I'm thankful for ...Memories

 Today I'm thankful for memories.

We set up a table in the living room and pulled out two huge bins of unsorted old family photos, printed years ago and left in the dark. They'd been in their bins, undisturbed, for a really long time. My mom decided a little while ago that it was time to finally do something with them, so we found some photo albums and bought them inexpensively... and now are getting out the old pictures to finally sort and put them into books for easy viewing. :)

And wow... the memories that are surfacing! Even ones I'd forgotten about. And some of the photos I had never seen. How precious they are. Maybe I'll post some photographs of the photos on here sometime... I refrained from taking a picture of all the pictures spread out on that worktable in the living room, for I confess - we've made a royal mess! :D

It's incredible seeing what I looked like at five months old. And five years old. So cute! (What happened? Ha-ha-ha...) My brothers were such chubby little grinning munchkins! I wish I had those years back so I could give them another hug while they were still so small and adorable. Not that they're not adorable now, but they're just BIG and adorable... which isn't the same, somehow! :D It makes me wish I had been a better big sister.

It's also amazing seeing the clothing styles back then, even for kids' clothes. Especially if you're looking at pictures over 15 years old. It's so strange to see how much it's changed since then. I imagine one day that my children will look back at the pictures of me when I was a little girl and think it looks funny too... after all, it will have been a generation ago.

Also - I have promised myself to buy three or so video cameras and keep them in various places around my house one day, so that I can capture ALL of the cute moments with my children in the future. :D And take lots of pictures!!! I plan to invest in tons of CDs and/or flash drives to store my millions of digital photos. :D The moments and memories are just so special. :D

That's what I'm thankful for today. The memories. And the future looks even brighter. :D

 Speaking of future... my favorite season is almost gone! Here's a little fall wordart I found somewhere, as a farewell to Autumn... ;)

Can you believe there's a chance we might see SNOW in my yard tomorrow? That's what they say! And it feels like it outside too... there's a certain raw coldness in the air that feels like snow could happen. Shocking, really! ;) We'll see what happens. :D

Have a lovely week!

I'm thankful for Colors and Writing

I missed yesterday! Boo-hoo-hoo! *sniff*

So... I'll make up for it by posting TWO things I'm thankful for today. :) That'll make it all better. ;)

I really am so glad my sweet friend Rachel started this challenge and prompted us all to join her! :) It has been a blessing to me! :D See the other posts at Young Homemakers!

I love writing.

I don't dedicate my whole blog to the topic of writing, nor do I really share about it much, but writing is a huge part of my life. I love my characters and plot twists and finding the perfect phrase or descriptive word. It's a very personal thing for me, and for a while I was actually terrified of the idea of publishing something I had written. It wouldn't be good enough... there would be so many flaws... what would people I know in real life think of my writing? Would they be searching my book for a character that looked just like them, and be offended because I had given the annoying character their same hair color? ;) (I know, ridiculous, right?)

I'm okay with the idea of publishing my book now, but I'm not planning on doing anything to actively market it until I write "The End" and do some careful typo-checking and tweaking of words. :)

But I'm so glad that I can write. I love writing and I am very thankful for it. :)

The other thing I am thankful for today is COLOR. I love colors! Colors move me and inspire me and excite me! I can be walking down the yarn aisle and spot a delightful skein of yarn in an amazing shade and have it bring a delighted smile to my face... whether I buy it or not! I love the colors in the leaves of Autumn and the roses of Summer. I love designing something with digital graphics with colors that become instant eye candy when placed together. I love throwing together shades of color that complement each other in a soft, cozy afghan. :) I am so thankful for the colors God created.

I'm thankful for... Fun!

Day 25 is here! Yay! :)

Today, I am thankful for Family Fun Fridays... which my family and I do when we can. Occasionally we have our family day on Saturday. We try to do something enjoyable together as a family. Board games and movies are usually what we choose.

Tonight on our movie viewing menu is.... well, here's a little hint:

Today I am thankful for family fun! :D Ta-ta now, the movie is starting... :)

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving!

I absolutely love this holiday! It's the only one dedicated to giving thanks and glory and praise unto God, and it's American to boot. :)

Today I am thankful for the day of Thanksgiving! :)

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Hope you have a happy one! :D

I am thankful for... My Name

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Day 23! Thanksgiving is tomorrow! I'm so excited! :D

Today I am thankful for something my parents gave me when I was born.

Something no one can ever take away from me.

Something that God knew before I was formed into being.

My name!

Julia.

I LOVE my name. :) I think it's pretty. I couldn't imagine being named anything else... like "Emily Joy" which my parents considered quite seriously before settling on their choice.

I like it because... it's beautiful, slightly unique, slightly old-fashioned, yet not so uncommon that nobody knows how to spell it. I don't ofen run into other people with the same name. I've never wanted to shorten it to plain "Julie". There's an A on the end. And there always will be. :D

I am thankful for my name! What's yours? Leave me a note in the comment section... I'd love to see the names of the people who read this post. :D

I'm thankful for... that "It's Clean!" feeling....

Today I cleaned the laundry/pantry/storage room. Woohoo! I also cleaned out the broom closet, earning a double pat on the back from my delighted mother. :D

We're cleaning the house this week partly in preparation for a Thanksgiving celebration, but partly because it just needed to be done. :D And the family we're having over wouldn't mind if our corners were dusty anyway. :D

There's just no way to describe that wonderful 'squeaky-clean' feeling! I have Dutch ancestry, and you know how those Dutch people are renowned for cleanliness. :D I guess cleaning runs in my blood. ;)

Today I am thankful for having things clean! :)

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I'm thankful for... Surprises!

Day 21 is here! :)

Today I am thankful for surprises. :D I never had a surprise birthday party, (sadly) but I've had my share of surprises. Today we got one in that - our Perry Mason DVD's arrived early in the mail! :) I'm not going to tell you how many hour-long episodes we watched today. You'll think we need to get a life. (oh, ok... we watched 4.)

I love it when God gives us unexpected blessings sometimes in the form of surprises. :) While I also like looking forward to something and anticipating it, sometimes it's refreshing to be surprised with something wonderful, just out of the blue. :)

Blessings!

I'm thankful for... Life.

Day 20 of the 30 Days of Thankfulness is here! That means... we're 2/3rds done! :D See, I can do *some* math... ;) Lol.

The number 20 has some significance for me... it's how many years old I am. Sometimes that downright shocks me... has it really been two whole decades that I've been alive already? 20 years is a long time.

I have been enjoying the miraculous gift of life for twenty whole years. Some little children never get to take their first breath... they are aborted before birth. I was one who got to be born, and live, and breathe. And I have had a wonderful life so far. God has been so good to me. He has blessed me with the best parents and the most wonderful younger brothers ever.

Today, I am thankful for my life. :)

I am thankful for... Internet!

Day 19! Wow! I've made it this far... I won't stop now. :)

Today I am thankful for... the Internet! :D

The internet is a powerful beastie. Either you harness it and bend it to your will, and amazing things are accomplished... or it sucks you in like a big black hole! :D I try not to let the former happen to me. It's easier now that I quit Facebook.

The internet has introduced me to some very special young ladies! Including the sweet, dear girls who also write for MOHL! :)

So, I am thankful today for the internet. :)

I'm thankful for ... Seasons

Day 18 already! wow. :) Sorry I was late with my post today... it was a busy day! :D But I am happy to say that we now have a 22 pound tom turkey sitting in our fridge, waiting to be stuffed and roasted in the oven on Thanksgiving morn.

Today I'm thankful for seasons. I was driving home with Daddy today after doing errands and picking up a few things at the grocery store, and the light was shining through the colorful trees, making everything glow with a radiant light. Driving up to our log home in the yellow, red, and bronze woods was a beautiful sight.

The glimmering light and glowing colors of Autumn reminded me how much I love this season. But there are things I love about each one.

Spring... for me, the season of fresh rebirth and new warmth after the cold winter. I love the first fragrant blossoms and the sweet smell of the earth coming back to life, and all the fresh green leaves. I was born into the world during this lovely time of year, and I would never have chosen another birthdate. :)

 Summer... long days of sun and fun and heat, best spent outside near the river or someone's pool, playing Ultimate Frisbee, or inside lying on my stomach on my bed with a great book and a fan blowing a cool breeze into my face. Carefree, going barefoot around the house... a relaxed time of year.

 Autumn... beautiful temperatures, gorgeous scenery. The woods around my house are at their most breathtaking, Thanksgiving and friends and family are near at hand, and the first cup of hot chocolate is sheer bliss, with perfection being the few handfuls of mini marshmallows thrown in. :D The newfound crisp feel in the air is indescribably wonderful.

Winter... I seem to prefer all the other times of the year, not having a fondness for cold, numbing fingers, toes and nose... but winter has its own share of hidden delights and sudden, aweing joys. Like waking up and discovering a rare Georgia snowfall and dashing outside with my camera to capture the memory of it. Softly falling snow is one of the great miracles of life. :D And gathering around the fire wouldn't be half as cozy if it wasn't so freezing cold out there... right?

What are your favorite things about each season?

I'm thankful for... Crochet

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I really am so enjoying this challenge! It's a wonderful stretch to have to come up with one significant thing every day to be thankful for. :D

Today I am thankful for crochet. :)

 While my usual favorite thing to crochet is an intricate crochet block, later to be sewn together with other blocks to create a colorfully patterned blanket (afghan), I have loved making these slippers lately.

I am thankful that my dear mother taught me how to crochet when I was 8 years old. I have since been able to crochet for fun, for giving away, and also for earning money. :) It's been lovely!

Still Thankful,