happy – Sew Beach Life

It’s Time For Cake!

It’s funny how you miss certain things, and just figure that life is different now, so you’ll probably never have them again. And then you get a text from your sweet husband, and do a little happy dance.

Let me back up a bit and set the stage for this story. I’ve been blessed with a bit of a green thumb. I’ve always liked plants, and remember having houseplants since we were first married and living in a little apartment with only two windows. When we bought our first real house, I spent the next twenty years gradually building up gardens. The house got surrounded with perennial flower gardens. Pots of annuals lined the back patio, and were filled with color from spring to autumn.

There was always a pot or two of herbs growing on the back deck. We built a vegetable garden in the back yard and grew lots of tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, squash, sugar snap peas, green beans, and whatever other plants inspired me when I visited the local garden centers. One corner of the garden contained a nice patch of rhubarb. I carefully harvested the rhubarb, never taking more than a third of the stalks from each clump. The rhubarb grew happily away and provided a harvest starting in spring, and lasting all summer long.

You might be thinking, “Rhubarb? What in the world do you use that for?” Or you may have been lucky enough to have been served strawberry rhubarb pie (which is delicious!) Or perhaps you’ve encountered strawberry rhubarb jam at a farmers market. If you have the opportunity to try either of those things, I highly recommend them. But that’s not what I made with my carefully harvested rhubarb. (Although if you have a good recipe for either of them, I would love it!) Nope, every bit of rhubarb (that wasn’t shared with family) was made into rhubarb cake.

This is no ordinary “bake it, top it with frosting, and serve it at a birthday party” kind of cake. This is a super moist, tartness in every bite, slightly sweet, “Please, can I have another piece?” kind of cake. It is not frosted or crumble topped, because there is no need. The cake itself is pure deliciousness. And when we lived in Michigan, I baked it all summer long.

And then we moved to Florida. I love living here, but have to admit that this Midwest gardener has no clue what to do in this subtropical USDA zone 10a. We bought a house that has a xeriscaped yard, no grass, no real planting beds, and honestly, not much of a landscape plan. I love the palm trees, especially the pretty date palm. And the little orange tree out back is absolutely loaded with fruit this year. But I haven’t found a good garden center like the nearby ones I had in Michigan. So we haven’t really done much with the landscape other than pull weeds and trim back the hibiscus.

This year I put forth a little bit of effort, filled some giant pots with soil and planted tomatoes, a pepper plant, two kinds of basil, and cilantro. Besides the veggie and herb plants, The Home Depot and Lowes garden centers had citrus trees. So tiny lemon and lime trees joined the orange tree in the back yard. With temperatures at ninety plus degrees F this time of year, the tomatoes and trees require daily watering, and hopefully they’ll stay alive! Sadly, it is far too hot for rhubarb to grow here. So, I had resigned myself to never having rhubarb cake again.

Well, a new produce market opened in the town just south of here. So Dan went to check it out before heading to the grocery store. And that’s when my sweet husband texted me this photo:

❤ Cue my happy dance and response to “Buy it all!” 🙂 Ok, I didn’t really want him to buy quite all of it, just a generous handful of stalks. It was a little late in the day to bake, so the next day I washed the rhubarb, trimmed off the ends and peeled it. Although rhubarb leaves are huge and interesting looking, they are not edible as they contain oxalic acid. So you definitely want to cut off and discard all of the leaf. Then I chopped the stalks into chunks and prepared to make the cake.

As a wedding shower gift (37 years ago!), my Aunt gathered recipes she had gotten from my Grandma and copied them onto index cards. The recipes are a connection to a wonderful woman that I miss dearly, and I’m so grateful to have them! You can tell when a recipe is well-loved by how worn, stained, and tattered the recipe card is. It’s pretty obvious that this is a well loved recipe! 🙂

As I’ve grown older and wiser, I’ve learned to use the highest quality ingredients I can find when cooking and baking. So I’ve updated the recipe a bit to make it slightly healthier, and certainly even better tasting. I use up to 4 cups of rhubarb, because I love the extra tartness. The first time you try it though, you might want to start with just the 2 cups. I use pure cane sugar, and King Arthur whole grain white flour. I’ve never used real buttermilk, and have always used the lemon juice “cheat”. And lastly, don’t use shortening, yuck! Butter is the way to go, and I am a big fan of Kerrygold Irish Butter.

The recipe calls for baking 45 minutes, but just like baking anything else, you can tell by the delicious smell when it’s done.

That first bite of cake was so good! A flavor that seemed far away and perhaps lost forever brought back happy memories of summers past in our old home. It was a reminder that connections can be reforged, that the people, places. and things that we love and care about can sometimes back into our lives in surprising little ways.

So, the next time a new produce market opens, or you stumble across an old family recipe, take the time to wander, discover, bake, make, and enjoy! I am so grateful for this happy “find”, and for all that I am blessed with. ❤

Capture The Moment

Have you ever witnessed a moment that seems so sweet that you feel like it should be captured in a photograph? Watching children play, and seeing their pure joy is a frequent occurrence that leads to the thought that you wish you had a camera to catch the expression on their face. Especially if it has been a hard or challenging day or season in life. Seeing happiness makes us want to smile and join in on the fun.

Dan and I were walking the beach last night, and moving at a rather quick pace, since sunset was less than a half hour away when we started our walk. We passed other walkers, joggers, and people sitting or lounging on the sand, waiting to watch the sun set. We were strolling past a couple that looked to be in their late 20’s to early 30’s sitting on the beach. The wife leaned in to say something, the husband smiled, and they leaned together touching cheeks, smiling towards the sun.

It was such a sweet moment that I stopped walking, turned to them and said, “Where’s your camera? You two just look so sweet!” The wife reached into her pocket, set her phone to camera mode and handed it to me. I took a couple of quick photos of their faces shining in the sun, glowing with happiness, and handed back the phone.

I am not normally the type of person who randomly starts a conversation with strangers. Dan, yes. Me? Not so much. But I just couldn’t help thinking that this young couple would want that moment of sweetness and sunshine captured. Before you think that I am too much of a weirdo asking someone for their phone, keep in mind that tourist season has started in Florida. On sunny days, the beaches are full of visitors, enjoying the warmth, wonder, and beauty along the coast. It is not uncommon to have a couple or group ask a walker passing by to take their photo. And when I’ve seen a Mom or Grandma taking photos of their group, I’ve encouraged them to get in the photo and taken a few quick shots for them.

I recall my daughter telling me about when their little family was playing at a splash pad, and someone commented that they and Lila were having so much fun that their family needed to be captured in a photo. The stranger caught the huge smiles on their faces as they played together. It is a great photograph.

I love being able to capture a moment of happiness for someone, just like I’ve captured it in my mind. Hopefully, every time they look at the photos, they’ll remember the fun, the happiness, the joy, they were feeling at that moment.

Dan recently sent me a photo he took when we were visiting for Lila’s 2nd birthday. We had taken Lila to the park, and she is flying high on the swing, her hair flying up in the air as she achieves weightlessness.

I love seeing her enjoy a happy, carefree childhood, filled with love and laughter. It makes me smile every time I look at it, because it reminds me of how fun she is to play and interact with. And it reminds me of all the times I’ve been on a swing and enjoyed that same feeling of floating while up in the air.

I’m certainly not advocating for life to be lived with a phone or camera in front of your face all the time. There’s definitely something to be said about just savoring life, and capturing the beautiful moments in your minds’ eye. Life is rarely Instagram perfect, and involves a lot of “cropping out” the not so pretty stuff. But when we take the time to look around, look for the beautiful, joyous, happy, peaceful, spontaneously wonderful moments around us, we can capture memories to help sustain us during the not so perfect moments in life. And if we can capture those moments for others, why not risk being thought of as a weirdo when you ask someone for their phone? 🙂

By all means just enjoy the power-walk, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the sounds around you. But every once in a while you might want to stop and take a photo of the beautiful spaces, and faces, and wonders in life.

Love You “Two” The Moon Birthday Girl!

Can you believe that my beautiful granddaughter just turned two? I planned to write a post about her birthday party, and thought I would include photos of the decorations and snacks and treats, along with her birthday dress like last year. But it was a super busy day, and somehow I didn’t take many photos! So there aren’t any close-up photos of the cute star cookies (you can barely see them on the table behind her), the astronaut ice cream, or moon cheese, chosen for her space themed birthday party.

There wasn’t much doubt that Lila would choose space as a theme, since “moon” was one of her first words, shortly after “Mama” and “Daddy”. She likes to spot airplanes and helicopters, and “Look at stars!” and “See fireflies”. Her vocabulary is out of this world, if I am allowed to brag a bit, about all the phrases and sentences she says these days. She mimics and picks up new words and phrases daily. Possibly even ones she shouldn’t, such as “OK, girlfriend”, which she learned from yours truly! 🙂 It is sort of funny though, since she inserts it appropriately into conversation!

Her birthday dress was made using the free Sew A Little Seam Birthday Dress pattern. I muslined it using some chevron foil print purple knit I found on the clearance rack at JoAnn Fabrics a couple years ago. It looked cute and proportionate, although I couldn’t try it on her since she lives in another state.

Finding fabric that looked like galaxies was a little challenging, since I didn’t have time or the budget to order a custom fabric. But I found some hand-printed cotton at my local fabric store (that has a ton of quilting fabric, and very little knit, which seems common in Florida) that looked pretty and sort of galaxy like. The pattern tutorial calls for a zipper if the dress is made with woven fabric, although it’s only supposed be in the bodice. After installing the zipper in the completely lined and finished bodice, it made no sense to me to not have it extend into the skirt. Since there isn’t a back seam in the skirt (which would have been the easiest solution) I just snipped down the center back of the skirt about 3 inches, and folded the snipped edges under. Attaching the skirt was a bit challenging, since I needed the edges to line up perfectly in order to continue sewing on the zipper. It isn’t the prettiest zipper I’ve ever done, but it was installed and worked perfectly.

To up the “space” and sparkle factor, I added some metallic trimmed satin and chiffon ribbon to the bottom edge of the tulle underskirt. A simple zig zag stitch through the chiffon layer worked perfectly, and it took every single inch of the 3 yard spool of ribbon! I also made the hair bow, by following a tutorial on YouTube. Fortunately, the dress fit perfectly, and Lila wore it all day long from playing in the garden, to learning to ride her birthday scooter.

Last year, she just leaned forward in her high chair and nibbled her cupcake. This year, she decided it was too sticky to hold herself, and wanted Mama to hold it for her! Can you tell that she only gets sugary treats on rare occasions?

The birthday party flew by, with kids, neighbors, family, friends, noise, presents, and the general bedlam that one expects at a children’s birthday party. And it really only ended after it grew dark, and all of the neighbor children finished playing with bikes, scooters, balls, being pulled in wagons, and the adults gathered them inside for their dinners and evening baths.

On her actual birthday, we tagged along on a trip to a local farm. Lila got to see all the animals, go on a wagon ride, wander through a maze, and look at pumpkins, although she didn’t pick one out to take home.

And she got a shoulder ride from Grandpa, just like her Mama used to when she was little!

She also opened her present of Grandma made clothes. She wore her Petite Stitchery Sweetie Leggings (another free pattern) made from a floral double brushed polyester scrap and her Patterns for Pirates Tiny Tulip (also a free pattern), made from pieced together scraps of rayon spandex ribbing from Phee Fabrics the next day. The leggings are a looser fit like joggers, and the 24 months size fits well. The dropped shoulders of the Tiny Tulip make the size 2 a little bit big on her. I had to roll up the sleeves to keep them out of her way.

I made the skirt out of some star printed vintage cotton woven my Mom gave me when cleaning out her house. It’s just two pieces of fabric 12″ high by 22″ wide sewn together, and gathered with swim elastic. Swim elastic works best because it’s soft, and stretches enough to gather a wide opening small enough to fit on a simple rayon spandex waistband.

I hadn’t tried the free (with code in their Facebook group) Halla Leggings pattern before, but gave them a try because the rise is higher in the front than some of the other kids leggings patterns. Toddlers have round little bellies, and I dislike low rise leggings with a baby belly and diaper sticking out of the top! There was a big enough scrap of Polartech Powerstretch left in my stash to make the size 2/3 years. The Patterns for Pirates Buried Treasure Tunic in size 2 was the basis for the other two tops I made.

The sweater knit hacci was part of a panel and I didn’t have enough scraps to make long sleeves. So I cut them as long as I could, added seam allowances, and cut the rest of the sleeves, neckband, and gathered ruffle on the bottom out of Phee Fabrics rayon spandex. The floral print was a scrap of rayon spandex from JoAnn Fabrics. Since the fabric was quite thin, and didn’t have the greatest recovery, I decided to use some white rayon spandex from Phee as the neckband.

It makes for a cute outfit that is comfortable for her to run and play in. She also likes adding the 5 Out Of 4 Girls’ Eleanor Cardigan I made her last year when she is preparing to go play outside. If Phee Fabrics gets any more Polartech Powerwool in this winter, I will definitely have to make her another cardigan!

We had so much fun hanging out with the birthday girl! The 13-1/2 hour drive each way was brutal, but worth it to be able to visit our sweet, fun, loving, adorable, hilarious granddaughter. We can’t wait to visit again for Thanksgiving, but we’ve decided we’re going to fly next time!

This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission/credit if you purchase through my links. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! 🙂 Thank you for reading and sharing my love of sewing, patterns, fabric, and pattern hacking. ❤

Bloom Where You’re Planted

Dan and I watched a movie the other night called Passengers. It was about a guy on a spaceship that was travelling to an outpost to start a new life. He and all the other 5,000 passengers were placed in suspended animation in these special pods for the 90 year journey. Something went wrong with his pod, and he woke up on the ship with 89 years still left in the journey, rather than waking up 4 months before arriving at their destination as planned.

It was a very thought provoking movie, because I think we all go through periods where we struggle and rail against how things are versus how we thought they would be. As a child you think that adulthood will be this wonderful thing because you can do whatever you want, rather than just what your parents and teachers tell you to do. And it is a wonderful thing, but you have to deal with your responsibilities, so it’s not as easy as your childhood fantasy envisions.

As a young couple you imagine having children, and how awesome it will be to become parents. And it is awesome! But you cannot fathom just how overwhelming it can be until you’re living the reality. The complete and utter exhaustion you feel when your infant is waking up every two hours to nurse and you can only daydream about ever actually sleeping again. The unbelievably large number of times that you will have to clean pee, poo, and “spit up” off your baby, yourself, (and any and every) nearby surrounding. The utter defiance of your strong willed nearly two year old who no longer wants to wear what you picked out, but insists upon choosing her own outfits as she learns to assert her independence. Thankfully, these moments are balanced out by hearing your child excitedly exclaim “Mama!” or “Dada!” as soon as they see you. And the peace of feeling them contentedly snuggled into your arms or sitting on your lap. And the sheer delight of hearing them laugh or giggle, truly one of my favorite sounds in the world! And the overwhelming joy that fills your heart when they hug you, or give you wet, slobbery “smooches”, or say, “I love you”.

Don’t even get me started on how completely wonderful it is to experience these things as a grandparent. My heart nearly burst the first time Lila said “I love you” back to me! And the aching joy I felt when I had her giggling and laughing uproariously when we played “This little piggy” during a car ride, sustains me when we have to go months without flying up to visit.

Life can be very challenging. We all go through tough times where we worry about our family, our friends, our finances, our health, and every other situation that tests us. But constantly thinking that life would be better if only we lived, worked, had, or did something or somewhere else, robs us of the joy of loving where we are at.

Do you ever stop to consider that the trials you are going through are moments of learning? They are teaching you something, and preparing you for the next moment in life. Are you learning patience, compassion, forgiveness, and love? Are you gaining wisdom and experience so that you can deal with the next challenge in your life?

Instead of yearning for the next thing, the next place, the next person, appreciate the wonder of this moment in life. In other words, bloom where you’re planted! Don’t worry, life will keep on happening. And soon enough you’ll grow, leaves reaching toward the sun, growing stronger, and branching out.

A Little Help

My daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter flew down for a visit this week, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent the day at the beach. We walked the beach, built sand castles, played in the ocean, and were enjoying the wonderful day.

A couple in their young thirties were walking past, and I complimented the gentleman on his cool track chair. I like seeing people who are differently abled have the tools and technology to be able to enjoy something we take for granted, like enjoying a day at the beach. He asked my husband and son if one of them would be willing to carry him into the water. He explained that he would drive his chair closer to the water so it wouldn’t be so far, and his wife demonstrated the proper lifting technique. Our son quickly stepped forward and helped his wife carry him into the ocean.

Everyone enjoyed playing in the water, and the gentleman tried to give me tips on mastering the boogie board. “Start swimming before the wave gets to you so that you’re going the same speed as the wave.” I did more bobbing like a cork than truly riding the waves, but it sure was fun! I was truly impressed by his swimming skills because the waves were quite strong and breaking pretty hard. Even when they washed over his head, he continued to swim with just the use of his arms. His wife frequently walked up to shore to check on his sweet service dog.

When we took a little break, our son let the dog sniff his hand, gave him some pets and back scratches, and the dog backed into his legs for more pets and attention. He obviously sensed that our son loves his own dogs and knows just how to give a proper back scratch and rub! 🙂 The couple spent an hour or two playing in the surf before our son helped carry him back to the track chair.

As a rather shy person, I was thinking about how hard it has to be to ask someone, a complete stranger, for help. Especially asking them to do a more physically demanding and personal task like carrying you into the water. How hard is it for you to ask for help? Is it easier for you to help others than to ask for help yourself? We all need a little help sometimes.

Life can feel challenging at times, and that is the perfect time to pray and ask God for help. If you’re not used to prayer and talking to God, it can be awkward because you may feel like you don’t know what to say. I think just having a conversation like you would with a friend is a great way to start. Say what’s on your mind (it doesn’t have to be out loud, it can be a conversation in your heart). God listens.

I am loving being able to spend time with my family, and build precious memories with my granddaughter. I hope that you are enjoying some conversation with God and Jesus, are willing to ask for help, as well as to step forward and help. We had a wonderful Palm Sunday, and look forward to Easter. Enjoy this Holy Week in anticipation of the glory to come!

What A Week!

From Illness To Gratefulness

I am finally recovering from a week of influenza and it feels so good to be upright! I was literally down for the count for a week, laying in bed, slowly walking to the sofa or dining table, and back to bed. I hate being sick, feeling dependent on others, and not having my normal energy and routine.

My husband was a champ! He made me food, did the dishes and laundry, and took excellent care of me. I told him how much I appreciated him taking care of me, and he said, “You’re always taking care of me and would do the same for me. It’s not a big deal.” While it’s true that it may not have been a big deal to him, it meant a great deal to me. When you are naturally a caregiver, it’s interesting to see it from the other side.

When you are constantly taking care of others, of the household, of your children, etc., you can easily get irritated or feel a little bit resentful. “Gah! I just vacuumed and you’re tracking dirt everywhere!” “Ugh! Sweaty, gross gym clothes to wash and they are laying on top of my outfit in the laundry basket and getting it all stinky!” And of course you’ll make eggs for breakfast when you’d much rather make banana pecan waffles topped with strawberries and blueberries because you know he’d prefer the protein.

I generally don’t complain about the inconveniences (OK, other than the tracking in dirt!), because caring means that you are doing these things out of love. And really, it’s not hard to do any of it, and it really isn’t a sacrifice. It’s just the way it works for your family. Everybody has to do their part to make their family life work. Maybe your family dynamic is different, and you’re the main breadwinner, and someone else has more time for the household. Or maybe you are responsible for everything yourself. Everybody has to participate in making life work.

But working joyfully, and cheerfully giving, that decision is up to you. I can tell you that life is happier, you are happier when you move through life with a happy heart. Is life always easy? Do things always go perfectly according to your plans? Of course not! We all have worries and concerns. Maybe you are struggling financially, maybe someone you love and care for is sick, or injured, or dying. Maybe you just feel like life is beating you down. We have all been there. Everyone has struggles. How we face those struggles is the question.

Do you think that you have to carry the burden alone? On the surface, it may appear to you that you do. But you don’t. There is always someone you can talk to, someone who will listen, someone who will lighten the load.

Talk to God, talk to Jesus. Surrender your heart, look, and listen for the little spark of joy. There is beauty and happiness everywhere. What are you grateful for? What can you do for others? What small look, gentle touch, gesture of friendship or love can you give? Because that is the secret. Opening your heart to God, praying and listening for His voice. Giving of ourselves, rather than just focusing on what we “deserve”, what I think the world “owes” me. Be grateful to the one who gives us all the opportunity for everlasting life.

And don’t forget to say thank you to the people God has placed in your life. The ones who take the time to care for, or be kind to you. Pet the cute kitty who snuggled you while you were sick. Hug the loving husband who kept you fed when you didn’t have the strength to make your own meal. And talk to God, open your heart, feed your soul. Be grateful for whatever crazy, wonderful life you have.

Lila Prints

Clean it up Grandma!

We recently replaced the trim around our mirrored coat closet doors. While wiping down the filled nail holes so I could paint, I looked at the mirrored doors once again. It’s not that I don’t see them every day, because I do. I walk past them probably 20 times a day. And I once again glanced at the Lila prints all over them.

I know that I should clean them off. Some people might be horrified by the fact that I’ve left dirty fingerprints on my closet doors for nearly two months. But they’re a tangible reminder of Lila’s last visit. And I miss that baby girl!

Jennifer is very good at Facetiming with us on a very regular basis. In fact, we got to see and chat with her and Lila earlier today. It is awesome to have the everyday technology to be able to see and hear people you love by simply making a phone call. I love the way Lila’s face lights up as soon as she sees me on the screen. I enjoy seeing her run around the house (with Mama chasing after her to try and keep her in view!) It’s fun to see her pull book after book off the shelf to look at, “read”, or just toss on the floor. She played with a new wooden puzzle this morning, and carefully removed and replaced the pieces. She likes her stuffed lambs, and it’s cute to see her hug them and carry one around.

We are blessed to have the technology to keep the connections. I love being able to see Lila wave “bye bye”, and to blow her kisses when we have to say goodbye. I love that she tries to reach through the computer to touch me. And I so wish that I could reach through the screen and have her here with me! But for now I have to content myself with the Lila hand and foot print ornaments from the last two Christmases.

These simple little gifts are so precious! They are a reminder of just how little she was that first Christmas, and how much she has grown in the past year. And since I have them, I guess I really should go clean the Lila prints off the mirrored closet doors!

Grandma loves you baby girl!

Welcome 2019

The sun has set on 2018 and 2019 is here. Many people make resolutions of things they want to change or accomplish in the new year. I remember celebrating New Year’s Eve at our brother and sister-in-laws home maybe 25 years ago when we all wrote our resolutions on a piece of paper, and put them in a shoebox. Our sister-in-law put the box up on top of the china cabinet and said we should read them in a year. I don’t recall if that’s what we did, but I do remember that my resolution was for us to buy a house.

It’s fun to recall memories of time spent with people we love. It may or may not be so pleasant to recall the events of the past year. Perhaps we have lost someone we care about, or lost a job, had a health scare, or aren’t happy with our current situation in life. We have little or no control over some of these things, but we can work and make changes to help with others. Everyone knows that they should eat healthier, and probably need to exercise more. Taking a different perspective, improving our attitude, and putting in the hard work that is necessary can help us to change things.

One thing though that should be a constant in our lives is increasing our faith and reliance on God. That may not be a particularly “cool” thing to do in today’s society, where popular culture tells us that even if God is real, we don’t really need Him. You might think that too. But what do you do when things are tough? Who do you rely on? Who do you thank when things are good and life seems to be going well?

I can tell you that I have faced hard things in life, the deaths of my Dad and all of my grandparents. The unexpected and shocking death of our 35 year old niece comes to mind. Like nearly everyone, we have faced financial challenges, health concerns, and dealt with all the normal problems and issues that arise in life. But the problems have not overtaken me, because I have faith. Sometimes it seems so hard to put it in God’s hands. We like to try to control everything. (Insert sound effect of a buzzer here, eeeee!) Nope! We can’t! I have peace of mind because of my faith in God, in Jesus. No matter how insurmountable our problems may seem, it will all work out in the end.

If you feel like you’ve lost your faith, or don’t think that you’ve ever had it, I invite you to open your heart. God does not demand faith. He doesn’t push His way into your life. He knocks on the door and waits to be invited in. That tiny little spark of desire in your heart? Feed it! Read the Bible, go to Mass, visit a church, pray, and talk to God. Nourish your soul.

Go ahead and make your resolutions to workout, go to the gym, eat healthier, lose weight, etc. But you can accomplish so much more and live a calmer, happier life by increasing your faith. I challenge you to truly open your heart to God. Invite Him into your life. Put your troubles, problems, and desires in His hands. Trust Him, talk to Him, and let peace and joy enter your life.

The sun has set on 2018, and 2019 is here. Let the new calendar year be the beginning of a better year with the peace of Christ in your heart.

A Thankful Heart

What Are You Thankful For?

On this day of giving thanks, it’s not uncommon to reflect on what you are thankful for. Some families have the tradition of everyone at the dinner table taking turns sharing something that they appreciate. I am very grateful for the people and experiences in my life. Even when everything is not exactly how you wish it could be, life is still so wonderful!

For instance, this is the first Thanksgiving that we won’t have either of our children at the dinner table with us. For the last seven years or so, we have spent Thanksgiving in Tennessee with our daughter and son-in-law and his Mom (and Dad, until his passing). This year, with the drive being a bit too long to be practical, and flights not working out with Dan’s work schedule, our plans changed. Our son and his fiancée are out of town for a well-deserved weekend vacation. So I am grateful that we took them and my Mom (who was visiting us) out to dinner last weekend.

I am thankful that our niece and her family are hosting an extended family Thanksgiving at their home today. Dan will enjoy the crazy brother bonding time that he doesn’t get to have often enough. We will be spending time with people we love. There will be laughter and giggles, food and fun, silliness and seriousness, selfies and photos galore. We’ll all end up tired, (and perhaps a bit frazzled!) from the noise and inevitable chaos. But our bellies and hearts will be full after spending time together.

So what else am I thankful for? I am so grateful for my faith! Christ has sustained me and my family, and my life is so good because of it. I think it’s obvious that my family is super important to me! My husband is my rock, my true love and my best friend.

We have wonderful children (including their significant others) and a granddaughter who brings joy and light into our hearts. I am also appreciative of every beautiful sunrise and sunset that I am blessed to see in this wonderful, sunny paradise where I live. The roar and crash of the waves, the gentle breeze, and the soft sand under my toes as I walk near the ocean bring me peace and joy.

I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving! Take a minute to reflect and please let me know what you are thankful for.