GladiMonday

My sweet friend Gretchen of the West usually posts her Gladitudes at some point in the middle of week.

Since I am having a severe lack of things to say (or at least things to say in a well written manner) I am going to (for once) be ahead of the game and post a top ten list of things that make me happy in this month of May.

1. So glad for new friends, and fresh produce. My neighbor and I went to the farmers market this weekend. I got a dozen beautiful brown eggs, mixed salad greens, Bibb lettuce and fresh baked bread from the Empty Nest Baker . They all taste amazing. My goal for this summer is to buy all my eggs and produce (that I can't pick from my garden) from local farmers.

2. So glad to reconnect with an old and dear friend. Meg and I were friends in college and she has recently moved into the area. She was in my wedding, but when I moved away we lost contact. I can't even believe that she lives so close, but I am so grateful. I just love her and its fun to spend time with her.

3. So glad that this month I will get to celebrate 15 years of marriage. As well as...

4. ...Celebrate the wedding of a girl who I have watched grow up. As a matter of fact, we've watched each other grow up!

The little girl in the floral dress on the far left, will be the bride. I've loved this girl and her family for well over 20 years...before she was walking....before I had a drivers license.

She (and her sister, also in a floral dress) participated in my wedding, and fifteen years and three days later I will be watching with great joy as she and her fiance exchange vows at sunset.

So very grateful.

5. So glad that I got tickets to Wicked the Musical six months ago. The show has been sold out for weeks. The Girl doesn't know it, but I am going to take her next week to see it. She will be so. very. excited!

6. Exceedingly grateful for good books: I am reading several books right now (I can never read just one at a time) but I am finishing up a book written in the late 1800's called Stepping Heavenward  by Elizabeth Prentiss. I've read it several times, but it is a book all women should read. I'm also finishing up a book called Bruchko  by Bruce Olson about a missionary to the Motilone Indians. Lest you think that I am all business in my book reading, I finished Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me?  last week. It's fluff, but its a good story. I recommend it, but I'll warn you that Kinsella has a tendency to use a foul and famous "f" word (in all her books) when it isn't always necessary.

7. I'm glad that school is nearly over. Only three weeks left!

8. I'm glad that The Mister has made great strides on the tree-house. He's doing a great job and I can't wait to see the kids playing in it!

9. So VERY glad that Clinton the Embroidery Machine in still on warranty and will go to the doctor on Wednesday, free of charge. He hasn't been behaving in several months and I have done all I know how to do. The only bad thing is that I'll have to drive him all the way to Raleigh and leave him there for a two-week stay.  But hopefully we can get him running at his full potential again.

10. (Looking to the future....) if you are local (and not an axe murderer) and want to meet in the capitol city on Wednesday for lunch, email me and I will be glad to tell you where I will be!

Happy Monday!

GladiTuesday!

1. I am grateful that I am remembering my Gladitudes on a Tuesday, instead of on a Friday.

2. So grateful for good books and the time to read them.

3. I'm grateful for music. Lately I've been playing JJ Heller's "Your Hand's" and "Invisible Love" on a loop on my iPod.


4. I'm grateful for good health and a strong body. I went running this morning for the first time in a month. The weather has been too cold for out door running. It was hard, but I am grateful for Strength in weakness.

5. I am grateful for good news I received this week.

6. I am thankful that we are on the cusp of spring. There may be a few cold snaps here and there, but spring will come....and in North Carolina its worth the cold slumber of winter for the breathtaking beauty of spring.

7. I am thankful for kids who enjoy reading...even though sometimes they read when they should be doing other things....like chores, or getting ready for basketball, or when its time to go to bed.

8. I am glad that I am finally finished reading Leviticus.

9. I am glad that ladies bible study is tonight and that I get to spend the evening with my friends.

10. I am thankful for you. I love the doors of friendship that this blog has opened up. I hope that this afternoon will lend itself some time to catch up on the blog reader (and maybe Facebook too?)! I feel a little out of touch!

What about you? What are you glad about/thankful for today?

Missing You

Just thought I would check in...

Its been a crazy couple of weeks and I am using this time to regroup, get organized, and to get my focus back on the true Spirit of Christmas.

For those who have emailed and asked about Marie. She is still in the hospital. She ended up having major surgery and had some complications afterward. Please pray that the procedures they have done (and redone!) will work; pray that M will be free of pain and that she will get to go home soon. She appreciates your prayers more than you know!

I'm trying not to get worried over the (approaching) 400 posts in my Google Reader and just focus on finishing up all the things that must get done before the end of the year. There are too many things to list....so instead I'll join Gretchen in a short Glatitude List.

1. I am grateful for this lunch I am eating.

2. I am grateful for the friends and family that I am thinking about as I address these envelopes.

3. I am thankful for the cold weather and my ability to be in a warm home.

4. I am thankful that I serve a creative God and get to participate in His gift of creativeness.

 5. I am thankful for John 1:4....and the perspective it brings as we celebrate the birth of a Savior.

Happy GladiTuesday!

Gladitudes: The Weekend

I'm participating in Gretchen's Glatitudes today. 

Here is my Gladitudes list:

10. Glad that in the midst of a busy weekend, The Mister and I were able to have several great conversations.

9. Glad that my garden is starting to look like it might actually produce something other than weeds. I'm pretty sure I am going to have some cucumbers, sweet peas, and tomatoes sometime this summer.

8. Glad the devotion I led on Sunday evening (at a bridal shower) went well. And that when the hostess asked me to bring my guitar I brought it (even though I hadn't picked it up since Christmas, and thought about "forgetting" to bring it).  It ended up being a really precious time of worship. I would have really been sad to have missed it...rusty fingers and all.

7. So excited for friends who will be married next Saturday. The reception is a luau! How fun is that? Glad I'm finally going to get to wear my Hawaiian shirt again.

6. Glad that The Girl and I gave each other pedicures yesterday. And that we went to see the play The Matchmaker together on Friday night! The high schoolers did incredibly well!

5. Glad my knees are feeling better after abstaining from running for almost four days (even though I did complain to my Physical Therapist about it. For some reason he keeps saying something about my being non-compliant. What?)

4. Glad that when my husband (aka: Physical Therapist) taught Sunday school on 2 Corinthians Four he smiled at me when he read the 16th verse:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

I guess what he was saying is that it sucks to get old (knees included), but there is always the hope of eternity!  :)

3. Glad that I get to see the TheCarpoolQueen  and her BFF Whimzie in just 10 days!!! Not that I'm excited or anything.

2. Glad for dinner with friends on Saturday night.

1. Glad for a full weekend, and a full week ahead....

Happy Monday!