Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Today is my Mom's birthday.  She would be 64.  The day is going better than I was bracing for.  Isn't that always the case.  When you're ready for the world to feel heavy, suddenly there is relief.  I'm trying to laugh when I realize things aren't going the way I planned.  And I'm doing so without much effort.  This morning I woke early to put the banana bread in the oven since my kiddos like it piping hot and fresh.  I ended up turning the lower oven on and then placing the bread in the upper oven before sneaking back up to bed.   I was expecting to be roused by the smell of sweet goodness.  When that didn't happen, I figured banana bread can be today's after school snack.

Coach left me such a sweet card this morning.  Brought tears to my eyes.  Good tears.

I am attending mass with many friends who happen to be co-workers at lunch today.  Our friend (mine and my Mom's) remembers to remember her this way this day each year.  It makes me smile through my tears and have joy in my sorrow.

Not one, but two hummingbirds this week.

Compliments on my well-mannered girl.  Both of our waitresses praised her behavior last Saturday at dinner.  She was the only child in the company of adults, but she immensely enjoyed herself and almost willingly shared some of her mozarella marinara with the rest of the table.

T. Bone is working hard and getting all As.  He is bruised from head to toe thanks to football, but he loves it.  He loves it so much that he is not at all happy to miss two games while we are on vacation.

A heart to heart with my dad this weekend.  It's one of the nicest chats we've had in a long time.  He turned 65 this week.  Happy Birthday dad!  We're looking forward to a Door County celebration in November.

Door County in November.  It's all but desserted and that's the way I like it most best.

Today is cloudy.  It's starting to rain.  I need that today.

Sun spots.

She's only 8!  Even though she sometimes dreams of being more grown-up,  I think she knows and loves the fact that she will always be my little girl.  And she will never drive...just sayin'.

Leftover pizza.  Now that is a serious slice.

Eggplant Parmesan. I had to do something with the two beautiful purple fruits that ended up in my basket at the farm stand last weekend. I'll never understand what compelled me to stock up on so much fresh produce right before vacation.

Tomorrow is the first day of fall.  It is my favorite season.  October is my best month.  If I could have a year of Octobers I'd be forever grateful.  Since I only get 31 days, I'll be sure to make the most of them...each and every.

A new cardy.  I'm wearing it today.  I got it for $11.62 on clearance at Target.  This cardy queen loves a new sweater.  I also scored 2 pairs of my favorite yoga pants for $15.42 each!!!  I felt like I won the lottery since I need petites and they never have shorts and they are never on sale.

This morning I noticed that our maple tree is turning orange.  Miss Bit was abuzz about the changing colors up and down along the river.  I love when she not only sees what I see, but also gets excited by it.