Family, Home, Together 

Gratefulness wrapped up in a package of times together. Take the time to pay attention, an attempt to really see, to listen, to be all present with them all.

• Family - together around the table
• re-reading the poem above the sink : Dirty dishes = evidence of blessing (and we have dirty dishes to prove the blessings)
• "Cling to JOY: audacious and unbridled joy, that looks for light in every thing, even in your waiting."  -Morgan Harper Nichols
• R and J - so sweet, so much fun. Grandbabies delight
• Duolingo French - start learning something new
• reading Beth Chatto - Drought Resistant Planting - her plant/word pictures are amazing, love her perspective
• first freeze, first snow - fall days becoming winter
• "While sight is an ability, seeing remains an art." Hidden Half of Nature
• finished two books I've been stalled on - now, on to more interesting reading
• fall leaves dancing, spinning on the freeway like a choreographed ballet
• time with the girls - their stories and challenges and smiles
• concert - Idina Mendez, Josh Groban, wow! amazing, inspiring, beautiful
• diving headfirst into NaNoWriMo - accepting the challenge, willing to make the change to daily writing
• C to vet - simple, easy, except she's so scared, leaned on A
• a fun flute lesson - more play than work
• W's surgery (dog) - long recovery for a recalcitrant patient
• W's reversals - backwards more than forward healing progress
• J here!
• Gift of time thru disappointment (3 day delay in arrival)
• Half-way, NaNoWriMo word count
• P and J here
• SSKB here
• Thanksgiving thankfulness
• full house
• request for gardening articles in PWView
• article in newspaper and From Ground Up out on the same day
• flute rehearsal with professional pianist and pro flutist, fun!
• emails with Jane - appreciate her!
• NaNoWriMo accomplished!
• next day, began new novel
• six broccoli plants still alive, even with the crazy cold
• Cheyenne Mntn Electric Safari with TVES, counting animal shaped lights, found 70, supposedly 85 but didn't ride tramway to the top.

On a Treasure Hunt

This next group from my gratefulness list has a theme of exploration - on a treasure hunt. Looking for and finding adventure in the simple, everyday things.

• feeling effective, valuable at CMG meetings, able to encourage others
• appointments scheduled for vet and groomers (after procrastinating for months)
• photos from far away of a new granddaughter
• pumpkins from A's pumpkin patch placed on the island - center stage - a successful experiment
• amazed - a nutrition plan that results in weight loss - a sustainable way to eat. Oh, and healthy, too
• volunteer garden work at the zoo - listen to monkeys, geese, exotic cows, goats while pulling weeds
• blue skies again after weeks of smoky haze from summer fires
• Theresa writing 'gentle' on music - erasing exclamation point and drawing fluffy clouds instead - saying exclamation doesn't match 'gentle' (at flute lesson)
• eating out and bringing home half
• window open to cool morning air, welcoming fresh air inside
• twenty pounds down! weight = a good thing to lose
• Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson - a treasure key to open more treasures
• woman on the train softly singing a hymn (Come Thou Fount)
• H's help to organize, clean basement - amazing accomplishment in less time than we expected (and fun doing it together)
• fresh breezes, air movement even when it is hot
• travel safety - praying protection for RARJ amidst unrest and turmoil in the city
• relationship challenges
• Duolingo Spanish practice - fun and good for my brain
• new shelf in the bathroom, painted and installed - clutter off the counter
• pick dried beans - amazing, exciting to unwrap the pods and find spotted beans
• ORDINARY MIRACLES - the vision to see the wonder of ordinary miracles; family safe on a flight, babies growing and developing, a good book with time to read it, a smile, seeds becoming plants, a fresh breeze
• "Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder." -E.B. White

Gratefulness or Great Full ness?

This gratefulness list is an ongoing project. Set aside, sometimes, but temporarily. Picked up again. Continuing on. Some days, I have to scratch and dig to find something, like a hen searching for seeds, clawing at frozen soil. Those are the days I need to do this the most. That tiny seed, clawed for and found, nourishes my heart and grows in my mind to redirect my thoughts from burdened overload to a light-hearted perspective. Which I need.

The lists in the tabs above are numbered. Now, I don't number. And, I try to think of the whys. Taking the list to the next level of why I am grateful for something. What about that person/item/situation sparks gratefulness in my heart?

My goal, here, is to update this list about once a week. Perhaps, as you browse through, you will find a spark toward gratefulness in your heart, also.

• laughing with the kids (vs. insult = humor)
• responsibility - seeing it in our kids
• awareness/observation - they asked how I taught them that (Guess Who? game?)
• Farming Game - listening to B and N talking money, acres, tractors, cows, fruit...
• cold drink with ice on a hot day
• mini golf fun outing
• fresh corn on the cob, summer treat
• homemade jellies from the Farmers' Market booth - enjoying someone else's labor, glad to pay for it
• trip plans, tickets purchased, looking forward to family visits
• 2B Mindset food plan - wow! 14 pounds down so far, sustainable nutrition plan
• re-reading Four Seasons in Rome - how Doerr distills words to perfection
• from The Book of Mysteries Day 231 "Give thanks today for all your blessings, and for all your blessings in disguise - those of the past and the still-disguised blessings of the present."
• gratefulness or greatfulness? to see that life is full of great ness
• "The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest light to all the world." -Ann Voskamp
• Day 251 Book of Mysteries " The Miracle World "Imagine if the Red Sea parted at about six every morning...would no longer be amazing...we live in the miraculous...For you are already living in a miracle world."  [eg: sunrise every morning]
• passport applications sent in - trip in September! 
• a new car - wow, amazing! a first!
• one dried bean in a jar - first from crop - a small start, but a start - a literal seed investment and a reminder of the importance of every small step
• a new granddaughter - a life of beginnings for her
• boxes sorted, organized, emptied! relief of empty space
• create a 'smile file' from The Little Book Of Lykke, Meik Wiking Why?...elaborate on how they impact your life in  a positive way. This list is my Smile File
• Denver Botanic Gardens w/ H - wow! flowers - zinnias, amaranth and summer stock - ordinary flowers with far from common impact - absolutely gorgeous! wow power!
• Tiny House Festival - dreams, inspiration, new visuals to think about, plans, ideas
• another Little Book of Lykke quote: "...turn the idea of the pursuit of happiness into the happiness of the pursuit..." Happiness is a by-product of the process.
• boxes sorted and stuff gone! continuing process , freedom and clarity and 'weight-loss' (less burden)
• new backpack - looking forward to many trips with it - family visits and new scenery - plan to travel light
• PRAYING CALM - when worried about family (3 on Pike's Peak in a thunderstorm, 1 recovering from a tough birth)(capitals show how much I needed the calm...)
• A Light So Lovely, by Sara Arthur - new book about spiritual legacy of Madeleine L'Engle. Beautiful, honest - favorite quote..."she showed up..." Powerful words about her life.