doable rhythm once more.  I really missed doing up a post and going around to visit all yours but I tried to stay mindful of the blessings in my life in spite of not getting to recording them here.  But this is a new week so on we go to this last week's blessings from God.

~blessed rest ~ I'm very thankful for a hubby who encourages me to rest when he sees I've had a rough, exhausting week.  He sees the value of slowing down and in doing something enjoyable , even if it's just sitting in jammies and havMing a extra coffee or two.  I'm very grateful for that because I tend to be a go, go, go person and don't tend to notice that I've reached a not good place because of it.  I'm grateful for his balancing me.

~ good news ~  my child care family who had an exposure to COVID came through their isolation healthy and negative.  I was so thankful for that, both for them and for me. 

~ the crunch and smell of leaves ~  we've had lots of time this week to play in the fall leaves with the dayhome kids.  It's always something we all look forward to, thi kids love it and so do I.  As I raked them up yesterday in preparation for the predicted snow today, I let myself take a moment to enjoy the wonderful smell and crunch of them as I raked and bagged.  To me is so relaxing and pleasurable.  

~ flower beds all prepped for their winter sleep ~  this made the favorites list because it's a chore I don't enjoy doing.  And sometimes I've procrastinated with for way too long and then I have the cleanup job in the spring.  But this year it is all done.  And that makes me happy.

~ little local bakeries ~  for many years it seemed in my city the fate of the little neighborhood bakery was grim as the big grocery stores got bakeries of their own and offered baked goods at better deals causing so many local ones to shut their doors.  But they seem to now be making a comeback and I really do enjoy buying from them so much better.  Hubby blessed me with one of favorite desserts, a vanilla slice, from our neighborhood bakery when he picked up some delicious bread this morning.  

What have been your favorite blessings from the last week?

Friday's Fave Five #607

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  My post is going to be short and sweet this week.  I have injured my wrist and it makes typing for any length of time painful and hard.  If you are new and want to know about FFF, please use the link  in the sidebar.  Otherwise thanks everyone for joining in yet another week.

~ for when that chocolate craving hits ~  found this at Costco.  Quality 70% chocolate, almonds, pistachios, cranberries, hemp protein, low in sugar. How could I resist?  I'm glad I didn't because they are awesome.  And Faith, they are vegan!  

JoJo's Guilt Free Chocolate

~ for the cold winter nights ~I know it's still fall but we're having a winter preview and it's cold and snowing here this week so my feather duvet is now on the bed.  And it's gloriously warm and comfortable.  

~ for when I'm thirsty ~  Root Beer sparkling water.  Yes, it's now a thing.  And I love it.  It's so new I couldn't find a picture or link.

~ for when I needed encouragement ~ on a tough day this week I received the most perfectly uplifting, encouraging text from a dayhome parent.

~ for when I need to escape ~ a good book.  This month I've been reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.  Really good.  

What were your favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #606

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  I was thinking of the words intentional and habit tonight as I was starting to type this post.  I tend to use them a lot in my attempts at encouraging those who might read the FFF post to pause in their busy lives and take notice of the blessings that God has brought their way in the last week.  It also described what I was trying oh so hard to do in my own life.  But tonight I actually decided to look up those words.  I love looking up definitions because sometimes I think a word may mean something and then I find it goes so much deeper even than I thought.  So upon looking up intentional it basically defined it to be what I thought:  done on purpose and deliberate.  And that is what we do here.  We are deliberate in taking this small amount of time each week to look for our blessings and to share 5 of them.  Then I looked up habit and this is where it became interesting, especially in light of the difficult week that I have had.  Habit has a few definitions but for our purposes these are the ones that stood out:  "1) A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.  2)  An acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.

And a light went off.  Have I got to the point where I have become so deliberate that this weekly practice has become hard to give up?  Have I acquired enough of this behavior over all the years of doing these posts that looking for blessings in my life and being grateful for them has become involuntary?  I'll not lie.  Sometimes when I'm exhausted and I've yet to write a single word, it is hard.  When I've had a rough week, it might take a bit longer.  When I've had what I consider a mundane, slogging through the everyday kind of week it takes more effort.  But I can say without a doubt it has been hard to give up.  The benefits of taking note of what is good, what is uplifting and what brings joy and then being thankful for them in my life far outweigh the effort it might take some weeks to look.  I want my goal to be not just looking for these weekly but for it to become my "involuntary mode of behavior" on a daily basis. I want to see God's hand in my life.   I just want to say "Thank you" for joining me for any part of these last 605 posts.  

Just some rambling thoughts I had tonight about the FFF.  It's been a rough week for me, with my mom requiring a couple of er visits.  My body is tired, my brain is overwhelmed but I cannot give up looking for where God has brought things that lift me up throughout the week.  So onto picking 5.

~ thanksgiving weekend ~ It was thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  And it was very different than most Thanksgivings we have had.  Usually there is at least 10 people crammed around the table with a great variety of yummy food.  This year there was 3.  Only my youngest daughter could make it home.  It was oh so quiet.  And I missed all the family gathered around.  But I also found the blessing in the much less stressful cooking day on a weekend that already had a bunch of stress in it.  We still had turkey but it was just so much more relaxed.  I wasn't stressed about cleaning the house or setting a nice table or doing up a whole variety of sides.  No  big table to set up for food, we just served ourselves out of the pots.  It was a lovely meal with just us three. Later in the day we snapchat videoed with my other daughter & took over some turkey for my mom.  And dare I say it was wonderful not having a mountain of dishes, pots and pans?  

My son teased me that even though there was only the 3 of us I still had to take a Thanksgiving selfie to mark the holiday.  

~ beautiful fall color ~ I have been loving the gorgeous fall color on my buckeye tree this year.  This is the reason I chose this tree.  The oranges and reds are amazing.  It has been the perfect weather for it and the colors really popped this year.  Last year we had that horrid blizzard that basically killed the leaves that had not yet turned color and they just ended up dead and grey/black.  But this year it is ablaze and a feast for the eyes.  

~ blessing of a meal ~ when I had to cancel small group this week due to a revisit with Mom to er, one of the ladies who attends brought supper over for us knowing it was going to be a stressful day.  What a blessing that turned out to be.  I didn't get home until just before 6 after being gone all day.  Physically tired and emotionally spent, making supper would have been a no go.  But it was there, ready and waiting when I got home.  So thankful for her care and compassion.

~ containers cleaned ~ I got a fall chore off the to do list done!  Sometimes I get busy or lazy or just leave it for too late and the cold weather or snow is upon me and I haven't cleaned out the summer's flowers from their containers.  But yesterday while the dayhome kids played I managed to get them all cleared of their plants and put away for the winter before the snow storm that is coming this weekend hits us.  Today I'll just have the flower garden by the driveway and I'm done.  Feels good to have this chore out of the way.  And for my efforts I got a nice mason jar of sweetheart geraniums from my monster bushes that I mentioned last FFF to enjoy for another few days. 

~ short work week ~ With it being Thanksgiving on Monday I had used my last holiday day from the summer and took Tuesday off also.  When I booked that in the summer upon reopening after the COVID shutdowns, I had in mind a nice extra day to rest after a houseful of people.  I had hummed and hawwed trying to decide whether I should take the Friday or the Tuesday but finally made the Tuesday decision.   But as it turned out it was a day that I had to use to take my mom back to er.  Who but God would know that I would need that day for that and because I already had it booked off I didn't have to feel any guilt for leaving parents in the lurch with no dayhome available at the last minute.  And it left me with only 3 days of having work before the weekend.  Very thankful for that this week.  

What have been the blessings that stood out to you in your week?

Friday's Fave Five #605

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  We are a little community of people trying to intentionally keep our focus on the daily blessings that God brings into our lives.  By taking a pause in our busyness we can look and see where we were lifted up, blessed and carried in our everyday.  Sometimes in the chaos of the week those blessings can slip by without even notice never mind being thankful or grateful for them.  Please join us in intentionally finding blessing and being grateful to God for them.

 

~glorious fall weather~ It has been absolutely gorgeous weather here in Southern Alberta.  Tuesday was 26*C (79*F)!!  The night's are cold and it takes until afternoon for it to hit that kind of temp but it sure has been nice.  Now in Southern Alberta sometimes we pay for that kind of warmth in the fall with some major wind and though we have had some of those days for the most part it has been quite calm.  I'm thankful for every day of this as it allows me to get outside with the little ones as much as possible.  

~day trip to the mountains~  We decided on Sunday that we needed a day trip to get away from a stressful week and refresh our hearts and minds.  I am so glad we did.  I don't recall ever going this late in the year and the fall colors were breathtaking.  Unlike the last 2 times this summer we went to Waterton, it wasn't crazy packed with people.  Most of the businesses were already boarded up for the winter.  Only a small handful were still open.  The atmosphere was so calm compared to the crowded tourist town chaos it usually is.  We walked a new trail we had never done before.  It was gorgeous though a little nerve wracking as it's the season where the bears are filling up on berries before hibernation so the chance of a bear encounter is high.  Once we passed the first waterfall we were pretty much on our own without too many people around.  We made sure to keep our eyes open all around us.  I'm thankful we live so close to such a gorgeous mountain destination.  

~ never ending rosebud geranium ~ This picture of my rosebud geraniums was actually taken a couple of days ago.  I cannot believe how massive they got.  This started as three little ol' plants.  Now they look like a massive bush in my entry.  I actually had to move them more toward the wall so that people could get by them on the steps.  And they are still blooming flowers and we're a week into October.  My neighbor asked if she could have a couple cuttings to keep over winter and so she's taken some for me too so hopefully if all goes well I'll have them next year again.

~ cute crafts ~ I like crafting with the dayhome kids but during the summer it kinda goes by the wayside in favor of visiting playgrounds and playing in the wading pool.  Come fall though, the crafting starts again.  We made these cute owls and every time I see the picture it makes me smile.  I love watching the kids when you let them just go and be creative with minimal instructions.  They have so much fun and are so proud.

~ tea time ~ Come fall another blessing I enjoy is a quiet cup of hot tea in the evenings.  It's relaxing to me and it helps me not to snack the evenings away.  Right now I'm enjoy a nice herbal chai.  

Well, this weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada.  I have also taken Tuesday off as my last vacation day left from summer.  I'm looking forward to some rest.  It's been quite a chaotic, stressful work month.  I'm hoping some of my kids show up for Thanksgiving though we are not sure with COVID and all.  We're playing it by ear.  If not, we'll all just rest and relax in our perspective cities and maybe do some facetime.  If the weather holds out, it may be a steak bbq instead of turkey!  Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

What were your favorite blessings from the last week?