Thankfulness

I have so much to be thankful for. A Father that has truly given me the needed strength to pull through all that has happened, that has provided in times when I wasn't sure what I was going to do and that has given me love and assurance that all will be just fine. There's my family, I'm thankful that Blake and Erika are staying strong in their marriage and for the two wonderful grandchildren that have come from their union. They're truly doing an awesome job in raising them! I'm thankful for Christina growing up to be quite the lady and that she's listening to our Father's guiding. I know it's a struggle but she continues to push forward. There's the many friends that have been there for us over the last (almost) five year and for that I'm truly thankful! I truly don't know what I would have done at times if I hadn't had someone to call and talk to! Clients that have put up with me! :) I do love my clients and there's many of them that I've become good friends with over the years. I truly feel quite blessed! Thank you to all that have been there for my family! I don't say it near enough but you're all very much appreciated!!

One thing that I've heard several times recently is the need to have a thankful heart. Without thankfulness and gratitude the negative tends to forefront and who wants to be around a negative person??

Compost bin it is!!

I got the yard taken care of this afternoon. Final leaves raked, final lawn mow, bury the pots in leaves and hope they last the winter, pull the pepper plants, undo the hoses and last but not least pull the potatoes out of the compost bin.

We were lucky in this area in that we get an east wind that kept us from freezing. Thus the peppers survived! Now it can freeze. :) We'll see if it does because the east wind is supposed to pick back up Wednesday and continue through the weekend. Portland itself has had a freeze since the east wind didn't reach there. The rain started just as I finished! Perfect timing!!

I'm going to repost the potato plants that were growing and then post what I found. There could very well be some more buried in it but hopefully they'll come up next year! :)

Tree is empty of leaves, leaves are raked and lawn mowed! I think this is the first year I've got it all done!

I'm glad I went ahead and left them! Picked about 10 of them and pulled the plants.

Fuchsia's are still going!

These were my potato plants

If only I had a few more months!

This was the take from the compost bin! I do believe this is where I'll plant my potatoes from now on! :)

Yea! Mt. Hood has snow!!

A Tad Frustrated

So I got on line and did the application for my health insurance today.... Only to find out that they actually take the first months insurance payment (for January) WHEN you application is accepted! OUCH!!!! There went my budget flying right out the window for the month! Sigh.... So for those that are self insured in the US and applying for a new policy, be prepared to pay the first month this month or next month and not in January.

Tuesday evening we had some unreal rain for this area. It was just sheeting rain. Unfortunately I was on my way home from a clients and got caught in the middle of it. I've never seen it rain so hard here. We crept along and did our best to make sure we stayed in our lanes. Luckily everyone was driving properly! It's been pretty wet the last two weeks but it sound like it'll be dry starting tomorrow. And we might get our first freeze Saturday morning. This is good since Christina moves Saturday. My baby is all grown up! :) And officially hits adulthood Sunday. Where does the time go??

A thought that I haven't been able to forget is that I'm not measured by what I've done for my Father, I'm measured by what I've withheld from my Father. Am I withholding willing obedience in an area because I want to do something my way?  Needless to say that does absolutely no good and only brings unrest.

Good weekend

It was good to get down to Uncle Frank's funeral this weekend. As always happens with funerals you get to see family that you haven't seen in who knows how many years. I have the best mother-in-law! She offered to share her hotel room with us so we wouldn't have to drive Saturday night. It made for tight quarters with her, Erika, Christina and I but wasn't too bad at all! We had a wonderful view from the room of the South Umpqua River. (See below) It was so very nice this morning. We saw our cousin Larry and a couple of his grandkids at our Sunday morning gathering. Many familiar faces of people I haven't seen in a long time! We are all struggling on! We saw a whole bunch of rainbows on our trip up today. Even a couple of double one's! The thought came to me this evening that I've appreciated. Without the rain (icky weather) there can be no rainbow. We heard this morning that there WILL be tests. Those icky times are often our tests but if I'm willing to leave it in my Father's hands and be willing then there will be a rainbow (joy) at the end.

It went well with Teagan Friday night/Saturday morning. She absolutely loves taking a bath. Give her a few cottage cheese containers with lids, a cup, a spoon with lots of bubble bath and she is one happy camper for a good hour! She is also very good at the memory card game. But boy is she a restless sleeper! It probably didn't help being in a new place! She takes after her mama and auntie there!!

Now for another busy week! I'm glad to be busy but I tell you, it's tough sometimes!

Our view from our motel room

Gorgeous Rainbows

Tegan Concentrating 

Go under my leg grandma!

Tegan being silly. :)

Uncle Frank's Funeral and more

It's Saturday at 2 pm in Roseburg at Faith Luthern. It's hard to believe that he is gone! The best way I can describe him is he was a sweet man with a very big heart. And the accordion, he loved playing the accordion!

I went over to Erika and Blake's tonight and watched the girls for a couple of hours. Poor Scarlet is in the 'I don't want mama to leave' stage. So it took a little bit to settle her down. Then she did just fine!! :) Teagan really impressed me tonight! She said that there were two dogs, two kids and one adult so I asked her how many that was total and she immediately said five! Then she started counting each one of us and then said yep, five. Considering she's 3 1/2 that's pretty good!! I've posted some pictures below. :)  I'll have her for an overnight stay Friday night. It'll be her first time her overnight here so it'll be interesting to see how it goes! She's getting to be such a big girl. Although Blake said she likes to wake up at 6! Hmm... guess I'll need to get to bed at a decent time!

And it was a very productive day! Leaves got raked, lawn got mowed, gutter's and roof got cleaned and checked on for leaves. And I'm so glad I'm seeing my Bowenworks lady tomorrow! :) But the outside is done! At least for a couple of weeks!! Garlic that I planted is coming up but nothing else. It was worth a shot to see what would happen with the lettuce, broccoli and swiss chard. I'll just have to wait for spring!

What are we going to make?

Teagan's finished project!

Scarlett saying Cheese! :)

Teagan, puppy, me and Scarlett. Everybody wanted the lap at once! So it was time for a group picture. :)

Score!

I went to the Red White and Blue store today and found a nice set of pans. The ones I have are really starting to wear out. The nonstick coating is coming off and I really don't think that's real good for our health! That gotten taken care of today! The lid came with the large pan. Total was $18! I also found a new purse there. I think this is literally a new purse. There is absolutely no sign of wear. It's also very similar to what I've been looking at for years in catalogs but wasn't willing to pay the price. It was $3! About every other year or so I'll go there for a new purse. They've always ran around $3. There are 9 states that have stores in the US. Here in Oregon they are very reasonable. Much better prices then Goodwill!!

Sad day...

I got news today that Uncle Frank (Dave's uncle) passed away. He was truly a wonderful man with a big heart. I will most certainly miss him and sure am thinking of Aunt Pat and his family!