Thankfulness Day 25 - Thankful for Thankfulness

We had a wonderful laugh-filled delicious Thanksgiving Feast that just made my heart smile.  Sitting around a table full of family that I love is something I treasure so dearly. Each Thanksgiving, we take turns expressing what we are most thankful for.  I always get a little nervous kicking off the Thankfulness Speech but appreciating the holiday is so important to me.  I want to be sure to give everyone a chance to reflect and express their gratitude. It is a beautiful tradition and it is my favorite part of the holiday.  I love hearing what brings each person joy and what touches their heart the most. I am thankful for a family full of thankfulness.  It is a wonderful thing to live a life of appreciation and I am blessed to be surrounded by thankful people.  Today and every day, I am......

Thankful for Thankfulness

Thanksgiving Day Thankfulness....Amen

This morning I awoke with my heart full of joy and happiness. My son was sleeping in his bed.  My younger daughter was sleeping in her bed.  My older daughter was sleeping in her bed.  My children are home for Thanksgiving.  My greatest happiness in life and what I am most grateful for above all else is my family.  I love them to the very depths of my soul and they complete me. Thanksgiving is the time to reflect and show thanks for our many blessings.  I am thankful for all of mine.   I am thankful to have my children home for the holiday. I am thankful that Bri is home for Thanksgiving.  I am thankful we are able to share our feast with the friend our son brought home. I am thankful that we were able to talk to my older daughter's boyfriend and wish him a Happy Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for his devotion to our country. His empty chair at our table along with the many other families who also have empty chairs is a reminder of the numerous sacrifices made by those who serve. We miss you Ben.  We can't wait until the Spring when your deployment is over.  Thank you to all our Puppy families. May you be surrounded with food, fun and family.
And most of all......

Thank you for a house full of people that I love. Amen.

Thankfulness Day 23 - I found it!

For the past 2 weeks Mr. Yesteryear Acres has been looking for his trailer hitch.  He has spent hours looking for it. Was it in the garage? No.  Was it in the barn? No.  Car? No. Truck? No.  Every day he asks me if I have seen his trailer hitch and I always answer, "Of course not!" And then I ask him what a trailer hitch looks like.  He loves that part.  He has accused his son of losing it.  He has accused his daughter of moving it.  With every passing day and every false accusation, I respond that he and he alone has lost his trailer hitch.  He assures me daily that he has NOT lost it.  Someone took it or moved it or threw it out in the trash. Today the fun with the "where is my trailer hitch" began and I immediately told Mr. Yesteryear Acres that HE lost the trailer hitch. The trailer hitch saga would hereby be officially over.  After lunch today, I went out to go get a few eggplant from the basket of eggplant I picked 2 weeks ago. I thought it would be nice to have some roasted eggplant with dinner.  Imagine my horror when I picked a few eggplant out of the basket and there at the bottom of the basket was a bright shiny object. Ummmmmmmmmm it looked very much like a trailer hitch.  It looked very much like a trailer hitch in a basket that someone then put eggplant on top. It looked very much like a trailer hitch in a basket buried by eggplant picked by me.  It was at this point I had two choices in life.  Casually pick up the trailer hitch and place it somewhere obvious and then look shocked when Mr. Yesteryear Acres finds it or admit my part in the trailer hitch fiasco. As appealing as haphazardly leaving the trailer hitch in his pathway sounded, I opted for the direct approach.  "Mr. Yesteryear Acres!!!! I FOUND IT!!!!!!" Today I am glad that Mr. Yesteryear Acres was thankful for his beloved trailer hitch and I am thankful that he merely shook his head and laughed when I gave it to him.  Now I just wonder why Mr. Yesteryear Acres put his hitch at the bottom of my eggplant basket?!  Silly Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  You should know better than to hide your own hitch!

Thankfulness Day 22 - The Battle

Oh the yearly battle between Mr. Yesteryear Acres and me is on.  Over the weekend, I walked into the kitchen to find Christmas music playing.  On November 19th.  Not December 19th.  NOVEMBER.  I politely informed Mr. Yesteryear Acres that the wonderful and lovely holiday called Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet so there was simply no way we could already be skipping ahead to Christmas. I walked over to the stereo and turned off the music.  Later, the Christmas music was magically turned back on.  I turned it off. On.  Off. On. Off. Repeat this scenario ad nauseam.  This morning I got a sweet little text from Mr. Yesteryear Acres that said my coffee was ready followed by Christmas trees, reindeer, and music note emoticons.  I walked down into the kitchen to find "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" playing quite loudly.  We have this music battle every year.  Sometimes Mr. Yesteryear Acres starts as early as Halloween! I am steadfast in my commitment to NOT have Christmas begin until after we celebrate Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving.  It is an entire holiday devoted to giving thanks!  We can not just zoom ahead to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".  Mr. Yesteryear Acres knows this.  He silently laughs as he watches me turn off the music only to turn it right back on the moment I leave the room. So why did I choose this music battle for my Thankfulness Day 22 blog?  Because I am so very thankful I am married to Mr. Claus. Who doesn't want to spend the Christmas holiday season with someone so full of the holiday spirit, it simply can't be contained ......not even in November.

Thankfulness Day 21 - Awwwww

I have been told many times that I have the very best job in all the world.  I have to agree!  What could be better than spending each day with sweet lovable doggies and puppies?!  Every day is filled with, "awwwwwww".  There is simply nothing more heartwarming and soul nourishing. I am thankful.

Grits Double Doodle Puppies

A lapful of "awwwwww"

4 Boys

and 7 Girls

to snuggle

and love

They bring us endless smiles

and tail wags

and kisses

Every day is filled

with sweet happiness

and appreciation.

Thank you Grits

You have beautiful puppies!

See you

next week!

Happy Monday!!!!

Thankfulness Day 20 - USMC Ball

My younger daughter was able to travel to Camp Lejeune this weekend to meet my older daughter and accompany her to the Marine Corps Ball.  I am so thankful they got to spend the weekend together. I am so thankful they are best friends.  I am so thankful that my kids support one another and are always there for each other.  And finally, I am so thankful that my two daughters had a blast together!

My older daughter is the best at doing fancy hair for the ball 

Excellent Ball Hair! 

My younger daughter's gown 

Ready for the ball! 

Gosh I love these two! 

Official 241st USMC Birthday Ball 

They had a great time 

Sisters! 

Best Friends!

Thankful

Thankfulness Day 19 - Yesterday's Weather

We woke up to a freezing cold rain here at Yesteryear Acres. This was followed by snow squalls, frigid winds and biting cold temperatures. The Doodle Doggies all looked at me as if to say, "What Happened?!!!!"  I said, "I think we forgot to be thankful for yesterday's weather." Yesterday was a delightful warm 76* with a bright sun shiny sky.  It was completely lovely.  I did have moments yesterday when I stopped to appreciate the beauty of the day but it is quite obvious that I didn't pay enough homage to the rare warm November day.  Today, I was reminded just what November feels like.

The beginning of the drop in temperature 

Behind the scenes ... picture taking (with helpers)

Cheese!

"Let's just stay here.  It seems like the perfect place to hang out." 

Or maybe not! 

Let it Snow!

Thankfulness Day 18 - Finished

We all have those type of projects where you have to dig deep to find the motivation to get started.  The project seems overwhelming and definitely remains at the very bottom of the list of things you want to do and at the top of the list of things that need to be done.  Sometimes the very hardest part is just getting started.  Once you dig in, slowly but surely there is the light at the end of the tunnel and optimism starts to blossom ......this project WILL get done! There is no better feeling than getting that project crossed off the list! Mission Accomplished! I am always thankful when I finish something I really didn't want to do in the first place.  Sometimes it can be something as simple as exercising. I can spend a lot of time rationalizing why I can not possibly exercise but in the end, the second I start exercising, I am so incredibly glad I did it! When I finish my workout, I always feel proud, and happy and thankful. This week we have been working on cleaning up the house for Thanksgiving. Each time we finish a room and cross it off the list, I am so thankful that we got that room done.  Now all I have to do is keep Mr. Yesteryear Acres out of each and every room that is finished. I need to admire our beautiful accomplishments before little by little.....he puts everything back that I just cleaned out! I think I need a sign....

"THIS ROOM IS CLOSED UNTIL NOVEMBER 24th.  KEEP OUT"

Don't worry, I will also add the words "Thank You!!"  See?  November Thankfulness continues!

Thankfulness Day 17 - Morning Happiness

It is no secret that I am not a morning person.  I am a certified night owl.  If I didn't have an alarm clock, I probably would just sleep and sleep and sleep all morning long.  Alas, there is always work to be done so the alarm is always set and mornings always happen.  Thankfully, my mornings are full of happiness.  As soon as I open my eyes,  I have tail wags of happiness.  Once I am done taking a few minutes to snuggle with my doggies and kitties, I head down the stairs where more tail wagging is happening.  The Doodle Puppies are always happy to see me. I get armfuls of puppy hugs and puppy kisses.  The morning happiness doesn't end there.  Mommy Dogs get treated to breakfast in bed.  They always get a special meal in the morning and their enthusiastic gratitude always makes me smile. When the morning chores are done, I get to sit and sip my perfect cup of coffee made just for me by Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  I am thankful for my morning happiness.  Mornings don't come much better than Yesteryear Acres mornings.

Thankfulness Day 16 - Understanding

I am so thankful that I get to spend my days with my family.  I get to spend every day with Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  I get to see my son.  I get to see my younger daughter.  I get to see Bri on the weekends.  I can't wait to see my older daughter and spend every second with her as well.  One of the best things about my family is that we are always always always there for one another.  In the best of times and in the worst of times, we can count on one another for support, compassion and laughter.  We understand each other like no one can and we always know how to make a day even better. We are each other's best friends and our unconditional love and support keeps us inseparable.  I am incredibly blessed and am so thankful to be loved by them.  Only someone that truly knows me and understands me could show this level of empathy upon finding that there was not one single pint of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream in the freezer section.....

You get my very soul

SO thankful for understanding my pain!

Thankfulness Day 15 - Yard work Helpers

I am fairly certain that Mr. Yesteryear Acres is very very very thankful for his yard work helpers.  They are always so willing to jump in and make sure the job is done right.  Where else can you find help like this?

What are we going to do now Mr. Yesteryear Acres?

Are we going to RAKE THE LEAVES?! 

OH BOY!  This will be fun! 

Got one! 

I will go put it in the pile! 

Me too! 

Is this helpful? 

How about if I stand on your foot? 

What if we run through your leaves? 

Look at this big pile! 

Let's spread this leaf pile all over the yard again! 

Yippee!  

This pile is all mine 

Leaf Jumping! 

Scattering leaves is so much fun! 

What do you mean you need to rake again? 

You don't need a rake.  We will get the leaves for you 

We are the best helpers  

Mr. Yesteryear Acres won't find his rake now 

Ha ha ha! 

Hey what do you mean by that is not helpful?

You don't like our puppy barricade? 

Time to get serious guys! 

Here you go Mr. Yesteryear Acres 

We are great yard work helpers!!!!!

Aren't you so thankful?!