Nov 17 - Monday Thankfulness

Every Monday is Puppy Picture Monday which means brand new puppy pictures on our website and brand new puppy pictures for the blog.  I am thankful that every single Monday I am able to share a little puppy happiness.

Last time to enjoy the green grass

Mr. Yesteryear Acres says the snow is coming!

I smell the snowflakes in the air

Come on Mr. Yesteryear Acres! Let's Play!

Follow the Leader!

I got the first hug!

I want one too!

Puppy Kisses are the best

Let's play tag!

Did somebody say Freeze Tag?

Potty Break!

Hide and Seek Time

Do you think Mr. Yesteryear Acres will find us? 

Here he comes!

Mr. Yesteryear Acres - you are the best finder ever!

Sweet Pea's Goldendoodle Puppies are getting bigger

Puppy Hugs!

Snow days are good for cuddling in blankets

Happy Monday!

Have a Thankful Snowy day!

Nov 16 - Hard Working Thankfulness

Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son are without a doubt the hardest working, farm chore laboring, doggie care giving, Yesteryear Acres loving, people I know. There is nothing that prevents the two of them from working here each and every day and they always give it their all. They are so devoted to our Doodle Doggies and keeping them healthy and happy.  I never have to ask either of them to help me because they have already thought of what needs done and they do it.  Neither one of them ever complains as they both feel so very grateful that we have doodle doggies and doodle puppies to love.  They love life here and they make Yesteryear Acres a true family business. My daughters are also devoted to our Doodle Doggies and Doodle puppies and whenever they are home, they pitch in immediately without being asked.  I am so thankful that our family business is something that we all love.  I am thankful that I am surrounded by such hard workers.  I am particularly thankful for all the manual labor that Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son do each day. Today the two of them spent the entire day outside getting things ready for our first snowfall. It was cold and snowy and I was able to stay inside and work where it was warm and cozy while the two of them braved the elements. I am so lucky that I have incredibly hard workers in my family.  I know I am blessed.  All that hard work equals one happy life!!!! Happy Snowvember!

Nov 15 - Candy Thanks

As I was sitting at my computer desk, eating a delicious strand from my Cherry Twizzler, pondering just which of the many things to be thankful for today, it occurred to me.....Candy!  I am thankful for candy!  Now I know that seems like such a silly thing to be thankful for, but to me, having a delicious assortment of candies in my home brings me happiness.  When I was growing up, we never had candy.  The closest treat my sister and I ever came to was our Flintstone vitamins.  The few times we got to go trick or treating, we saved our precious pillowcase of candy and made it last all year long. Candy was such a rare but ever so longed for treat, I dreamed of a day when I would be able to have a Willy Wonka candy experience.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres understands my childhood obsession with sweet treats and has come to accept my need to have 12 different flavors of gummi bears as well as Tutti-Frutti Jelly Beans and Cherry Twizzler Pull and Peel and Wild Cherry Sour Rings surrounding me. I have half-gallon glass jars filled with candy and it kind of looks like an old-fashioned penny candy store. I just love looking at them.  The truth is the candy jars hardly ever need refilled as it isn't so much the eating of the candy that I love so much as it is the opportunity to eat the candy whenever I choose. My Willy Wonka dream has been fulfilled.  Jelly Bean anyone?  I have lots to share!

Nov 14 - Thankful for Warm Slippers

Mr. Yesteryear Acres knows just how to make my mornings start perfectly.  He is always the first one up and out of bed.  Always.  He is the earliest of the early birds.  I can't tell you how much I love a warm comfy bed and there is never a single morning where I throw off the covers, whistling a happy tune, and think "let's jump up and start this day!" Mr. Yesteryear Acres wakes up like this every morning. Except instead of throwing off the covers, he quietly slips out of bed, goes all the way out of our room through the bathroom so as to not to open our big creaky door and heads downstairs to start the morning chores. By the time I get up, all the puppies have been cared for and all the puppy messes have been cleaned. Mr. Yesteryear Acres always has a perfect cup of coffee waiting for me, just the way I like it. I like my coffee with cream and sugar and even though Mr. Yesteryear Acres abhors the thought of ruining the sanctity of pure coffee, he makes my coffee the way I like it nonetheless. Every morning when Mr. Yesteryear Acres greets me with my coffee, I feel loved. This morning I had an extra helping of love as Mr. Yesteryear Acres had warm slippers waiting for me when I came down the stairs.  He had put them on his boot heater for me so they were toasty warm when I slipped my feet inside.  Warm Slippers. Hot Coffee.  Endless Love.  Thankful every day.

Nov 13 - Bean Thankful

My son has dreamed of being a farmer pretty much his entire life. The moment we moved here to Yesteryear Acres, my son immediately called our place the "Moo-Moo Brick House" because our neighbor had cattle.  We have an evening dinner-time tradition where we go around the table and each person says what their favorite thing of the day is. For an entire year my son's favorite thing was always "feeding the cows!"

My son went to our neighbor's barn and fed the cows every single day. He still goes over just about every day as our neighbor was my son's very first best friend - and still is.  They talk about farming and how much they love life here. So when my son came home from school to see the combine had arrived to harvest the beans.........well life simply doesn't get any better than that!  Farm chores got done in record time and my son barely had time to wave goodbye as he ran back to the field.  He is out there now, riding in the combine, living the dream.

I think I can see his smile from here. I am pretty sure I know what he will say when asked what his favorite thing of the day is.....that is if he ever comes back.  My guess - he will be out there until the last bean has been picked.

Bean Thankful.

Farmer Thankful.

Every day.

Nov 12 - Tomato Thankfulness

Our garden this year was quite sad and pathetic.  We just couldn't beat Mother Nature and our garden suffered.  It was probably the worst yield of vegetables we have ever had. I usually spend a good portion of late summer putting up vegetables for the year. My minimum goal each year is
104 Quarts of Tomatoes
24 pints of Salsa
52 pints each of Green Beans, Sweet Corn, and Beets
48 Quarts each of Eggplant and Zucchini
and then I also like to have varying amounts of Sugar Snap Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Peppers, Potatoes and anything else Mr. Yesteryear Acres plants that year. We love having our own veggies to eat all year round.  Well this year, I got exactly ZERO Quarts of Tomatoes.  ZERO! That is the saddest number I ever had! I have been reduced to buying canned tomatoes from the store! EGAD! I never have to do that.  Now when I cook, my pot roast isn't as delicious.  My pasta isn't as delicious. My soups aren't as delicious. Nothing is as delicious as it could be with my very own homegrown tomatoes! I had already resolved to never have anything taste delicious again when.......Mr. Yesteryear Acres found 60 quart jars of my tomatoes!  I forgot that last year we had soooo many tomatoes, I ended up canning extras! We had them stored in the basement and today Mr. Yesteryear Acres found our secret stash! I AM SO THANKFUL!  Thank you past self for working so hard to can extra tomatoes! Thank you Mr. Yesteryear Acres for suggesting the massive tomato canning event last year. Thank you last year's garden for being so bountiful.  I think I will just sit and look at my cabinet full of jars upon jars of beautiful summer tomatoes.  I can't wait to make the most delicious dinners!

Nov 11 - Thankful for all Veterans

Once again, my November Thankfulness moment is the first thing on my mind because today is Veteran's Day. Thank you Veterans.  Freedom is Never Free.  It comes at the great cost to those that are brave.  It comes with sad goodbyes. It comes with long absences. It comes with months upon months of hardships.  It comes with a great longing for all that is loved so far away. "In war, there are no unwounded soldiers" (Jose' Narosky).  This could not be more true.  Thank you for your sacrifices.

To the sweetest grandfather of our children

To my oldest and fearless daughter

I carry your love in my heart every day.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Nov 10 - Happy Birthday Marine Corps and Thank You!

Happy 239th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps! My November Thankfulness for today is quite simple - Thank you from the bottom of my heart for 239 years of faithful devoted service, commitment and courage.

Thank you to my own beloved Marine.  

"Honor, Courage and Commitment are the values that guide us-

Semper Fidelis is the motto that bonds us"

Since the moment you were born you have exemplified the true spirit of the Marine Corps.  You live your life with integrity and compassion and above all - you are always faithful. Semper Fi.

And of course I did not forget that today was also Puppy Picture Monday so here are a few pictures of our faithful doodle puppies

Sweet Pea's Goldendoodle Puppies are just starting to toddle around

They are soooooo adorable!

Marmalade's Double Doodle puppies start solid foods this week

They will start growing by leaps and bounds

Marmalade's babies all have the silkiest softest coats.  They make the best snuggle buddies!

Happy Birthday Marines!

Happy Monday!

Nov 9 - Thankful for Kid Fun

Despite the fact that my kids are no longer little kids, we all still love to do "little kid things".  My older daughter loves to color.  If I were to put a box of crayons in front of her and a coloring book - she would be in heaven for hours.  My younger daughter loves to play board games and she is just a most awesome partner in any game. My son is always up for playing with the Doodle Doggies, or going outside for a game of catch or disc golf. All 3 of my children never lost the love of playing. The simple, joyful, no purpose whatsoever, except for the pure enjoyment and fun of the moment. I love that.  I love being a part of that.  I love coloring and playing games and playing outside and well just about anything my kids like to do.  I love that even though my kids grew older, we still have so much fun doing all the same things we used to do when they were little. I am eternally thankful for all the fun times we spend together. Last weekend we finally had time to carve the pumpkins my son grew this summer.

He saved the perfect pumpkin for Bri to carve

Of course it is vital to save every pumpkin seed!

My son's Yesteryear Acres Pumpkin

Bri's Heart Pumpkin

They look even better with the candles!

It might be November - but Heart Pumpkins last all season long!

Awwwwwwww

And my favorite part! Mmmmmm.  I think we ate all the pumpkin seeds in record time this year!

I hope my kids never outgrow their love of kid fun. I know I never will!

Nov 8 -Thankful for my Horses

As is the dream of most little girls, I always wanted a horse.  Every Birthday wish. Every Christmas wish. Every falling star.....I would wish for a horse of my own.  For my 30th birthday, my horsie birthday wish finally came true. Mrs. Buckwheat arrived in style on the morning of my 30th birthday and she was soon joined by Willow and then Cheyenne. It is hard to believe that I have now had my horses for 19 years.  To me it just seems like yesterday when my horses became part of our Yesteryear Acres family. They are the sweetest horses too.  Whenever I walk out into the field, Cheyenne is always the first to greet me.  Cheyenne is like a faithful dog as she will follow you every single step you take.  Once you start petting Cheyenne, well then Willow and Buckwheat just have to come and be a part of that action.  I love to be surrounded by my horses. They all love to be hugged and will stand there all day long if you have the time.

There is never a day that this adorable face doesn't make me smile

I am thankful for my horsie hugs.  They fill my heart with happiness.

November 7 - Blanket of Thankfulness

Every day I feel so blessed that I am able to spend my days with my Doodle Doggies and Doodle puppies.  I am so lucky that my life is full of unconditional love. Each year Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I love to share our blessings with families that are in special need of extra TLC. We donate several doodle puppies every year to those families who could use the unconditional love and tail wagging devotion of a furry best friend. This month we are donating an entire litter and this is the weekend those puppies are leaving Yesteryear Acres and going on to bring tail wagging devotion to some special families. Nothing brings my heart more joy than knowing our puppies will go on to bring happiness to others. Today while I was putting together the Puppy Care Packages, I received a package of my own! I opened up my special delivery and look what was inside!

The puppy that is going on to bring love to hospice patients sent this blanket to me. The note said, "the puppy wanted you to have something to keep you warm till your daughter returns home."  My heart filled with so much thankfulness and appreciation upon seeing my new blanket.  I am so very touched.  The thoughtfulness didn't end there.

I received this beautiful snow-globe from the "Make a Wish" Foundation

It says "Dogs leave paw prints on our hearts" and has "You Touched My Heart" engraved on the side. It is beautiful.  I immediately put it right on my desk by my computer so I can look at it every day. 

I was already teary when I opened the snow-globe but the waterworks really started when one of the families picking up their puppy today gave me this....

It is a picture frame Christmas ornament with "Tail Wagging Devotion" engraved on the frame.  The woman who gave it to me said that she knew my daughter was not going to be home from Christmas and she also knew my daughter had limited space on her deployment so she got her this Christmas Ornament.  It has a beautiful ribbon so that my daughter can hang it near her bunk for Christmas and she thought we could put a picture of us and the Doodle Doggies in the ornament to brighten my daughter's Christmas morning. Oh my gosh, I couldn't even hold back the tears. I feel so blessed and so thankful. I am so happy to donate my Doodle puppies when I can.  My heart overflows with joy when our doodle puppies meet their new families. I love making others happy. To receive such thanks back......I don't have enough words to adequately express how much this touches my heart.  

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Nov 6 - Finally!

To say that Mr. Yesteryear Acres is not the best speller - would be a huge understatement. Handy man EXTRAORDINAIRE....YES! Spelling Bee Champ.......NO WAY!  On the other hand, I pride myself on my editing capabilities.  Whenever I edit a paper, misspelled words literally leap off the page as if they were written in bold print.  I can spot a misspelled word no matter how quickly I am reading a document.  I have a gift for always spelling words correctly. If I ever make a mistake, I feel horror! I feel shame!  I feel that it cannot possibly be true! So this morning when Mr. Yesteryear Acres was reading my blogpost from yesterday and said, "YOU MISSPELLED A WORD!" I immediately looked at him with disbelief. I mean - me spell something incorrectly? Impossible!  What was even more impossible was that Mr. Yesteryear Acres was the one pointing out the error. What could I, awesome speller that I am, spell incorrectly? Well, it was the word "soldered".  I had mistakenly written "sautered" because whenever Mr. Yesteryear Acres fixes my jewelry, he always says he is "sautering" or needs to "sauter" this or that.  Well I wrote the word how my brain heard it and yes folks....I was WRONG. So wrong!  Not even close! I looked up the words in the dictionary and evidently you "solder" metals together.  The word is "solder" not "sauter". So I was forced admit my egregious error. I said, "Oh my gosh! You are right! I didn't use the correct word!!!!"  As I sat there shaking my head in disgust, Mr. Yesteryear Acres started to raise his hands in the air as he looked towards the heaven and yelled, "FINALLY!"  Yes, he finally was able to be the one to correct a spelling error.  He said THAT is his Thankfulness moment of the day....of the week....of all time! So Mr. Yesteryear Acres thankfulness moment of November 6, 2014 is his amazing prowess and unbelievable proficiency at spelling making him the supreme and ultimate MASTER Spelling Bee Champion!

Nov 5 - Thankful for my Handyman

Mr. Yesteryear Acres is the very best handyman EVER. He can fix anything and everything.  I am so lucky because we never have to call a repairman and I don't think there is one single thing that Mr. Yesteryear Acres can't fix. Broken eye glasses? No problem!  Jewelry that needs soldered? Easy! Dishwasher won't run? Fixed in a flash!  Whatever needs repaired - Mr. Yesteryear Acres is on the case. I am so thankful that whenever life throws a little curveball our way, Mr. Yesteryear Acres always makes everything better.  He can even mend broken hearts. He truly is my handyman.  This week Mr. Yesteryear Acres is working on restoring our front door. It is 191 years old - so it is in need of a little TLC.

It is looking better already!

Tackling the huge arch

Ready for sanding!

Mr. Yesteryear Acres hopes to have the primer coat on by the weekend.

I love my handyman!

So does our house!

Nov 4 - Thankful for Right to Vote

As soon as my son came home from school today we got in his truck and he drove us to our polling location.  It was quite the momentous occasion as today was the first time my son was old enough to vote. We both studied all the issues and candidates beforehand and had our decisions clearly made so that my son could walk into the polling place fully prepared to cast his vote. The right to vote is not something we take lightly.  It is an honor and a privilege. Even if the vote doesn't go the way you hoped it would, at least you were able to cast your vote and let your opinion be heard. There are citizens of other countries that can only dream of such a luxury. To be a proud American also means to be an American who exercises their right to vote.  I am thankful for that right.  I am also thankful that I got to vote today with my son.  

We voted!  Did you?

Nov 3...Thankful to Share the Love

Our litter of puppies that we are donating are almost big enough to go to their new homes. I can't wait for their families to come and pick up their adorable furry companion buddies! I know these puppies will go on to make the biggest difference in the lives of their new families.  Nothing brings more heartwarming devotion that the unconditional love of a furry best friend.

"I'm starting my training next week! I am going to be a service doggie devoted to making the life of my owner a lot easier"

"I am going share my tail wagging devotion to a veteran with a brain injury"

"I am going to be the constant companion to a little girl in a wheelchair. We are going to be bestest friends!"

"I can't wait to give kisses to all the families I will be visiting in hospice care.  I hope that my tail wagging devotion will bring smiles to their hearts"

We are almost ready for our adventures to begin!

Our last group picture

We are READY!

We are Thankful to Share the Love.....

Because we have lots of love to share!

Happy Monday

Happy Thankfulness

Thank you November 2 for the Extra Hour!

I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed.  I woke up before my alarm.  I woke up on my own.  I woke up to find I had only slept half of my extra hour away and IT WAS HEAVENLY.  Ahhhhhhhh big comfy bed of sweet slumber.  I happily bounded downstairs and was greeted by a delicious cup of coffee freshly brewed by my sweet Mr. Yesteryear Acres. I then set about feeding the puppies, washing puppy dishes, emptying the dishwasher, putting a big pot of Steel Cut Irish Oats on the stove and fresh baked apple slices in the oven.  I had all that done BEFORE my morning alarm even went off.  I completely and totally enjoyed my gift of an extra hour.  My family did too! Thank you Daylight Savings time!  Not only am I so thankful for my extra hour this morning, I am thankful for an early nightfall tonight.  Secretly, I LOVE the winter months.  It gets dark early which means Mr. Yesteryear Acres actually can figure out that it must be time to come inside.  We no longer have 10:00pm dinners like we do in the summer!  We have dinners at reasonable hours. Darkness starts to fall and immediately Mr. Yesteryear Acres thinks, "Gee, it must be dinner time ....maybe I should put away my farming equipment and go inside".  November Thankfulness.....you bet!

November.... A Month of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Just the name alone - "Thanks...Giving" says it all.  Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful for all your blessings.  Thank you for the gifts in my life. Thank you for my blessings. When we sit down to eat our Thanksgiving Feast, we make sure to go all the way around the table and each person says what they are most thankful for. For me... that one day isn't enough and so every November I dedicate the whole month to thankfulness. Each day I make a point to say what I am thankful for. Each and every single day I am most thankful for my family and my doodle doggies and each and every single day I never forget to give thanks but for November - I make a point to say an extra thank you every day.  So for today on this beautiful First Day of November - I will give thanks for winning the monthly challenge of "Happy [insert month here] First! Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I started this game when we first starting dating. When a new month would arrive we would see which one of us would be the first to wish the other Happy First Day of the month.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres is VERY good at this game and he often wins the monthly challenge. We have been playing this game for over 30 years and never miss a month.  Last night at exactly 12:04am - I realized it was November First and sat straight up in bed yelling, "HAPPY NOVEMBER FIRST!" which was immediately followed by me laughing hysterically saying, "Hahahahahahah I WIN! I WIN NOVEMBER!" Mr. Yesteryear Acres of course said, "Sometimes, I just let you win" and then started to laugh as well. So when I say that I am thankful for winning this month, what I really and truly am most thankful for is the fact that I look forward to each and every month, ready to hear "Happy First of the month" from my sweet Mr. Yesteryear Acres and thankful that every month with him brings endless happiness to my life. HAPPY NOVEMBER FIRST! I hope this month brings you much thankfulness and if you would like to share your daily November Thankfulness thoughts - I would love to hear them!!!!!