So, I missed posting yesterday, Saturday. It’s been a full weekend, though, and maybe I should only do one post on busy weekends.

I’m so thankful for favorite things. My favorite color is green, with purple running a very close second. Green captures my eye without fail, pretty much any shade of it except for minty seafoam green. I’m glad for green in this world. Thank you God!

Coke and Dr. Pepper are my favorite drinks, after water. I thank the Lord for clean water to drink. I’d be lost without it, and my kidneys would have produced more stones and I would have had a lot more pain and medical bills.

Sunrises and sunsets, fall and spring, regions where there are 4 seasons, white Christmases, noticing when the forsythia blooms, squirrels running around my yard and birds eating from the feeder all winter long, the beach and ocean water, being in the waves, walking through the woods after a rain in the fall, finding wildflowers in the spring and remembering their names, quiet times for solitude, the laughter of children running around my home, hugs (especially from friends who hug tight and hang on long), times when my whole family is together, WV hills…all favorites for which I am so grateful to God for being blessed with in my life.

I’m very thankful for my large extended family. In particular this evening, I love all my nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-greats.

I’ve been privileged to be an aunt since before I was even conceived. One of my nephews was two years older than me. Therefore, being an aunt is my longest standing aspect of my identity, and I’m grateful for that.

It’s such a precious part of my life to get to love on all the little ones that come into our family. My older nieces and nephews were so much closer to my age that they seemed more like cousins/siblings/friends. Their children and their children’s children bless my heart every time they greet me with a hug, even the ones who have become teens and are slightly embarrassed to be hugged 😌.

Thank you God for the honor of being an aunt in this crazy, wonderful family of mine! ♥️

“Some people grumble because roses have thorns.  I am thankful that thorns have roses.”  Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

I’m spending November intentionally focused on thankfulness.  I do love Thanksgiving, and not really because of the food.  I’ve tried to make this month have gratitude at it’s center ever since my kids were little.

So really, being thankful is most often an intentional choice and very often it is simply a matter of one’s perspective, switching from looking at a circumstance one way so that you can see the positives instead.

The quote I’m sharing is one example.  Another would be that I’m thankful for needing to rake again so I can get in some good cardio, OR, I’m thankful for all the leaves in my flower bed because they will protect my plants over the harsh winter.

I wasn’t always a glass half full kind of person. It took a very dear friend to help me turn my perspective around. There are still times I am tempted to think of the negative, but I fight against it actively. I’m so grateful for a persistent friend who impacted my life so positively!

What are some things in your life that you could grumble about today?  Can you take a different look at those things and come up with something for which to be grateful?

Some of my biggest blessings in life are my 3 children, and today I’m especially thankful for our middle child as it’s his 26th birthday.

The meaning of his name, Noah, is rest. He did bring a calm into our lives when he was born. I was so grateful he was such a good baby!

Today, I continue to feel blessed to be Noah’s mom. I’m proud of who he is and the man he’s becoming as he seeks to help others, especially children , living it out this year in Spain teaching ESL. Thank you God for Noah’s life.

I’m turning towards November with my thoughts concentrated on thankfulness. My plan is to post everyday. To begin, I simply want to express how thankful I am for Fall, for colors, for all the birthdays in our family, for leaves that crunch and apples and cinnamon and all that Fall brings….

My husband and I love to decorate for Fall, and our yard just seems to cooperate right along with us in our decorating. Here are some pictures to try to express the beauty: