Spitting Prohibited

For "all that white stuff"

Out of the bosom of the Air,

Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,

Over the woodlands brown and bare,

Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

Silent, soft and slow, descends the snow.

 

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Snow-Flakes"

 

 

Winter has come early to the North East.

I'm not really a winter wonderland lover.  I'm not really thrilled to enjoy the bounties activities the snow brings.  I will take my kids sledding...if I can't get out of it.  I'll snap pictures of their snowmen as long as I can come inside soon.

I'm sort of hoping that somewhere there is a snow quota which when met, means we get an early Spring.

But there are things I really like about the snow.  Such as:

Looking at it through the window in a warm house.

Christmas lights look even more beautiful through the snow.

Hot Chocolate is even more yummy when drunk through lips cold from being outside, especially this kind:

 

YUM!

Kitty is demonstrating on of my favorite winter products.  I'm especially thankful for what ever brilliant mind thought of door draft blockers that you put on both sides of your door...yeah brilliant mind! And thank you Bed, Bath and Beyond for selling them.

 

And I am really thankful for Kohl's this year and their awesome sale which allowed me to purchase Tom (and Brooke and Jon) a really cool coat for an awesome price.  Check out the cool new coat:

 

And the cool price?  $35.00!  WOOOOOOT!!!!!!  Yes, it was 50% off because of the sale and I had an additional 20% off coupon.  Mmmmhmmm!

                                                                            

For health and strength and daily bread...

  "True gratitude is the ability to humbly see, feel, and even receive love. Gratitude is a form of returning love to God. Recognize His hand, tell Him so, express your love to Him. As you come to truly know the Lord, you will find an intimate, sacred relationship built on trust. You will come to know He understands your anguish and will, in compassion, always respond to you in love."

                               ~Gene R. Cook

I don't think I'm too much of a negative person, a Debbie Downer, or a Pity-Party Patty.  But I don't think I spend enough time just being grateful.  I tend to overlook so many of my blessings, I take them for granted, as my due, or just so much a part of my daily life that I don't even notice them anymore.  But I'm sure I'd notice pretty quickly if they went missing.

I mean I did teach my kids to pray in the right order, we learned the rhyme anyway:

• Dear Heavenly Father

• Thank Thee

• Bless Me

• In Jesus' name, Amen.

Somehow I wonder if that's really enough.

I took a class once about becoming a more motivated and empowered person, one of the weeks lessons was on gratitude.  "That's Great" it was called and all week long we were supposed to focus on the good that would come from the challenges in our daily lives.  My friend, Gina, called me just after my son had gotten into the refrigerator, trying to get himself a drink of water and dumped an entire pitcher of water all over the kitchen floor.  I was so frustrated, and the LAST thing I wanted to do was think of why this was "Great"...  But she kept at me until finally I laughed and said, well I really needed to mop my kitchen floor and now it's done.

And even though I was still annoyed about the pitcher of water it did help that I could look at the issue from the "Great" perspective.

So this week, I'm challenging myself...only grateful posts, only "That's Great!", only opportunities to return God's love.

And I'll start with this:

 

My goodness I'm thankful for these children!  My life, my experience, my ME, would be so completely different if not for the love I have for them.  My desire to be better for them. The completely ridiculously forgiving way they love me.  My Me is thankful for them and to them.