Grateful Thankful and Blessed

 1. Grateful for a day that started out terribly. Woke up with ear pain. Cleaned one ear, dizziness. Cleaned the other ear, dizzy. Fell asleep. Two hours later refreshed but the laptop would not turn on. Hmmm....The hubby arrived home from work, he is the lucky charm I Needed. The cord was partially unplugged. Hallelujah! Thankful and Blessed.

2. Thankful for hot tea to calm my nerves. I have things all around me to do, but needed a break today. Grateful for tomorrow, God willing, so I will be blessed.

3. Blessed to write out a few cards for the encouragement group. I need to locate my CHRISTmas cards.Hubby took me to the post office. It was jumping with people, I just walked in used the mail slot and home we came. Grateful. Thankful.

4. Thankful for leftovers. My  Sweets made homemade refried beans. We had taco meat and a quart of green chili. Dinner was easy .Grateful for good food, blessed for all the goodness in our lives.

5. Grateful for warm blankets and jumping into a warm bed at night. Ah........ feels so nice to have warmth and makes me sad too, because so many have no where to go on cold nights. But I can pray so I feel blessed, Thankful for all good things.

6. Grateful for watchful eyes like Rebekah, she does this thing every Monday night, clearing anything in the fridges that may be old. It really helps keep the fridges clean. After a holiday and leftovers it is nice to have a clean fridge. Blessed and Thankful. 

7. Thankful for hopefully one more year with a birthday . We decided since Rebekah and Zach are going to the Rocky Mountain National Park for their anniversary, we would wait until Saturday for my birthday. we will order pizza and have cake. It will be a blessing if some of the kids can stop by. Grateful.

8.  Blessed that I heard from two friends today. When I don't hear from them I worry. Both are fine. My friend Karen in Idaho sent me a photo of her daughter in Seattle with her little girl. So precious. Thankful.

9. Grateful Lynette in my hometown is doing ok, a bit stir crazy with the  lockdown but I told her, she and her mom, need to go outside their home and breathe some fresh air. They live in the country. Her aunt is going around in circles in assisted living. She wants to go home. I am going to send her card and write her a letter. I am blessed and grateful and thankful to know such fine people. 

10. Thankful for the good store brand of chorizo I found that is yummy. We use to go to Bruegger's Bagels which is directly across the street from my hubby's office building. We use to do Saturday mail once every 6 weeks. They make a Chorizo Jack Egg and Cheese Bagel.  Oh yum!  I recreated the bagel. I toasted a plain bagel, used some  cream cheese, added a sunny-side up egg with Pepper Jack cheese and a chorizo patty. It was delicious. Blessed and Grateful.

                  I had to use a google image. I ate that sandwich and it filled me up all day long.

Gratefulness & Thankful

 1. Grateful that the past four days were amazing and we accomplished so much. I always get sad when my Sweets has to return to work. But I am happy he has a steady job with benefits and no matter what is in the future, I am praying we are in it together. Thankful.

2. Thankful for simple pleasures, a cup of tea, a holiday cookie, little things that add up to make the moments special and life simple, even for a moment or two. Gratefulness'

3. Thankful so many gifts are arriving and we are starting to get them wrapped and tucked away. My hubby is the best gift wrapper. I am just average. When I was a kid, my auntie Ang's sister Kay worked for a big department store, in Southern California. She worked in the gift wrapping dept. Do you remember those days? Gifts were wrapped beautifully and most as no charge to the customer. It is a long lost service. But Kay wrapped her gifts so exquisitely. I can close my eyes and see them. Simply beautiful. Gratefulness.

I wish I had photos of all the beautiful gifts Kay wrapped for my sister and I through the years. They were very similar to this google image gift wrap.

4. Gratefulness takes me back to more memories. What goodness and joy to celebrate with some favorite foods, traditions, people, places and simple joyful things. I am so very Thankful for it all.

5. My mom made the best cheesecake, with lemon jell-o no less! I still have a typed recipe card, courtesy of my cousin Joanne, who did those simple tasks for her mom and mine. I cherish such simple treasures. Very thankful for them and filled with gratefulness.

6. Gratefulness fills my heart when that first CHRISTmas card arrives in the mail. Many years ago my sister Pat's mother-in-law always sent us our first card of the season. She was a widow and always wrote a personal message inside. When she passed away I was very sad. My life long friend Karen is one of those people who sends cards early. I have not heard from her yet and am praying all is well on her end of the world (Idaho). My pal Sharon too. I feel sad sometimes because she sent the very first card to us, and always very lovely and usually from an African American artist. She had a stroke about 6 years ago and other health issues so I do miss her cards. This year I will find and send the absolute perfect card to her. Thankful for all the memories

7. Thankful: The photo on the card from my nephew Charles and his lovely wife Cheryl. I love hanging all the cards up and enjoy keeping them year after year. Call me a packrat, a hoarder, whatever, I am a very sentimental gal and would never discard one letter or card most everyone has sent to me. Do you know the feeling to find a card your mom, who has been gone since November 2001 , sent you many years ago? I do and it is a wonderful feeling. Gratefulness.

8. Gratefulness made me think of Jene. She is the younger sister of my life long friend Carole. Jene was a journalist and 8 years ago she moved her mom in with her and cared for her. These lovely ladies and their two other sisters lost their mom recently. The holidays are going to be tough. But Jene, who is an incredible storyteller told a story about their mom. She said when she was younger and moved to the big bad city, her mom would come to visit and always leave her a note that said, take care of you for me. She worried about Jene living alone. When they started to live together again, Jene said her mom would tell her I love you more. She said it to everyone who told her I love you.  Imagine who blessed Jene felt when she found a note from her mom with her favorite saying.   Jene says a mug she had made was not suppose to arrive for several more days but yet she received it early, in her sweet mom's handwriting are the words, I love you more, Mom. Talk about being thankful. I certainly hope some of the downsizers, Marie Kondo followers, minimalists will stop and think how important a tiny note should be. But I suppose Jene and I could just be sentimental mature fools. Gratefulness.

9. Gratefulness is spending the late evening in solitude and quiet (except for the hubby's light breathing and occasionally snores). Writing my posts and being able to enjoy a bit of calm and peace before a new day, a new week and new adventures begin. IN the words of my dear, sweet dad, God willing, tomorrow...(you fill in the blank. Thankful.

10. Thankful for so many little blessings and knowing I need to spend more time in quiet with my Jesus, to get my focus back on and remind myself this world is just one I am passing through. Gratefulness fills my heart.

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Grateful & Thankful

 1. Grateful for on line ordering and pick up and delivery. Helps with shopping for the big say 26 days away if I am adding correctly. Ha! It is late and we watched our 2 little grandsons earlier. They keep us jumping but it is fun. Thankful for them.

2. Thankful for Wal-Mart who restocked my Colorado postcards. I sure wish more of you could join the fun. It is sad postcards are becoming scare unless you live close to a national landmark or something. I love them and have so many fond memories of the first Postcard Giveaway/Exchange . I sure miss those days. It was great fun and I learned a lot about other states. Countries too! Grateful.

3. Grateful for warmer weather.We have been in the deep freeze and the 30's are a real blessing. Thankful.

4. Thankful for the phamily we adopted for CHRISTmas. It has been fun shopping for them. A single mom with a teen son and pre teen daughter. We even made sure mom does not feel left out. Grateful

5.Grateful for Lite Brite. I remember all of the kids played with it when they were small. I bought one at Target today. It will be fun to have it here after the holidays . I think Brody will be good learning how to use it. Thankful.

6. Thankful for face time and visiting with Hannah and Jake on THANKSgiving and Hannah today. She would be so good at Lite Brite. I hope they can visit when the weather turns warmer too. Grateful

7. Grateful to good friends who always brighten your day. PJ & Cheri, are dear hearts I know through LuLaRoe. They have been busy remodeling their home and working, working, working. So talking with them live on their video tonight was so much fun. PJ is a pretty important guy at the company he manages. Yet is so funny and always being so kind to everyone. Cheri is just a beautiful soul. She lost her mom a year ago and being a nurse did not make it any easier. She is just an amazing person who I enjoy chatting with. Thankful

8. Thankful to know a hot cup of tea and a warm bed await me. This day was very good and I find as I write these thoughts down that my day is better when I Keep my mind clear of negativity. Somedays it is not as easy to be positive but with the holidays I always have that emotional catch and ponder on the wonderful memories I have in my heart. Grateful.

9. Grateful for THANKSgiving leftovers although today with so many errands, we stopped at Culvers for a burger and we had a coupon. for getting them half price! We sat in the parking lot with other folks in our cars after using their drive thru. Thankful.

10. Thankful I have the mindset to pray, pray, pray. Running all the errands ,it was sad to see the empty parking lots at so many restaurants. It is very sad but I think so many will permanently close and so many will lose their jobs. We are seeing it already and I feel there is only one solution, Give it up to God. The world is fading away already but Jesus is going to return. It is an exciting time. Grateful.

"Don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life." Author Unknown

" I ask not for a lighter burden but broader shoulders." Jewish Proverb

"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better not bitter ." Author Unknown

Thankfulness

 1. Thankful for faith in Jesus. I was discussing the book Killing Jesus with someone and told her about my days working in the medical school, Microbiology/Immunology dept. I worked for a handful of doctors and one of them was India and a Hindu. It was the 1980's and I was telling him about an article published in JAMA about the physical pain Jesus experienced when he was crucified. Back then the docs had cards to use the copier in the library. He told me I could use his card but I had to make him a copy too, I felt so good that he showed such interest.  The article is quite graphic and very sad but I know Jesus lives today.  Thankful.

2. Thankful for the grace God supplies and the courage and faith Jesus had to take on the sins of the world.

3. Thankful for pastors who tell the truth and don't tell people the things they only want to hear. Those pastors seem rare in our world today.

4. Thankful for the fact that currently I am still allowed to profess my faith and read my bible.

5. Thankful for freedom and this says it all. without freedom and the right to free speech, the freedom to attend church or synagogue or mosques,  our beliefs would be criminal.

6. Thankful for friends I can discuss faith with. It makes a world of difference. I have a friend who was raised as a Buddhist. She and I had have had many conversations about our different beliefs. I have learned a lot from her and hoping she has learned something from me too. Thankful

7. Thankful for the holiday season which seems to draw people together rather than pull them apart. I enjoy celebrating all the holidays. Thankful 

8. Thankful for all the holidays foods that we don't get all year long It is fun to splurge but it is good to watch our diet to a point. 

9. Thankful for all the visitors who stop by here. I never started blogging to brag on myself or the things I have. I have a genuine love of blogging. I always will and for that I am very thankful.

10. Thankful for loving life and enjoying friends and phamily and making mistakes that can be forgiven.  That is also what holidays are about. Kindness, forgiveness and love. Thankful

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

 

  

1. A favorite shot Rebekah captured today. This girl is a girl who loves the guys! Uh oh! Hee Hee Hee! She is so happy. even after 4 shots at the pediatricians office two days ago.  So thankful for iphones that take nice photos. Any phone for that matter!

2. Thankful for our Secret Santa this year. Zach was choosen to select two names for Hannah and Jake and show them the names when we facetimed them, kiddingly ( I am sure they were kidding)! They said eat those names Zach and he did swallowed them and washed them down with a tall cold glass of Florida OJ! No alcohol added! HaHaHa! We witnessed that and we were roaring with laughter.  Grateful for silly antics always and forever. 

3. Thankful for all the desserts! Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie(s), Chocolate cream pie, Sweet potato Cake (Noelle baked from scratch) raspberry/strawberry jell-o with sour cream and Pecan Pie.

4. Thankful for my Floridian son-in-law Roger. He grumbles I don't like pumpkin or pecan and Noelle bakes a cake that tastes like pumpkin. Yuck maybe it was the frosting! He knows I know where he comes from, they are famously known for the Key Lime Pie. (wink wink). I don't let anyone down if I can help it! P.S. Cake was wonderful!

5. Thankful for a Hallmark silly movie and a cup of hot tea at day's end. What a concept. We might sneak a bite of the cake with our second bedtime cup. Shhhhh...please do not tell on us. Thankful.

6. Thankful the day was perfect, no arguing or meanness only sweet people coming in and out loving each other and enjoying each other's company. We are so grateful the day was amazing.

7. Thankful the grands and greats were here, 5 of them and we are able to see them so often. Grateful.

8. Thankful that although Hannah and Jake are across the miles some 2200 away we can Face Time. Grateful.

9. Thankful for a turkey who complied with our wishes to be wonderful. Cranberries homemade from scratch by Rebekah. Noelle's cake, my pie, all the dishes that were so wonderful. Rebekah always has a new recipe to try. She made cranberry brie bites with thyme in a delicate bite of pastry. YUM! 

10. Thankful for kids with such creative food menus. Zach, I was saving this one for last, YUM YUM YUM Candied Bacon with a Spicy flair. Rebekah is not a fan the rest of us are. B A C O N ! It is so beautiful!

This 2020 THANKSgiving  was  A M A Z I N G !

                      Our THANKSgiving 2020 selfie. Happy Holidays from our home to your home.

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Thankful

 

1. Thankful for these words. God does transform burdens into blessings, trials into triumph and hardships into Hope

2. Thankful each day is a blessing and today I spent much of my time shopping, prepping and cooking some dishes.

3. Thankful for Ann Landers recipe for Pecan Pie. I have made this holiday pie since 1972. My dad would eat a slice and smile. Auntie Ang said I was a good baker, but not like her. She made everything including the crust from scratch. Thankful for all my memories of them.

4. Thankful I can close my eyes and see mom at the oven or bread board cooking all her dishes. She was a fantastic cook. I miss them all so very much. Thankful for their faces etched inside my heart.

5. Thankful for snowy days that are starting to melt away. Trudging to the garage across the yard for freezer goodies makes me incredibly thankful for the lot in life I was given. Adored my dad, loved my mom and all those beautiful relatives who left this earth for a better place. I love to breathe the outdoor air when it is so cold and crisp.

6. Thankful God made only one of each of us. I often wonder about the babies and infants I personally knew and what their lives would be like today. I am 100% totally against abortion and know God can forgive but I wonder how many babies lost would have made a huge difference in this world. I love my uniqueness. Never forget you are a gift from above. Thankful.

7. Thankful for little helpful things to make the hip pain and shoulder aches go away. My heating pad with a shoulder wrap and tie for my lower back and hip makes me so grateful. Little blessings mean more then all the fancy things others may have and not appreciate.

8. Thankful for blogging friends who stop by. Who share their lives and who have some similarities to me. Like being left handed. I am always grateful I am left handed and am unique all together.

9. Thankful for the meal we will have tomorrow. All the wonderful smells and delicious dshes we get to savor. So very grateful.

10. Thankful for my faith. With out it I would be nothing. 

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart." Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French. 

Poetry:

For each new morning with it's light,

For rest and shelter of the night, 

For health and food, and love of friends,

for everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL! ENJOY YOUR DAY NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE PLANNED. EAT YOUR DESSERT FIRST IF THAT MAKES YOU SMILE. ENJOY WHATEVER YOU HAVE AND NEVER BE UNGRATEFUL. ALWAYS BE KIND AND DON'T EXPECT EVERYONE TO THINK EXACTLY LIKE YOU THINK.

Blessings & Burdens

 

1. Blessings and so much better than negative burdens. Although there is a time to share your burdens but only with those you can trust one hundred percent! Out of three people I could bare my soul to, two of them Mollye and Vivian have passed away, but only from this earth. Now my hubby is the only one I have left but he gets me. He is logical where I can be emotional. He always find the bright side and takes good care of me. I love him so much. Thankful

2.Grateful I Had people like Elisabeth Elliot and James Dobson and Kevin Lehman to help me during those tough child rearing years. Without their kind hearts and God's grace, I would have been an utter failure. But there was my hubby standing strong and we had what we did to raise the best kids we could. Thankful.

3. Thankful to always be standing with my husband. I shudder when I see these younger gals mock their hubby's or make light of them. Two women I knew, hated that their hubby's snored. Both of them used not only separate beds but separate rooms. When the first lady's hubby passed away she said she wished she slept by his side and would always now miss the sound of his snoring. Same thing with second person. You never know what you truly miss until it is gone. When my hubby snores I kiss his face. He stops. SMILE! My dad use to say if you want separate lives, STAY SINGLE!  Grateful we have a marriage like our parents. 

4. Thankful for a quiet, cold and snowy morning to enjoy my coffee and another blueberry muffin. Gave me extra time to pray and list a mental note of all I am truly grateful and thankful for. Grateful.

5.  Thankful and Grateful I can watch the twinkle of the lights on our tree. One of my most favorite things.

6. Grateful for conversation with loved ones. You never know when you will have that last conversation so make it a good one. Thankful.

7. Thankful for all the good days and most importantly the bad ones too. They give us the opportunity to know what to avoid in the future. I get headaches if I eat too many sweet things or too much caffeine. I know my balance although it is still hard around the holidays.  Grateful.

8. Grateful for hot drinks on a cold day and always prayerful for the less fortunate. I never understood how you can turn people outside when the weather is severe. There has to be some balance to allow human dignity to not fall aside. Thankful someone may be able to solve this on going issue and soon..

9.  Thankful for games and silly song and all the wonders of childhood. Harrison is so imaginative. I will always enjoy his company. Grateful.

10. Grateful for many good days and counting on them to continue. No matter what happens I want to stay on the right side of God and his goodness and grace. Times are going to be very uncertain in the USA and we can not let go of God. Those that do will be lost forever. Jesus said he will return in the twinkling of an eye. I want to witness it and go home with Him forever. Thankful for parents who knew these truths and raised me right. I feel badly for those who never listened to their parents, who never shaped a personal relationship with Jesus and who go on to the ways of this world. It hurts my heart. 

I stopped by Dolly's to share and wanted to give a quick reminder to join the postcard Exchange/Giveaway here and at my blog Phamily Blog . I had my 11th blogaversary November 1, 2020. Hoping many of you will still join the fun and the giveaway will be great. 

Grateful and Thankful in November

 1. Grateful having a sleep over with Harrison.  He spent the night with  his grammie Noelle and Papa Roger yesterday. Now he decided to stay with us. We had our dinner, potato cheese soup. He had an apple for dessert but he snacked on my Pepperidge farm Peppermint Cookies with dark chocolate. Thankful.

2. Thankful for imagination. This kid has one and we always have fun. We already went into the cold garage to look for the socks I bought him. We found them but it was fun running around with him. Grateful.

3. Grateful for phamily. Something always comes up where we need to help each other and it always is an enjoyable time. Even when my SIL Roger & I were stuck in the credit union drive thru for 30minutes. We can joke about it now, at the time it was a real pain in the neck. Thankful.

4. Thankful that some snow will make an appearance tomorrow. But we need the moisture and it is really beautiful. Grateful. 

5. Grateful to pray for all those like Avery my hubby and Colton my grandson that must venture out to their jobs every day. Thankful. for the fact that they are still working.

6. Thankful for everyday happenings like laundry and loading and unloading the dishwasher. I love the mundane. It gives me time to think about more important things. Grateful. 

7. Grateful for all the moments we spend together and laugh and enjoy the company of each other. It makes me happy. Thankful.

8. Grateful to make cookies with this little dude, so tomorrow I plan to make some fun shapes with my buddy. Noelle makes the best cream cheese frosting from scratch. So I am going to use her recipe. We have colorful sugar and sprinkles too.  Thankful.

(This was the cookie Harrison made me with his Grammie Noelle today. Let me tell you, it tasted heavenly and it was perfection) Thankfully grateful. 

9. Thankful I found a Llama cookie cutter at Target. So maybe we will have a few colorful Llamas to snack on. Grateful.

10. Grateful for a grandson who ran to the store to get an outfit for this child for tomorrow. He is a good dad to his kids. Pray for him. He is looking for new work. He works at a place that gives him plenty of hours but zero benefits. You can not raise a phamily that way. Thankful for prayer. 

Things of Thankfulness

 1. A Thanksgiving feast, at least one more time with the phamily. Missing our little newlyweds Hannah and Jake but we wish them an equally beautiful day together. Grateful for all the goodness we have been provided. God is good, He is very very good.

2. A grateful moment to thank God for prayer and the fact that He listens to each one of us. Don't believe me, give Him a try. He will never disappoint you or leave you alone. 

3. Grateful and thankful for our middle. She cut all the carrots, potatoes and onions and celery for Potato Cheese soup. She also grated a huge block of extra sharp cheese. The she baked bread.Thankful.

4. Did I fail to mention, she baked blueberry muffins from scratch for breakfast? With bacon on the side. She is a good daughter.  Thankful and Grateful for her kind heart.

5. Grateful to have completed some shopping for the littles. It is always fun to shop for them. We scaled down CHRISTmas the last few years but grateful and thankful one more year to do it with them. Thankful. 

6. Thankful for a hubby that does so many little projects. I never fail to appreciate him. He is so important to me. Grateful. A keeper, a faithful man who trusts God first and foremost. A delightful hubby who makes me laughs even though I have one eye open and he is rolling out the funny stories early in the morning before darkness leaves the sky. Grateful.

7. Grateful and joyful to have a partner in this life to hold me up, beat me at Gin Rummy, and take care of me. He is one of a kind and I am so thankful he is here with me.

8. Thankful for all of life's small blessings. I always say the little things are truly the big things. I can not stop saying it. God has blessed us in many ways and I am always so grateful. 

9. Grateful for CHRISTmas cheer. I love all the little ornaments and different treasures we have collected through the years. Although they are only temporary, they add some fun to the holidays. Thankful

10. Thankfully jumping for joy that THANKSgiving week is here and we can get busy getting it all put together. Grateful to have a table to share.

A Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving with love.

Thanksgiving Questions:

1. What did you do for Thanksgiving when you were a kid?

My folks did Thanksgiving is a big way. We usually had a crowd around the table and mom cooked so many beautiful dishes. My aunt and uncle always joined in and auntie Ang made the best pies.

2. What's your favorite phamily tradition?

We do a Secret Santa and although it is getting smaller each year it is tons of fun and we all love it. We buy gifts for the three grands and two great grands but we put lots of effort into our gift giving for our Secret Santa.

3. What's your favorite way to give back and help others?

We support the little church where our daughter Rebekah and her hubby Zach were married three years ago (Dec 2, 2017). We donate dry food and canned goods. We also adopt a phamily at CHRISTmastime. But we do kindness always so that counts too.

4. Name one person that can make you laugh, even months later. Why?

Avery, my husband! He is a natural born comedienne and he rolls out of bed telling silly tales and jokes and assorted other silliness. I love him so much and I am not a huge morning person. But 36 years years later we are still at it.

5. What is the funniest thing you remember about a Thanksgiving past?

About 11 years ago we turned on the burner instead of off and  a side dish exploded and flew everywhere! It scared us all to pieces but there were no injuries' and we survived with the rest of the dinner. 

6. Do you have any unusual traditions, rituals or habits around Thanksgiving?

Yes, we name the turkey. We have to undress him first to decide on a good name and sometime we laugh and argument but it is all in good fun. 

7. What time do you eat your Thanksgiving meal?

Since our oldest son and middle daughter spend some time with their in-laws we do the early dinner about 1 P.M. so they can get to their other later dinner.

8. Name one ancestor you think about on Thanksgiving and tell us why.

That is a tough one but my dad. He loved the feast mom prepared and he always complimented her. I can see his smile to this very day. Oh how he loved my mom!

9. Is their a phamily heirloom at the Thanksgiving table? What's its story?

An old pig platter I bought at Big Lots when we were newlyweds. Our daughter Noelle will bake a ham this year so the ham will sit on the pig platter.

10. What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving Day?

I like to dress up, my hubby is jeans and t shirt casual and most of the kids are too. I have lots of nice clothes and since I do not work any longer I Like to enjoy wearing them. Plus I always wear an apron. It is something I Learned from my mom and grandma.

11. What is something that was done for you this year that makes you grateful this Thanksgiving?

I think just knowing the kids and my hubby still have jobs. We never know what tomorrow will bring so that is something all of us are very grateful for.

12. What foods do you usually have for Thanksgiving?

Traditiional things, turkey, stuffing, ham, mashed and scallop potatoes. Green bean casserole, corn, cut green beans, salad, relish tray and fruit tray. We also have pumpkin and usually apple pie. With whipping cream. We may try to make a cheesecake from scratch. If not now for CHRISTmas.

13. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were little?

Our parents are both gone for the hubby and I. Many loved ones too. So it is melancholy for me. I think of them all. My hubby loved conversations with his dad and his mom was excellence cook too so he thinks about those things.  We do things very much like the way we were raised. My hubby prayers and we all talk about what we are thankful for. It will be wonderful this year because we know the future is so uncertain. 

14. If you could share Thanksgiving dinner with one person in history who would it be? Why? (Note: it can be a relative).

Goodness, that is hard. I would love to see all our loved ones but since it is not impossible I will go with John the Baptist. He is a real hero to me. He refused to go along with the wickedness of the world. He believed in Jesus and I want to sit and talk with him one day on the other side. 

15. What is one wish you have for the next generation as they begin to establish their own Thanksgiving traditions?

Not to be a negative Nelly but this world is headed for disaster. I hope they choose to believe the truth and follow Jesus. I hope if they have an opportunity to marry or raise a phamily, they continue to follow what they were taught and they are kind and not hopeless and know love and spread it.

Visit Bev  and thank her for hosting and enjoy all the great answers. Thank you for stopping by. 

 

Grateful and Thankful

 1. Grateful for my Capital One Card CS people. We had a wild mix up on our account and the people who helped us resolve it were A M A Z I N G . I am so thankful for decent, hard working people with kind hearts. Thankful.

2. Thankful to watch two small boys today and enjoy their company. Rebekah painted with Brody. He is a lil Picasso into abstract art. Grateful.

3. Grateful for Blake. The "WildMan" or "The Flash" as I like to call him, is getting to be such a big boy. He touched my tree once and when I said gently, no no, don;t touch, he looked at me, he smiled and he walked away. He did dump the dog water and danced in it before we could catch him. Washed and dried clean socks were not no big deal. Thankful.

4. Thankful for Domino's Pizza and their cute commercial with the little girl who looks over at the race care driver picking up his on line order and says, "Hey I like your pajamas". He looks shocked and says "Pajamas"! Not enough cuteness on T.V. or otherwise these days. Grateful.

5. Grateful for staying up too late and sleeping in today. It is such a blessing to get those days with the hubby when we can rest and relax and recuperate from the week. It does not always happen this way. Thankful.

6. Thankful for the cool Vitamin C we bought for Nick and tested. They look like teeny orange slices and filled with powerful  goodness keeping us healthy so far. Grateful.

7. Grateful for the church being able to help fifty phamilies today with free turkey's because of all the kind hearts who donate to their food program.  They even offered us one but we usually buy an extra at the great sale prices so we can have a turkey treat at CHRISTmas too. There are so many who can not afford an extra turkey and often can not feed their phamilies nutritional meals. Thankful for all we can do for others.

8. Thankful that we brought in several more CHRISTmas boxes to sort through for our holiday goodies. It gives me such happiness decorating. So many ornaments have so many memories and it is a most enjoyable time of the year. Grateful

9. Grateful for enjoying a wonderful Saturday with some of my loved ones and watching the little ones make many new memories. Blake even dipped his hand in the paints to make a THANKSgiving turkey. Brody is not a fan of getting his hands really dirty so his mom is going to see if she can coax him into doing it. Those washable paints are a real blessing. Thankful.

10. Thankful for trying some new things. Hannah made a cheesecake for their anniversary last month from scratch. So I am going to give it a try. I already have a springform pan. Grateful.

Tomorrow, God willing, I will share my fruitcake story with you. Sweet Dreams and rest well. Enjoy SONday.

Thankful

 1. Thankful for not wanting to travel to the newest burger joint, In-n-Out Burger and wait 14 hours, yes, fourteen hours, to have a burger! So we had a Smashburger.Poor Nick, he ordered on line and waited one hour to get our order. He said Door Dash drivers were yelling at the employees. I guess they did not want to wait 14 hours at In-n-Out Burger either! Grateful.

2. Grateful that the days blend together for me as they always have. I try to stay away from too much negativity. I think we all need to do what we feel is best for each of us in our own situations. I am use to being at home but I get exercise, walk in the yard and get my sunshine. I love my life and am thankful for it.

3. Thankful for little kindnesses I experience. Today my SIL Roger was kind enough to drive me to the bank and credit union. The bank was quick fast but the credit union, it is a sad story. Their motto is :We are BS Free:. I am not sure who is running the place but their marketing skills stink like their logo and they have no regard for customers, their time and most certainly, their patience. It is sad when businesses totally disregard their customers who make their businesses work. Grateful I am not part of that disaster.

4. Grateful for washing machine cleaner packets. They help keep the washer clean and smelling fresh. Makes me wish I had patented such a product Thankful for whoever did create it.

5. Thankful to be able to still keep up and move around. As I get older I think of people I see in wheelchairs and wonder what caused them to become no longer mobile. I try to keep moving and many years ago, when I was a young mom, a young doctor told me to keep moving my knees that I would never regret it. She was right and I am grateful.

6. Grateful to have a more quiet holiday season. To  be honest, I think people have gotten away from the  true meaning of CHRISTmas and  THANKSgiving. I think we all need to look at this days as what they are truly meant to be and not just a gift buying and grabbing fest.  Thankful to know the true meaning of both of this seasons special days. Thankful.

7. Thankful to spend moments just resting and recharging my battery each day. I tend to overdo and so lately I have taken time for myself. Grateful I did this.

8. Grateful for Leo and watching him grow older too. He moves a bit more slowly than he use to. He likes to rest comfortably. It is a good feeling to see the different seasons of life. Thankful he is here with us. 

9. Thankful for all the CHRISTmas lights. Getting into the holiday season is fun and love seeing all the twinkling lights and beautiful trees. I am still working on my two trees trying to get them properly decorated. Grateful.

10. Grateful for all the little things I have come to appreciate everyday like my deep Blue Rub and my Boar's hair brush (it makes your hair shinier). I have a long list but I will share these two now. Thankful.

Grateful

 1. Grateful that I had a quick Chinese dinner take out tonight. The hubby has a big lunch so he is a light night time  dinner guy. Thankful for all food.

2. Thankful for my leggings. The fabric is so soft and buttery , I fell in love with that plus the cool patterns. I have several CHRISTmas leggings including chihuahuas and ornaments and Santa/ I am a kid at heart. Grateful.

3. Thankful for time to work in our garage. So much to do. Tomorrow I will take a break and finish laundry I promised to do since I need a ride to the bank. But the car will be back tomorrow evening. Grateful.

4. Grateful for a mail carrier who rings the bell when he leaves a package. My peppermint tea arrived today. Quick fast as I ordered on SONday. Thankful.

5. Thankful for puppy kisses and snuggles. The puppies love attention so kissing and snuggling is first rate with them. Especially Finn. He is a lover boy.

6. Leo loves his belly rubbed. He is amazingly grateful. I am thankful for that.

7. Thankful for the wireless charger, an early birthday gift from Jeremy & phamily. It charges slowly at night so when I wake up my phone is charged. Grateful. 

8. Thankful for the new iphone 12. It is a gem and easier to handle. Plus I love the mint green color I chose. Grateful.

9. Grateful for sunshine and warm days. Our weather is always unpredictable but if it snows it usually melts by the end of the end. If it rains we might get thunder too or lightening strikes and sometime hail It is a roll the dices and watch. Thankful.

10. Thankful for on line shopping, pick up and easy access to so much in one place. I am very grateful. Our governor has to go along with his "orders", so lock down it is tomorrow

. But they can never steal my gratefulness. I answer to a much higher power. Extremely thankful, grateful and happy for that. Amen!

Rest well, be happy, smile a lot, dream big, drink lots of water and stay home if you feel poorly. Take your vitamins. They do work regardless of what some experts say. The less poison you put in your body the happier you will be. Eat your dessert first if you feel like it. Dance even if they are watching, even if it is dogs and cats! Pray hard and then pray harder and never ever lose hope.

Grateful and Thankful

 1. Grateful for essential oils and my diffuser.  If you have a headache, there are so many oils that you can combine to rid yourself of a headache. I am thankful.

2. Thankful for fresh sheets and towels. Since all the laundry is finished it is good to sleep soundly on  fresh sheets. Grateful.

3. Grateful for Spumoni and Peppermint ice cream. It is funny, they are holiday flavors at my local grocery store. We love the dessert at the Old Spaghetti Factory, it is a scoop of Spumoni ice cream. But we have not been there since the start of all this world chaos. Thankful for ice cream.

4. Thankful for coupons. Prices at the grocery store are getting higher and higher. The digital coupons help. Especially when I was able to buy laundry detergent and it had a$3 off coupon. Grateful.

5. Grateful for all the CHRISTmas catalogs that arrive this time of year. Gives me something to dream about. I am very Thankful.

6. Thankful for throw pillows. I love them! Around the holidays there are so many cute pillows everywhere. I would be more grateful if I could buy more of them. Heeheehee Grateful.

7. Grateful for laughter. without it I am not sure I could survive. Sometime funny things are just needed if you have a bad day or feel sad or overwhelmed. Laughter is a cure all. Thankful.

8. Thankful the grocery store had my French Vanilla DeCaf K Pods in stock. I have searched for them and could not find them for over a month. They are so good. I told you I use collage and it tastes better mixed with coffee then tea. I am very Grateful.

9. Grateful Thanksgiving is nearly here. It is just a good holiday for food and conversation. We do our Secret Santa on Thanksgiving too. It is lots of fun and we enjoy it. Thankful.

10. Thankful for aprons. I have a small collection of them and use them everyday. My mom always wore an apron. I have had friends make them for me, I have found them in thrift shops and I have purchased a few as well.  My mom had several cobber style aprons. I need to find one for myself. I am very grateful for them. 

Hoping everyone is having a great week. They come and go quickly for me. Take care everyone.

Grateful and Thankful

 

1.Grateful Today's sunrise not as spectacular as yesterdays which I forgot to post. But the skies were so blue and it warmed up again today. Tonight the moon was a crescent shape but I was buying tea at the market and could not get a good capture with all the street lights. Thankful for the stars, the moon and the sun every day.

2. Thankful for little things like tea. By the afternoon I am dragging and although it is too late to drink caffeinated tea, I like a nice cup of peppermint tea. Grateful

3. Grateful for my peppermint candy canes. They are good to stir the peppermint tea and also coffee with peppermint creamer. I love the festive flavors. Very thankful to enjoy them.

4. Thankful for cool nights and good rest. We are in bed by ten most nights during the week, I can not fall asleep anytime earlier. But my hubby's up at 5 A.M. so we have to get the rest. I usually wake up when he is still here. Sometime I head outdoors to capture the sunrise, other days I sleep in. Grateful.

5. Grateful for recycling. It cuts our trash output in half. We have two trash and two recycle containers. I do not care for the trash claw that tears up the containers because nine out of ten times you have to pay to replace them even when their claw rips them apart. I like the old days of real trashmen. It was much more personal and the service was better. Thankful.

6. Thankful for warm winter gloves. The temps go up and down but eventually the snow will come and stay for a few days. We are spoiled. We have better weather then many states but when the cold temps drop and stay, I get grumpy. Otherwise I am very grateful for the snow and sunshine all together.

7. Grateful for winter boots We noticed the little girl from the phamily we are Secret Santa for, asked for warm winter boots. I had have several snow boots but they were too busy, having to be  laced up . Worse than that zipped up and when it is cold zippers do not work well. We will find some cute pull on boots for her. Everyone deserves to be warm and cozy when they have to go outside. We may add gloves and a scarf or hat too. Thankful we will be able to help someone.

8.Thankful for all the wonderful scents of the holidays. Last night, we were at Jeremy's and Brody was having us smell all the Scentsy scents his mom had. He said, smell this one. It smells like a real CHRISTmas tree. That small boy is a real crack up. He is so smart and we enjoy all the time we get with him and his sister and brother. Grateful.

9. Grateful our mechanic can do the work on our Kia Half now and half at the end of the month. He is doing the urgent things this week and two weeks from now he can finish the other things. He is more reasonable than most and very good at what he does. Very thankful.

10. Thankful the annoying bump on my leg fell off. I was very happy as it was bugging me and I wanted to rip it off my leg. Sometime it take a few treatments to get them to fall off but this one worked quick. I was so grateful.

Grateful and Thankful Every Day

 1. Grateful that each one of you that stops here or at my annesphamily.blogspot.com cares enough to be here. I am genuinely thrilled to see your comments. When I first started to blog there were people with magnificent blogs. Lots of ads, lots of followers, lots of fancy homes and things they owned. But one thing lacking in about 99% of them was the fact that they were not genuine. They wanted the  numbers. One by one I started to delete their blogs from my reading list and instead filled it with folks just like me, going through the daily grind of jobs and kids and real life. I find manners to be delightful and when I find people who have them, I do a happy dance. Trust me the poor dogs, somedays I think they wonder, is she losing her mind or just really a giant nerd? So thank you for being genuine and most importantly, thank you for being you. Thankful for your friendship here.

2. Thankful for our son Jeremy. He found a great deal on the iphones 12 and tonight he set them up for us. So grateful for his knowledge of all things tech related. I am getting better. I am learning it more each day. He is a real gem of a son and he knows history really well too. Very proud of him. Oh did I mention he is a great son, brother, uncle, dad, husband, friend too? He is an all around good guy and my favorite memory of him, was as a small boy climbing into our bed and reading me a  Mercer Mayer book for the very first time. Such a joy to hear him read out loud. He is great person and I am glad God gave him to us. Grateful.

3. Grateful for new recipes. I love getting recipes. Just don't ask our daughter Rebekah! (hahaha). SHe will tell a tall tale and say "my mother has thousands of recipes, in binders, in recipes files." Sh.....do not believe this girl and her tall tales. I love trying new things. Today I found a pie I would like to try for the holidays. Don't tell on me ok? Thankful.

4. Thankful for the ability to help a phamily during the holidays. When our children were young we had some tough times. I still do not know who it was, but someone turned our name into the  c/w/ radio station CHRISTmas program where local police delivered gifts to phamilies. I was stunned when an officer showed up at my door when I was recovering from surgery and delivered gifts for everyone. Then my friend Lorna arrived with her parents who gave us enough food and gifts to feed an army and gifts to make the tree filled with joy for the kids. We always said we would pay it forward someday and we always have.  The first time I paid it forward, I worked with a very different kind of boss. She was middle aged, single, from a wealthy  phamily and di not have a lot of good social skills. She had breast cancer and through her journey she found a phamily who needed holiday help. The kids wanted things like socks and shoes and coats. We all filled their home with so much stuff. The children had never seen boxed cereal like Chex, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch etc. Patty delivered all the goods and said she was so overwhelmed she drove away and parked her car in a parking lot and wept for all she had seen and all everyone had pitched in to give.  Those memories and all we can do today makes me Grateful. 

5. Grateful a friend from high school living in Alaska told us her 95 year old mom had a check up today and the doctor said she was in excellent health. She asked him what he could prescribe for arthritis and he said "Dark Chocolate". He said she is such good health because she also walks one mile every single day. W O W ! Oh, they stopped at Costco to fill that script - dark chocolate it is. Thank doctor is a true man of his profession, caring for those in need without lining his pockets with Big Pharm cash! We need more doctors like him. Thankful.

6. Thankful my appointment with the new derm doctor went so well. She was a real gem, so honest and kind and very funny. I told her my sister Mary and I inherited a unicorn horn on the back of our heads from our dad. She got a real kick out it and the fact that I told her my sis thinks we are definitely related to frogs or more formally known amphibians! Grateful. 

7. Grateful for the warmer weather. The sun was breathtaking coming up this morning, so I stepped outside and took a photo. It was warm, in the 50's and we were happy and could not complain. Thankful. 

8. Thankful I spent the whole day with my honey. We had our haircuts and he was done sooner then me, because he has less hair! But when I was done he was chatting with the stylist about what's going on in our country and she was genuinely interested. My stylist was a sweetheart and we had the best conversation. It was a good appointment and we were Grateful.

9. Grateful the auto repair shop across the road from us is going to look at our Kia and let us know the damages to repair it. It is older and needs extra TLC. If it is too costly we will have to find a way to budget for another car. Thankful, he has done other work for us and is honest which leads us to believe that is why his garage is filled with others needing repairs too. Thankful.

10. Thankful for nights that make rest come easy. The hubby fell asleep quickly as he has a busy work day tomorrow.  I can sleep in and for that I am extremely grateful. I am forever Grateful.

See you soon. Sweet dreams and get your rest. 

Grateful and Thankful

 1. Grateful for the fact that the wind died down and we are suppose to get a bit of a break from the cold. It has been miserable but I sure am glad today was better then yesterday. Always something, even it is's simple, to be thankful for. 

2. Grateful I can see the new doctor at my derm office. I do the full body scan, oh joy! But checking for any signs of cancer on moles. My sister Mary says she think we are related to frogs! (ribbit ribbit). Thankful!

3. Grateful my hubby bought me the best lunch today. He ordered Pad Thai with shrimp for me. It was delicious and my favorite dish these days. Thankful for this blessing of good food.

4. Grateful for being able to spend the day together tomorrow. We both have a haircut appointment at ten a.m. Thankful the girls at our local hair salon are so accommodating

5. Grateful my honey bought me a Llama Ugly CHRISTmas sweater although I L O V E  them and do not think they are ugly. That is just mean and I am just Thankful.

6. Grateful for early birthday gifts. Tomorrow my  portable DVD player will arrive. It is old fashioned but we have tons of DVD movies so we are both grateful. Thankful.

7. Grateful Jeremy our son found a great deal for us to upgrade our phones. We also found cases with built in screen protectors that had five star ratings . The little things add up to big things for us and we are most Thankful.

8. Grateful we put up our CHRISTmas tree today. We have an artificial (I am allergic to the real thing) and we have a plain one and a flocked one. So we put up the flocked tree. Thankful.

Tomorrow I will turn the lights on. The hubby just turned them off.  I have not decorated in my curio yet. That will be later. 

9. Grateful for all the ornaments we have. Memories in each and every one of them. It is a joyful time for me to put them all on the tree. I love it and I spend two or three days decorating with them. Thankful.

10. Grateful that everyday I live, I learn something new, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to others. I love finding out new things and keeping my mind fresh Like playing rummy, it is something I truly enjoy and for it all I am extremely Thankful.

Nick's office tree. It is a pencil tree, a cashmere one hee hee hee. Tomorrow I will take a photo with the lights on. It was too small for all my ornaments and Nick was tickled to get it. 

Keep your CHRISTmas -heart open all the year round.  J L W Brooks 

Pink Saturday and Reasons for Gratefulness

 

Please visit Pink Saturday.This is our 2020 CHRISTmas ornament from the three grands of Jeremy & Brittany.We love it. I am excited for the holidays. Nearly set for THANKSgiving. Sad Hannah and Jake can not join us this year. Otherwise very grateful for the other kids to gather.

1. With the nineteenth anniversary of the passing of my mother coming up November 16, I have been a walking zombie. Somethings are harder to pass on and loss of loved ones is a big one for me. My mom was always so easy to talk to. She knew exactly what to say. I will always miss that about her but would not wish her or any loved ones gone to heaven to this disaster we are moving into for 2021 and beyond. I do not believe the hatred with let up, the violence and constant mean and hateful words people pass back and forth. It's sad but I have to trust GOD as He has a plan unfolding and I want to be part of HIS plan to move upward. I am simply GRATEFUL.

2. Grateful for those precious grands and that precious ornament. 2018 I had two ornaments made with all of our names on it. I Need to update another ornament. We even had all our pets past and present. It was double sided and so sweet. Thankful we can mostly all be together during the holidays.

3. Grateful for hot tea and indoor activities while we have high wind and 20 and 30 degree temps. It has been an incredibly strange time. THANKFUL for all the good times we have.

4. GRATEFUL most of Thanksgiving is ready to be placed on our THANKSgiving table. A plump and juicy turkey will be the centerpiece with all the wonderful dishes we serve on the side. We shopped early and are good to go. THANKFUL

5. THANKFUL and GRATEFUL to have resolved some of the blog and internet woes. It went from bad to worse but things are slowly coming back together. So very GRATEFUL.

6. GRATEFULNESS is easy to find, you simply look around you and see all the tiny and sometime insignificant things we take for granted most days. I thank all of you who have shared your own thoughts too. I love seeing all the thankful and grateful shares.

7. GRATEFUL THANKSgiving and CHRISTmas are coming. I love the holiday music so I was singing in my mind, The CHRISTmas Song by John Denver and the Muppets, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat... So very THANKFUL.

8. THANKFUL my birthday is just around the corner and I cherish all the good wishes from years past. When I turned 60 I received 60 different wishes and greetings from so many loved ones including some awesome bloggers. Anyone who knows me knows how much I appreciate good old fashioned mail. It thrills me. GRATEFUL.

9. GRATEFUL for mail certainly. Today I received the sweetest note from Char, a high school buddy, who sent a thank you for simply praying for her and checking in on how she was doing. She recently had to have her foot amputated due to neuropathy. She is a trooper, an amazing strong woman and she went through so many  hard losses too. I found the button I posted here and immediately thought of not only myself but I thought of Char too. IT seemed perfect for all the loss we have in our lived. THANKFUL.

10. THANKFUL for all the wonderful friendships here, the friends I have known for ages and all the rest of the friendships that I want to celebrate here now. I am still catching up on commenting so please do not give up on me. I am coming your way. 

Thankful and Grateful

 1. Thankful for Eric Church! I have always loved this unique country artist. We tuned in to the CMA Awards 2020 tonight. It was a political fest until the grand finale and Eric Church won the Country Music Artist of the Year. His words rang true inside my mind. Aside from his deserving this long awaited award I was grateful someone had the sense to celebrate music rather then trying to right the wrongs of others. So very grateful. So refreshing from all the months of others trying to box you up and make you think the way they want you to think.

2. Thankful to have a  heart that accepts others.  But I wonder about folks who feel they must bow down to people and right wrongs they have not committed. If you were not taught at a very young age to be kind to all something is truly, sadly wrong. I was raised by a father who said if I find out you were mean to someone you will answer to me now and God later! My mother doled out punishment when she felt it was needed. I have no regrets of how I was raised. If you had a different upbringing I can understand at least the pain you felt. The worse feeling in the world is to be unaccepted or included.  But if you were raised up right you can brush it off and grow up to be an intelligent human being who doesn't have to apologize for everything you say or do. I am most grateful that I was raised by parents who were raised right. I have nothing to be ashamed of.  I treat everyone equally. I just walk away if I don't click with someone. I have many struggles of my own so I do not need to be around others who do not have a good influence. I am smart enough to know that right is right and wrong is wrong. I think that kindergarten and first grade lesson stuck inside my brain. You have the choice to do right or wrong. God gave you free will. I believe it today. But I also learned that God will always love you as long as you stay on the right path. If you fall off He still loves you but you have to keep Him number one in your heart. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So personally I love the Lord and I strive to keep Him front and center as that is where I want to be one day, in His loving arms. Grateful.

3. Thankful for Charlie Pride. I was lucky to see this outstanding performer at the Colorado State Fair in the 1970's. He looked older tonight on the awards show but his music is something I love because my dad had a beautiful rich voice and he loved to sing along with Charlie when he was doing on the country music award shows long ago.   He was also born at Fitzsimons Army Hospital when he father was stationed in Denver, CO. with the US Army. Grateful for that memory.

4. Thankful that although my day starts out one way I seem to head in a different direction. Today in the middle of preparing a second batter to make Belgian waffles my SIL Roger called. He and Noelle were heading to the Olive Garden with Colton and the kids so wanted me to come along. It is always a nice lunch because it is reasonable and I have always enjoyed my grandson's company as he loves the soup and it is a joy to watch him eat several bowls of it. There was a time I could keep up. These days my limit is two bowls of soup and one of salad. No breadsticks either. HaHa! But good company is good enough for me. Grateful.

5. Thankful for our military. The younger men I know, Dan W and Jason S. who both served. Dan 8 years in the US Navy and Jason US Army and three tours of Afghanistan. Grateful to have them here and grateful for their service.

6. Thankful to my cousin Ray Sr., (US Navy), his sons Ray Jr. (US Navy) and Frank (US AF). These gentleman served too and I am grateful they are still here with us all. I remember being a kid when Ray Sr. was in law enforcement and my aunt Gela, my dad's sister always asked to remember him in our prayers. I never stopped praying for him or any of the phamily.  Grateful.

7. Thankful for my grandmother's cousin Frances and her only son Bruce. He served in WWII in the US Navy as a mariner. He lost his life in the war and although I was not born for many years after that war, I always honor Bruce and thank him for his service. 

8. Thankful for my late FIL Carl who served in WWII and was near Pearl Harbor in a submarine when the war started. Grateful for his kind heart and wise words and his service to our country.

9. Thankful to my late friend Kathy O'Gane and her late dad "Buck" who both served in the US Navy as well as Kathy's sister Marlene (USN) and brother Michael (RIP) (USN) too. Grateful.

10. Grateful to my hubby's phamily, Uncle Bud (USA), and Uncle Duane (USN and USAF). Their younger brother Virgil (USAF) passed away last year but he retired as a Colonel in the Air Force. Duane's daughter Carolynn who served as a nurse in the first Desert Storm. Grateful.

Many more loved ones who served. James Turner, the only son of my mom's cousin Hedwig. He was in the USMC during Vietnam and lost his young life there. She never smiled again after his untimely death.  My uncle Tom Binder, married to my mom's youngest sister, auntie Jo. He was in the Army Air Corp. and a remarkable man. I adored him and all his wonderful stories of growing up in Tabor, SD. Famous to me for him and to the world for another native son, Tom Brokaw, when newscasters were journalists. THis photo is my hubby's  maternal grandfather's either 2 or 3 times great grandfather from the Civil War era. I will write about him later. He also served..

Uncle Edward "Munson" Trontel, my mom's younger sister Elsie's husband who served in the US Army WWII.  My sister Mary's former husband Bob (RIP) (USA) who served in Vietnam along with many boys from her high school graduating class of 1966 who perished in that so called conflict. Jessie Hoskins, also US Army Vietnam (RIP). He passed away in his 30's from the affects of Agent Orange. Jim and Larry W who lost their brother Kenny in Vietnam. My late BIL Gary R who served in Korea in the US Army and later worked at Fort Knox, KY. I believe several of his brothers served also. 

My friend Carole, who just lost her mom Betty. Betty served in the WACS and she told her four daughters it was one of the happiest times of her life because she loved the military life

Friends Sherrie and Richard (US Navy) and their dad's and her grandpa and their son-in-law who all served as well.

Friends Barb and Carl (US Army) who served. Myra and Tom (US Army) and Myra's son Troy (US Army). Thank you all very much. 

I will just say thank you all Vet's whether retired, active or deceased for the selfless dedication to freedom. 

I love my country and I am sad to see it being taken away.