Today I am thankful for my sister and her amazing talent. She just opened her own Etsy shop, Charcoal By Melisa. She has some designs already created but will do custom requests as well. Check her out and I hope you enjoy and appreciate her talent as much as I do! Update: Melisa had to close her store but still continues to draw, paint and sketch. She also illustrated my children's book, Charlie's Angel and will do the second and third books in the series as well.
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So if you have been following this blog you will have noticed a lack of posting recently. I had been doing pretty good at posting most every day. But I have failed. It's been over a month since my last post and I could give many excuses for not sitting down to do it, like my granddaughter spent a week with me and I wanted to focus on and spend as much time as I could with her, I have been working a lot on the editing project for my mom and working extra for my nanny families. Any free time I've had I have chosen to spend it doing other things instead of sitting at the computer. All good excuses but I made a commitment to follow through with this blog and I intend to do it. The purpose of this blog was to find 365 things to be thankful for and I have so many things that I am thankful for, so I will be adding extra posts as I can to fill in for the days I missed and backdating them. So for today I guess I will choose to be grateful for failures and the ability to start again. I am grateful for eyesight. Imagine never seeing colors or nature or your grandchild's face. I appreciate the ability to see my husband's smile, my granddaughter's cute baby feet, my kids, my puppy, trees, clouds, art, smiles, words on pages, and so many other things. Take a good look around you and be thankful for the sights in your view. I have started to have a more grateful attitude about everyday things. I don't always post on time each day but that doesn't mean I don't have many things that I appreciate in my life. Circumstances aren't always as I would like them and sometimes the only thing you can change is your attitude. It is not always easy but worth the effort. I love and am grateful for Ustream! My brother, Justin, and I were able to "attend" church this morning at Bethel Community Church using the app while on the way back from a concert. Traveling and buffering made for some interesting listening at times and Pastor Keith Robinson sometimes had a stutter but we hung in there and had church in the car! I love my brain! It used to be sharper and remember EVERYTHING! My parents used to joke that they could save a bundle on movie tickets by just sending me and then I would come home and reenact every scene for them. It may not be as good as it once was in some areas, but it is awesome in others. So in thinking of something to be grateful for, I'll choose my brain today and be thankful for all that it still remembers, doesn't remember, for controlling and operating my body and every peculiar and maybe a bit weird way of functioning. For several members of my family, prayers are being answered and things are falling into place. Some things have been predictable and others have been out of left field but things are good. I am happy and grateful for their answers. I, myself, am waiting for some answers and things to fall into place and I know they are coming. And I will grateful for them when they do. Happy Birthday to my amazing sister! I love you and appreciate all of your help and encouragement! You are so talented and beautiful and I am grateful you are in my life! This was taken 33 years ago. I was almost 12 and Melisa was a couple of months old. I loved her but was very jealous of her at the beginning. Just as I was becoming a pre-teenager, all of the attention was on the new baby. And of course I became the babysitter and second mom. At that point there were 3 of us kids. We were older and could fend for ourselves at 11, 9 and 8. It took me awhile to adjust and accept all the changes that the new baby, and the 6 more that followed, would mean to me and the family. I eventually did and wouldn't trade Melisa or any of my siblings for the world! Happy Birthday Melisa! I love you! Today as we were eating out after church a storm flared up and it was pretty heavy. As we were getting ready to leave it was going strong. My husband and brother were preparing themselves to get absolutely drenched when they went to drive the cars to the door for the girls and baby. As they had made the decision to just do it, the rain slowed to a drizzle and we all were able to get to our cars relatively dry. It may seem like a small thing but we were all really grateful for the break in the rain. Spur of the moment, last minute, impromptu, unplanned, spontaneous, whatever you want to call it, dinner out with the kids was very nice tonight. Our usual errand running and grocery shopping was made better by running into one of our kids, his girlfriend and daughter and having a very nice dinner out together. Sometimes the unplanned moments are the best! I am grateful for connections. From my contacts that are knowledgeable in health and wellness, to my connections in chiropractic and massage therapy, to essential oils and supplements, business advice, childcare issues and family situations. I am grateful for all the different people in my life that I can turn to for advice and wisdom is pretty much any area I need. So I have a big family. I love them and I am so grateful for everyone of them. I am the oldest of 10 siblings. Same mom and dad, and I only say that because these days that is not always the case. There are 6 girls and 4 boys ranging in age from 44 to 21. With a family of this size we all have different relationships with one another and some get a long better than others and some have bonds that others don't have. That is not to say that anyone of us wouldn't stand up and fight for another one, it's just there are pairs of us that could live together and some that can't. It's like that in every family. So I say all of that to say that I am thankful for my brother Justin. His wife and I were talking about the fact that we all have favorites in this family, I'm just the only one brave enough to say it out loud. From day one (I was 14 when he was born) there was something about Justin. He's funny, quick-witted, talented, (did I mention he is lead singer of Abandon?), and an all around joy to hang out with. He's always been my favorite. There's always been something special there. And today is his birthday! So Happy Birthday Justin! I love you and miss you! He's coming to visit me next week! Actually, he's coming to work with my dad but same difference! I am excited and I get to attend an Abandon concert while he is here as well so double bonus! So while I am grateful for each and every sibling, today I focus on Justin! Thank you, God, for such an amazing brother! Sleeping in, no where to go, no timelines, no schedules, chilling out with my husband on the couch talking about his day, I need these days to myself. I did get the dishes done, dusted and cleaned part of the house, swept and mopped the kitchen and vacuumed the living room and hall, so it's was a productive day as well! All in all a really good day off and I am grateful for it! I am grateful for nice days, an 8 year old and a game of H.O.R.S.E.! Playing basketball with the kid I nanny for is a lot of fun. And I usually win! Ha ha ha! I don't let him win. He works for it, and he's getting good so I won't be winning much longer so I am enjoying it and bragging all I can while I still can! :) Of course today I am extremely grateful for the empty tomb. It is Resurrection Sunday, aka Easter. I am thankful for the sacrifice made many years ago and the saving grace of God in my life! I am grateful it is a time for families to get together and share in the memory of what He did for us. Thank You, God! |