Thankful Thursday

I forgot to answer the Hodgepodge questions yesterday.  Oops!

This week I am thankful for...
~ the sweet hugs from my husband.  They make me feel good.

~ my big boy keeping up with his driving hours for driver's ed.  I asked him to see his list and he had a detailed list he's been keeping on his phone as he drives.

~ my little singing guy. I recorded him yesterday singing a song that he liked to listen to with Daddy.  He snaps his fingers and it is just so cute, he doesn't get all the words right.  It makes me smile.

~ enjoying time at the river camping with family over Memorial Day weekend.  Smores, cousins, throwing rocks, reading.  Just such a nice time!

~ cooler days with rain showers.

~ finishing a book.  My friend loaned me Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson.  It was so good!  She let me borrow book 2 also so I look forward to reading it.

Also, I wanted to share this post that I read this week.  I thought it was fitting for "Thankful Thursday."  It is called "Finding Peace When We're Tempted to Panic."

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday!  I hope you are having a good week.

Here is my thankful list for this week:

~ my husband sending me morning texts.  He has been working from home but had to go to his office for a little while to use their equipment to do some interviews by video.  His texts made my day.

~ my big boy finishing up his sophomore year.  The spring has been weird but he adjusted and was dedicated to his schoolwork and workouts.

~ my little guy wanting to read books with me.  We haven't read as many books without our trips to the library and our different scheduled of not just the two of us at home.  It made me smile when he got a stack of books for us to read.

~ letters in the mail...sending and receiving!

~ my Dad coming over for a visit.

~ walking around in the garden section at Lowe's and a garden store on Saturday.  It was nice to get out together!

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. In a single sentence tell us something about your 40's. If you haven't reached that milestone yet tell us (in a single sentence) something about whatever decade you're in now.

Since I turned 40 last year I haven't felt as different as I imaged I would.

2. Life begins at forty. Agree or disagree? Tell us why. And if not at forty, when?

I think we need to make the most of life whatever age we find ourselves.  I turned 40 last year.  I can look back and see how much I've changed in certain aspects compared to how I was in my 20s.  I see this in parenting often of how I do things differently with our youngest than I did with our oldest and wonder how much of that is due to the things I've learned along the way.  

3. Share a favorite book, song, or quote with a number featured in it somewhere. 

4. A picture's worth a thousand words, a stitch in time saves nine, back to square one, catch-22, on cloud nine, my two cents...pick a number phrase and tell us how it applies to your life currently. My two cents....Everyone has an opinion right now about this pandemic.  For me I find it is hard to know what or who to believe becasue the information keeps changing.  And when I go somewhere without my mask, I always feel like people who are wearing one are judging me.  Maybe they aren't.

5. Last time you drove more than 40 miles from home? More than 400 miles from home? Where were you going? Was it before or after this current season of social distancing?

The last time I drove more than 40 miles from home (well I technically didn't do the driving!) was when we went to the state park during spring break and to celebrate my husband's birthday at the end of that week.  Everything was just starting then, school was going to have a delayed return we thought.  Oh how things have changed! 

I'm thinking the last time we drove more than 400 miles from home was when we went to Tennessee in the summer of 2014. (DC was more recent but we flew!)

6. Insert your own random thought here.
This week would have been Caleb's last week of school.  I think Friday was going to be the official last day.  He didn't have new assignments assigned this week.  I have wondered how our summer days will look compared to the past couple of months. Not too different I suspect.  He already has his book to read for his summer project for English.  I have thought of some things I may get him to do too.   I did read that UIL may release some guidelines for athletes to begin working out again on campus soon. Caleb has missed that.  I have been proud of his dedication to keeping up with the home workouts that the coaches have sent out.

Have a day of blessings! 

Bethany

Thankful Thursday

Hello, I hope you are having a good week.  Thank you for stopping by on Thankful Thursday.  What are you thankful for today?

Here is my thankful list for this week:
~ my husband being able to make me smile when I was feeling grouchy.  I didn't know what he was doing and then he had a song turned on.  It was cute and the lyrics made me smile.

~ my big boy caring for his little brother (see yesterday's post) and the cooking he has done during this time at home.  So helpful!

~ my little guy doing well after his dental work this week. He hasn't had any complications.

~ a nice Mother's Day.  I'm excited to see if my new plants will grow!  Keeping them alive is a challenge for me but I'm trying! I appreciated their cards they made.  Caleb made me a pretty painting as well.

~ working on updating my blog.  I had not changed the background in so long and did that yesterday.  I liked how it turned out.

~ fresh produce from the local farm store.  I bought some peaches that were so delicious!  I'm going to go back when he has more to get a few more for a peach pie.  I also bough cucumbers, zucchini (for bread) and onions.

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Ever played the game Farkle? Are you a risk taker? In games only or also in life?
 Yes I have, but  it has been a long time. I had to go look up the game and rules to refresh my memory. No, I am not a risk taker. We have been playing a card game called Golf lately, and I noticed about myself as we played that I am definitely not a risk taker.  

2. What's your favorite thing about your yard or whatever outdoor space you may have?
Our back door is a glass sliding door. When we moved here it led out to a wide cement porch with three or four steps down.  We added a deck with a gate to latch closed to keep my baby boy safe and also to keep the dog off the porch.  However now our boy is bigger and the dog is gone so the gate is off.  Anyway, I have enjoyed sitting out there on these nice spring days and doing my quiet time.  I imagine what the yard will look like “someday.”  The dog had dug a bunch of holes through the yard and grass wasn't growing.  The boys are working on that though.  It's been a good project for Caleb to help with during this time.  For now it is peaceful to hear the birds and feel the breeze.

3. Tell us about the most interesting building you've seen or been in.
Carnegie Hall...in high school I went with my choir to NYC to sing in Carnegie Hall.  Being inside Carnegie Hall was amazing, and seeing it in movies or on TV brings back those memories.


Another that came to mind was the Precious Moments Chapel.  We went there one summer when we went to Missouri and Iowa.  Here is a picture from the website---
https://preciousmomentschapel.org/

4. In this current season of social distancing, what's something you've come to realize you take for granted in more ordinary times? Do you think you'll make a conscious effort to appreciate whatever that 'it' is once normal life resumes?
There are many things I have realized I had taken for granted.  One is how I had a plan and had even told myself at Christmas break how we didn’t have much time together left with Titus at home and to make the most of the time.  I thought I had "x number of times" left doing  activities/programs with my little guy before he starts kindergarten.  Zoo class once a month, ladies Bible class on Tuesday’s (he loved going and playing with his friends) followed by lunch with Daddy, library visits, time at home just the two of us.  I never thought I wouldn’t get to have those moments with him.  Now I know I won’t, and while it does make me sad, I also appreciate what is happening now.

5. Share a favorite song with a springtime flower in the lyrics somewhere.
An old hymn that came to mind:

"The Lily of the Valley"  I found several versions on YouTube.  Here is one by Johnny Cash.
 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My little guy did great with his dental work yesterday.  He was very brave.  I was thankful I got to stand in the room with him and for how well he did with it all.  He was very calm about everything.  His big brother had a meeting yesterday morning online so decided to stay home instead of going with us.  He did set his alarm to get up to see us before we left which I thought was really sweet.  Afterwards he was out to the garage to get his brother before we even got out of the van.  They enjoyed a milkshake and extra time watching television together.

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Thankful Thursday

Another Thursday!  The weeks are going by quickly I guess.  Maybe not as quickly as it normally seems they do this time of year.

Here is my thankful list this week:

~ seeing my husband with our boys, either playing together or teaching them something new.

~ my big boy working hard to help others in our neighborhood with projects at their homes. He is staying busy during this time!

~ my little guy being comfortable at two dentist appointments this week.  I found a spot on a tooth and was able to have our regular dentist check it.  He sent us to a pediatric dentist.  It is a cavity and Titus will have it fixed next week.  He was very brave in the new location.  I was proud of him and feel like our dentist and his hygienist have been great to help him be comfortable.

~ being able to get the food we need on our pick up order (for the most part).  There are a few things out of stock, more than before this started, but lately I've been able to get mostly what we need.  I still search for toilet paper each time too, they don't have our kind in stock yet! And it is a blessing to be able to have some variety of foods for our meals.

~ my Mom and that we live close enough and can still see her during this time.  We have been over to their house several times for supper.  It's nice to get out and something we don't normally do during the school year.

~ encouragement from my neighbor about a answer to prayer she had regarding her husband's care.  It is always an encouragement to me to read how God answers prayers.

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a day of blessings!
  Bethany

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1.  Question day this week lands on Cinco de Mayo. Are/were tacos on your Tuesday night menu? Hard shell, soft shell or just gimme all the tacos? Are you even a fan of Mexican food? Do you like your salsa mild, spicy, or somewhere in between? Margaritas-Frozen, on the rocks, or no thank you? Have you ever been to Mexico?

No tacos for us this week but we do have them quite regularly!  I like soft usually but sometimes I am in the mood for hard.  This made me think of a funny story with Titus.....before bed he likes to say opposites.  I said soft one time and he said crunchy.  It always makes me laugh because I think soft/hard but he's heard us order tacos on Taco Tuesday and say crunchy.

I LOVE Mexican food!  

I want mild salsa.  My husband teases me about how I dip my chips.  I'm looking forward to being back at a restaurant for chips and salsa.

I've never had a margarita and never been to Mexico.

2. What's something you may do this month?We may get to go camping on Memorial Day weekend.  It has been a tradition to do with my husband's side of the family.  The place we go has been closed but did open up at the end of April.  We will see how things are by then.  

3. Tell us what's happening in your state or town as far as restaurants/salons/parks/beaches/businesses opening up. How do you feel about it? Are you out and about or hunkered down? Do you wear a mask?

This week our Governor opened back up salons as of May 8.  Last week restaurants got to open at 25% dining.  We do not have many cases in our county but the next city has increased 10-20 (or more) cases per day for the past several days.  Today they changed the count because they redid who was included in the count so it is a lower number.  

I saw overnight camping will open up again on May 18.  I'm excited about that because I'd like for us to be able to take our camper to the state park this summer since I don't know if we will have a vacation. 

I go to our local grocery store.  I see them wiping down the buggies, and I will get one if I see the boy wiping it.  I have not gone into big stores yet like WalMart.  I do pick up orders for our other groceries.

We are not dining out yet.  I do not know when we will do that.  We have picked up food.  

I wear a mask when I deliver the Meals on Wheels meals.  

4. Mother nature, everybody and their mother, mom jeans, like mother like daughter, soccer mom, mother hen, mother lode, necessity is the mother of invention, stay-at-home mom...pick one and tell us how it applies to your life right now.

Stay-at-home Mom

I am thankful and feel blessed to have been able to stay home with our boys.  I taught school for three years before our oldest was born.  He will be 16 in August.  Sometimes I can't believe it's been that long since I've worked outside the home.  My husband has always supported me in this dream.

5. April showers bring May flowers...what's blooming in your yard or garden today?

A few years ago I started noticing this plant around our neighborhood and didn't know what it was.  I asked and found out it was a red yucca.  I wanted to get one.  Not long after that my neighbor asked me if I'd want some, she had someone give her some so she had extra.  We planted a couple and this year this one is in bloom!  I was so excited to see it.  It is small compared to the others, but I'm so excited it is growing!  Here is a picture:

 And when I went out I remembered my lantana is in bloom. It’s very pretty.

Not the best pictures, it was so bright out! 

I am looking forward to seeing my gladiolas blooming.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My husband and I participated in an online marriage seminar last week.  It is by Mark and Jill Savage.  We really enjoyed it and learned new things.  I'd recommend it, I'm not sure when they will offer it online again but it was worth our time and money. Here is more information at this site.  There is a spot where you can enter your email to be notified when they have it again.

We feel it is important to invest in your marriage, if you have been married a short or long time.

Have a day of blessings!
 Bethany