30. Chris, working.
29. My beautiful 17 year old.
28. The company of family.
27. Shopping with my funny, joyful, lovely 13 year old.
26. Family, Food, and traditions.

25. The upcoming 4 day weekend.
24. An approved Gold Award project.
23. Football!
22. A good Mother-in-law.
21. A winterized yard.
20. A canceled basketball tournament.
19. Children to take care of.
18. Highlights.
17. Help from Atlanta.
16. To be employed.
15. A clean house.
14. Jane, Pam, & Tracie.

Thankful for...

13. Old friends.
12. Watching Rae play basketball.
11. A day off!
10. A 16 year old that tells me all the drama of high school.
9. A long car ride home from a basketball game with Rae.
8. Baptism, small group and good creamed corn.
7. Helping others.

6. Even when it frustrates me, I am thankful I have a job.

Gratitude 2009

I am going to follow Confessions of a Craft Addict and post things I am grateful for during the month of November. Here's a link to her list.
5. Mama is headed home.
4. Thankful for two homemade dinners at my table in a row.
3. So thankful the "mass" was diverticulitis.
2. I have the time to go sit with Mama & Daddy at the hospital and a husband who takes care of home when I am not there.
1. The end of Daylight Saving Time and the extra hour of sleep it gives me.

So many things...

I have so many things in my head right now that I decided to put them down somewhere.

Things I'm thankful for:
God - This middle part of my life has brought a lot of questions into my life when it comes to religion. I'm working through it, but even in the midst of it I'm thankful for my Lord.
Kids - not just any kids. I have two really good kids who I enjoy more than I can express. They entertain me, give me purpose, and surprise me on a regular basis.
Husband - who puts up with me (no small task most of the time), helps keep me sane in what can be an insane life we share, and loves me through all of it.
Family - My Mom, Dad, and Sister still love me and do almost anything for me. That love is special.

Things I'm not proud of:
Organization - I have a real problem when things are out of order. I loose my temper when I cannot find things or when those people I love refuse to cling to order they way I do.
Exercise - I HATE it! I know I need it and I do it. My problem is the bad attitude I have about it.

Things I am proud of:
Strength - Several situations have shown me lately that my girls are strong and self confident. Any small part I played in that makes me very proud.
New skills - I have learned to knit, crochet, and sew. I'm making a little bit of time to do the things I like.
Home - My kids like our home, their friends like our home, we like our home.

Things I want:
Time - I would LOVE to have a stretch of time, days, weeks, months, where I could choose how I spend it. I guess I'm referring to retirement, but I can't really do that at 40.
Happiness - I so want my girls to be happy. I want to teach them about balance in life. Women have so many things to balance.

OK - Head's empty and I can return to work.

Lent

Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church, Lent was a foreign concept to me. On Monday my daughters came to me asking about Mardi Gras and Lent. I answered as fully as I could, but I really did not know. Tuesday I received a message from church describing Lent and how it is a 40 day preparation for Easter. Two references so close together made me think I should probably check this out a little more. I did a little more reading and decided to see if Chris was interested in us observing Lent this year. He was all for it. So for the first time this Southern Baptist raised girl is observing Lent, not necessarily in the traditional sense but our way. We are going to do the BCC Bible reading plan as a family and Chris and I are trying to refrain from using swear words.

Why are we doing this? I have always felt our celebration of Easter was lacking. It seems it has turned into a "candy" holiday. We've let this happen. I do not like it, and this is my way of changing it back to the religious observance it should be.

Christmas Knitting & Crocheting

A knit hat for Christy to match her fingerless mitts down below. I actually finished this one on Jan 1. The mitts were for Christmas and the hat was just to use up the left over yarn. But I think it turned out nicely. It was my first attempt at stripes.

Knit fingerless mitts for Jessye. She saw Christy's and loved them so during her visit this week I made her a pair. You cannot tell in the photo, but the yarn is white and gold. The gold was so stiff it made these much harder to knit. But the irregular yarn hid my new knitter mistakes well.

These are Rachel's fingerless mitts. They are crochet and were by far my favorite to make. So easy. The yarn is from Farmhouse yarns.

And finally Christy's knit fingerless mitts. I know there's only one in the photo. She's looking for the other one right now! These are sooooooo soft, made from cashmere yarn. We all love the way they feel.

It was fun making some of my Christmas presents. I already have plans to make my brother-in-law some fingerless gloves and a hat for his upcoming February birthday.

Update on Chris' Hunting Hat

The gift highlight for Christmas (for me) was the conversation I overheard between my husband and brother in law. The girls had just finished showing off their new fingerless mitts I made them, when Chris began telling the story of him loosing the hunting hat. Robbie looked very surprised. Seems he found a hat matching the description of Chris' missing hat a day or two after Chris lost it! In the woods, no less! So the hat has been returned! I'm so happy about that!!!