thankful #7

These are some of my greatest joy in this life.


I am thankful for each and every one.


Each one is my favorite.


Each one teaches me so much.


What a great blessing to love and be loved by such great kids.


I am thankful for the joy that is mine.

thankful #6 a good boot in the butt

When you get older, it is so very easy to slow down, simplify, and become set in a routine and to become( lets face it )downright booooring.

that's when you need a good boot in the butt to liven things up.

my boot is grandkids.

We have them in all sizes, ages, temperments and attitudes. When they are around anything is possible. It is great. There is all kinds of laughter (directed in both directions) There are fun movies to watch together (even if you have seen them a dozen times), books to be shared (my grandkids got me into Harry Potter, Twilight, and numerous others I would have missed out on), updates on what is new in life, new ways to use toys, new artwork made to display, hugs and wet kisses given freely or taken under protest, new cell phone usage learned, the list is endless when you have young people around.

Lets face it, we couldn't handle it all, all of the time, but boy is it fun to have a regular dose of young people to keep your perspective in the right place.

I love a good boot in the butt. I needed that.

thankful for #5

What do you get when you are doing a family photo shoot with over 30 people and 18 of that number being kids of all ages. You would think it would be total chaos and bedlum.

I am thankful for just downright good kids and for the parents who are raising them.

they had to wait for long periods of time, stay close and stay clean at all cost. they had to pose and sit close to siblings and look happy. many were tired and hungry (oh that was the adults) anyway, we all survived and accomplished the goal of family and individual pictures.

Next photo shoot we need matching t-shirts that say we all survived having our pictures taken.

coming soon, the results of all that effort

thankful #4

I am thankful to live in a country where traditionally and culturally we help one another.
It was wonderful to see the outpouring of support and help that has been and still is being given. People came from numerous states and even some far away to lend a hand.
Many companies gave money, supplies, equipment and workers.
Churches organized and individuals from all walks of life showed up to do their part.
We are blessed as a country, a state and a local community for the outpouring of love, help and support from so many sources.

thankful #3

I am so very thankful for the years spent going to Young Women Camp and for the equipment that was bought for those occassions that came in handy when there was no electricity for so many days.

after the storms, thankful #2

A friend shared a quote with me years ago about worry. It says, if money can fix it, it isn't something to worry about.

I was out of town when the recent tornadoes hit. Being far away was hard until I got word that all of my family were OK. Once I knew that they were alright, I didn't need to worry.

You can repair, rebuild or replace a house, you can't replace the people in your life with any amount of money.

#2 I am thankful I don't need to worry.

after the storm, thankful #1

I am thankful for family, for their safety, for the love and support shown to each other, for prayer and strength gained to make it through the after math, for renewed faith in a Heavenly Father and His presence and hand in our daily lives.

Who would have thought?

I have never been a cat person. I have not be much of an animal person at all. I would never intentionally harm or hurt an animal but didn't feel the need for one and certainly not several in my life.

When we moved into our present home, it came with two cats. Domino and Fluffy. They were outside, country cats. (my kind of pets)
Domino was a black and white short haired cat. She was friendly and liked to be where you were. She was an explorer and went off on her own alot.
Fluffy is long haired (hence the name) and blue eyed. She is our stay close to home gal. After having her for awhile we discovered her breed. She is half ragdoll. She definitely fits the characteristics of the ragdoll. She is very affectionate, extreme talkative for a cat and a sprawler. She does the most unladylike poses while sunning on the front porch.
Both would leave us signs of their prowness as hunters by leaving mice, moles, and various body parts of unknown critters on the porch. You learn to not step out onto the porch bare footed.

You guessed it. We grew very attached and they very much became OUR cats. We dreaded the day when for whatever reason we would lose one.
And as we knew it would, that day came and we lost Domino.
We discussed getting another cat but it was winter and not a good time to acquire an outside cat. So we waited.

Recently, I saw an ad for a rescue cat. She had been abandoned and found by a woman who couldn't keep her and was trying to find a home in a country setting. So we took her, named her Whiskers and gave it a try but found her to be very wary of people and when it came time to release her from the cage after her transition time, she left and never came back.

We only had her for two weeks and even though she was not an affectionate cat, we had already begun to grow fond of her and were disappointed when she wasn't able to bond with us.

So we discussed it and decided to try again. We decided to look for a cat that had already bonded with people. I found several but they were always in pairs. We decided to go ahead and take two.
So, now we have two new younger cats. One is grey and black stripped with white feet. My husband named her Boots. The other is solid black with vivid yellow eyes that I call Topaz.
They are very friendly, let you hold and pet them. They have already passed the test of four very interested grandchildren.

So now we now have 3 cats. My husband laughs and says that Whiskers will come back and we will end up with 4 cats. Who knows.

For now, we are working on getting our resident cat Fluffy to adjust to two newcomers. So far she and Boots are not buying it. ( such rude behavior for two pretty ladies) We are only into the first two days of introduction so hopefully there is time for attitude adjustment.

So this previous non cat person is going online and reading up on introducing new cats.
I spend time on the porch talking to all three cats (the two newcomers are caged for the transition period of two weeks) I pet each one and feed them treats to help them associate each other and their new surroundings with good food and pleasant association. I take items that each of them have slept on and trade them so they will get used to each others scent.

So we will see how it goes. In the country, it is survival of the fittest and pets are no exception.

We will give it our best shot and Boots and Topaz will have to take care of the rest.

I love living in the country and actually love our country cats. Who would have thought?