Month of Thankfulness - Day 30!!

Today I'm thankful for pizza delivery! A rainy, Monday after a holiday break - just couldn't get up the energy to cook!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 29

Today I'm thankful for being almost finished with Christmas knitting! I have other things I want to knit.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 28

Today I'm thankful for capturing a picture of all his curls.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 27

Thankful for sunsets and moody skies.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 26

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today I'm thankful family, good food and lots of LOVE.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 25

Today I'm thankful for homemade sofrito!! And learning how to make it myself.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 24

Today I'm thankful for family! My dad and step-mom will be here soon for Thanksgiving! I'm feeling like Titus right about now. A nap would be nice.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 23

Today I'm thankful for Monday mornings at home knitting, instead of fighting traffic on the way to the office.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 22

Today I'm thankful for Christmas cookies! Karen and I make Christmas cookies every year, but I this batch I made alone. Hopefully we will get together before I leave for Texas to make more.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 21

Today, I'm thankful for Thanksgiving break! I have all next week off from work and I plan on enjoying it!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 20

Today I'm thankful for coffee and a new knitting project.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 19

I'm one of those people if you have a glass door or window bare, I will peek inside as I'm walking by. I always wonder what the family is like. The life they live. I also notice yards. You can tell who spends a lot of time in their yard, and who does the bare minimum to keep the HOA away. One yard I noticed hasn't been kept up like it use to be. New owners have moved in. Our community has a Facebook page, and someone happened to mention the unkempt yard. I had just mentioned it to Fonzy a few days ago. The owner of the house, who is part of our community Facebook page spoke up. She is a young mother of 3 who just found out in September she has cancer. Leukemia. She's married and the family also foster dogs. When I read this, I felt so bad for judging. You never know what is going on in people's lives. Finding out she had cancer, their yard seemed so insignificant. She's fighting for her life. Who has time to worry about a yard! A lot of the neighbors reached out to her and her family to help out. Myself included. It felt good to see everyone reaching out to them, when at first we were so quick to judge. Now when I drive or walk by their house, I send up a prayer for her healing and for her family. I don't even notice the yard.

Today, I'm thankful for good health.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 18

The last of the leaves are holding on. This little one seems to be holding on for dear life. Today, I'm thankful for pops of color on grey, dreary days.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 17

Today I'm thankful for blue skies on my walk with Titus this evening. Some days I don't feel like walking, but I always feel better when I do. And of course Titus always loves it.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 16

We won't be putting up a Christmas tree this year since we will be traveling to Texas. I'll miss not having the tree, but I'm thankful for Christmas lights on the fireplace! At least we will have a little festivity for the holidays!

Dang it - we already have one light out! Oh well,...still thankful!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 15

It was frosty this morning as I got up to take Ezekiel to his second day of driving lessons! Today I'm thankful for God's beauty and a warm home and car!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 14

Ezekiel has had a big weekend. His first date yesterday, which went well and today his first time driving! He's taken Drivers Ed and is now on the driving portion. One more year of high school! I swear the time has flown by! Today I'm thankful for Titus company, while I nervously wait for Ezekiel to arrive back at the school from his driving lesson!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 13

Today I'm thankful for morning sunshine, and work from home Fridays.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 12

Ezekiel is going out on his very first date tomorrow night. Dinner and a movie. I'm excited for him, but also nervous!! It's so hard letting go. Today, I'm thankful to be sitting across from him, just the two of us, out to dinner. Our own little mother/son date before he heads out into the world with another lady in his life.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 11

I'm thankful for cozy evenings knitting, with a furry friend sleep by my side.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 10

I'm thankful today for the return of sunshine! It's been raining a lot lately, and the sunshine was welcomed today. My evening walks with Titus are earlier now since the days are so short, but we enjoyed a longer walk today. The sunshine was too good to pass up.

Month of Thanksgiving - Day 9

It has been raining for the past couple of days. We've actually been getting a lot of rain lately. Today I am thankful for my bright, polka dot umbrella. Polka dots make me smile :)

Month of Thankfulness - Day 8

Today I'm thankful for bright Christmas lights before Thanksgiving and Sunday lounging.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 7

I'm thankful for rainy Saturday's with no where to go.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today I'm thankful for a quiet Friday night knitting in bed.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 5

Today I'm thankful for walks around our hood and glorious 70+ degree weather.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today, I am thankful for life.

Today was a sad day. Scrolling through Facebook this morning, I came across a news story of a teen being killed in a car crash on his way to school. He was from Ezekiel's school. About an hour later, I got a text from Ezekiel, simply stating, I love you. I knew they must have been told of the tragedy. Ezekiel knew the boy, had classes with him and said he just spoke with him the other day.

I think of death and dying everyday. Not once in passing, but several times a day. It's probably because our family has had so much death, but most of all, the death of Samuel. You never think when you have your babies, you will be burying them. I worry about Fonzy and the boys whenever they are not with me. I pray daily for their safe return home. I pray for Manuel and my Grandbabies daily. He's not here with me, but always on my mind too. You never stop worrying, no matter how old your kids are.

My heart aches for this young boys family. I know what losing a child is like. So many hopes, and dreams taken in an instant.

Today, I am thankful for life. Because I know all too well, it can be gone in an instant.

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Update Nov 5 - the high school had a prayer circle on campus this morning for Tyler. About 150 students attended, Ezekiel was one of them. 

Month of Thankfulness - Day 3

Today I'm thankful for a son who loves to read.

Last weekend we watched a new movie on Netflix, Beasts of No Nation. The movie was good, but at times hard to watch. When Ezekiel realized it was made from a book, he had to have the book. He got the book in the mail today and couldn't wait to start reading it.

When I ordered this book, he requested the Biography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, which his Grandfather told him to read and Midnight: A Gangster Love Story (Midnight Series), a character that was introduced in Sister Souljah's book, Coldest Winter Ever that he just finished.

As I type this, he is upstairs in his room, journeying into Africa with a young boy soldier.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 2

Today I am thankful for knitting. Two sticks and string that become beautiful things.

I'm working on this hooded reindeer cowl for the holidays. It's coming along fairly quickly and I'm also thankful for that because I have a lot more knitting to do for the holidays!

Bacon Caramel Apples - Because Duh....Everything is Better with Bacon!

One of my Fall favorites are caramel apples. The tart of a granny smith apple, surrounded by the gooeyness of caramel is just so good. I guess gooeyness is not a real word, but whatever. It's a word to me. And what makes this concoction better? BACON! But of course! I put bacon on any and everything! I LOVE bacon.

These apples were quick and easy. Well, besides burning my first batch of bacon to a black crisp. And having my husband and boys refusing to eat them because "oh my gosh, you put STICKS in them! And they are dirty, and you don't know what has been on them!" Now mind you, I did wash the sticks off. And the sticks are stuck into the core of the apple, which you do not eat! But oh well.

I used caramel candy, melted with a little water, and rolled in bacon. They were yummy to me and pretty with the twigs! That's all that really matters. Right.

And duh.....BACON! That's a guarantee winner!

Month of Thankfulness - Day 1

Happy November 1!

For the month of November, I'm going to share my Thankfulness. Everyday, it will be my intention to notice all the little things I have to be thankful for. We get so caught up in our day to day, the hustle and bustle we sometimes forget to be thankful. I thank God everyday for my family, health, food, and home, but I want to be thankful for the little things too.

Today, I am thankful for the leaves strewn all over the yard. They fell from the trees quickly this year, but I'm thankful for the beauty on and off the trees.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Lake Day

I took the day off on Samuel's birthday, and headed to one of our local lakes. I wanted to spend the day, thinking happy thoughts, and seeing beauty that exists in this harsh world we live in.

Some days are so hard, the news and social media has heartbreaking story, after heartbreaking story. I just wanted to step away from it all. Titus and I spent a few hours at the lake and it was good for my soul. I sat and felt the breeze, listened to the water as it rippled along the shore. I wanted to hijack that little boat on the shore, and sit in the middle of the lake, Just sit, with the gentle rocking of the boat lulling me to sleep. I've often said I would love to live on a houseboat. I love being near water. I prefer an ocean, but sometimes a little lake will do.

I didn't hijack the boat, but I did sit in it for a bit. Maybe next time I will find the owner and ask if I could borrow it.