30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 29 and 30

I got behind and didn't post anything on the 29th so I am combining the last two together. As we enter another season, I want to say that I am thankful for AC allowing me to participate in this event. I am also thankful for the new blog buddies I have discovered. You are all so sweet and kind. Maybe someday I will have the fortune of meeting you. Below is the words to a song from our musical we will be doing for Christmas but it has spoken volumes to my heart so much so that I feel the need to share.

Ancient words from long before were given to us by our Lord and given time, time will prove ancient words are ever true.
The Lord himself shall give you sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and his name shall be called IMMANUEL.
You Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come the One to me who shall be the ruler over Israel.
We will trust. We will believe. Good news that comes through the centuries!
For unto us, a child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called:
WONDERFUL!! COUNSELOR!! THE MIGHTY GOD!! THE EVERLASTING FATHER!! THE PRINCE OF PEACE!!

May these days of Thanksgiving become days of Celebration for you and your family.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 28

I am thankful for my nieces and nephews/nephew-in-law. They call me "Aunt Wee" and they come in to wherever I am wanting hugs, smushies, and kisses. I absolutely love that!!! I want desperately to spoil all of them all the time but unfortunately, I can't always do that. I try to spend time with them and shower them with love and affection. I brag on them all the time to whoever will listen.
They are bright spots in my life and they make me feel special. I love each and every one of their personalities and even their quirks. They are absolutely, positively the best nieces and nephews/nephew-in-law ever.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 27

Today I am thankful for time. Time to spend with my guys. Time to spend just relaxing and not stressing over work or the such. Time to take leisurely walks out in the pasture. Time to stop and just "smell the roses". Today was one of the best days that I can remember in a long time. There was no agenda, no rushing around, nothing. My oldest and I went shopping this morning and didn't rush around. We didn't even get up early. Then the whole family went out together and once home, the boys played together and I was able to curl up on the couch with the love of my life to watch an old movie ("Bad Day at Black Rock") and just soak it all up. It is rare in our lives these days that we have this time. It is rare that we are all together without a schedule dictating every minute. It is rare that my oldest is home and my husband is off at the same time. So today, I am totally thankful for time.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 26

Today I am thankful for God answering prayers. He has answered my prayers more than once and continues to answer my prayers daily. From the simple and mundane prayers to the extensive and detailed. The blessings that my family has received are more than I can even begin to count. I am so glad that I believe and that I am allowed the freedom to believe in God. Without Him in my life I would be either non-existant or such a messed up mess. I thank God for saving me and for taking on all my junk. I thank Him for allowing me to come to Him for anything and everything. I thank God for caring more about me than anyone ever could. I thank God for the spiritual gifts He has given me. I thank God for the friends and family He has put into my life. I thank God over and over. My thanks to God is endless just as His love for us is.
I pray that your Thanksgiving Day is blessed and fulfilled with love, family, friends, and prayers.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 25

Today I am thankful for a home to head back to. We spent 18 years in the old family home and I loved the history and the fact that my kids were the 6th generation to live there but.... It was close to 90-100 years old and needed so much work. Work we couldn't afford to do while we lived there. We made the painful decision three years ago to build our dream home a mile away and with the blessing of the family we sold the old home. We had a great builder and great weather and so the house was built in 2 1/2 months. I love my new home! I still miss things about the old place but I really love my "new" home. Even now we refer to it as the new house.
I love the fact that my husband designed the house and that our builder let us be totally and completely involved in every aspect of the house building. We scraped floors (that is a whole different story) and did the final clean up in exchange for some minor upgrades.
The atmosphere in the house is one of fellowship, love, happiness, and togetherness. We find ourselves wanting to stay at home more and wanting to just hang out together. I love it! I love having all the family over and having the kids' friends over. It is the perfect home.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 24

Today I am rerunning one of my posts because I am thankful for my grandparents. They were a huge part of my life and such an influence for me.
I absolutely loved my grandmother and my granddaddy. They were such a huge part of my upbringing. I remember when I would get sick, I would go stay with my grandparents. My grandmother would make up the sofa bed so that I could lay down and watch Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Captain Kangaroo. Once these shows were over then if I was feeling a bit better she would make the sofa back up again and I would lay on the sofa the rest of the day.
Now my grandmother was not a huge TV watcher but every day at 1230pm right after the noon day news, As the World Turns came on. Everything in the house came to a stop so that my grandmother could watch that show. It was on for an hour and she would stop what she was doing, watch the show, and crochet. Other than Lawrence Welk on Saturday evenings I don't recall her watching TV. She is the one who taught me to play piano. I remember she would go every other Saturday to the Liechtenstein's department store in downtown Corpus to get her hair done. While she did that we all hung out in the mezzanine area watching people. I loved those days.
My granddaddy did a lot but I am not too sure what all he did now that I think about it. I know he read a lot and he studied on things that interested him. At one time he was Pre-Med and at another time he was Pre-Law. He was retired when I was born. I know that he spent a lot of time with me. He was my true blue hero the day the tarantula incident happened. He never thought my questions or stories were stupid. About the only time I ever saw him mad was the day it snowed (I was 5) and I built my snowman against his metal garage door. It refroze and he couldn't get into the garage where his car was. He had an appointment and had to call and reschedule because of the snowman. He encouraged me to go down my own path and to be independent but not too independent.
Every year I find myself wishing I had my grandparents there one more time.
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30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 23

Monday was my daddy's 66th birthday. My daddy over the years has been my biggest supporter in a lot of what I have done over my life. He has managed to make it to all of my recitals and concerts.
One thing that I will always remember him for is when I went to college. He was sadden when I left for college. I look back now and I think that actually he was so disappointed that I was so happy to be leaving. (I was like my oldest son, I couldn't wait to go to college and I rarely went home.) My daddy would send me flowers for my birthday. He knew that my favorite kind of rose was, at that time, a blue rose which was rare. On my birthday I would receive a dozen red roses surrounding a single blue rose. The card held a message that my daddy told me over the years that was just something between the two of us. I continued to receive these flowers sometimes with a card and sometimes without until I had my first child.
My daddy let me know that it was now my husband's turn to take over that job. It sadden me but I understood that he was releasing me to grow up.
My daddy has bailed me out on more than one occasion and spoils me rotten at times and annoys me from time to time but he still cheers me on and lets me know he loves me.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 22

Today I am thankful for my sisters-in-law. I have three of them but actually I consider them more sisters than in-laws. Each one of them holds a special place in my heart for different reasons.

AC has been my friend for over 20 years now. We met in college and I didn't even realize I was dating her brother until we were invited to dinner at her house one night. Our kids are only six months apart in age except she stopped at two and I went on for a third. She has listened to me and patiently guided me on more than one occasion with wisdom and prayer. She has shared recipes for food, crafts, and life. She makes me laugh and is a bright spot. She has taken time out to talk with me and give me advice just when I needed it most.

SE and I would sit on the phone together and watch MASH before I was married into the family. We have shared secrets, dreams, and ideas with each other. She is like the little sister I never had. Her babies are precious and I feel like they are part of me as well. I love them to death. She is so creative and loving and totally the picture of the perfect stay at home mom. She has it all together and even knows where she puts it. HA HA!!!! She may not know the grace and support that she has shown me but it has been there. She has treated me just like a sister and not like an in-law. That speaks volumes to me.

NL is my youngest sis-in-law. She was probably the one I had to adjust to more than any of them because she married my brother. I now understood how SE and AC might have felt. I think the first thing I said to her was "I have to be nice to you so there." She has been a blessing to my life. Over and over she has prayed for me and our family. She has stood in the gap for us when the struggles seemed overwhelming. She also has precious kids that I love. She has desire, drive, and dedication that I admire.

I have continued to be blessed by all of these ladies. I couldn't make it through without each of them there. I am truly thankful for them all. For pictures of them all, see Day 8 of this series.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 21

My sister-in-law had no idea when she wrote her thankful segment today that I was also going to be writing about her parents. You see I have the most awesome in-laws in the world. I was blessed to have married a husband whose parents love you for who you are and not for who you think they want you to be. They welcomed me with open arms even when my husband first introduced me as "a friend".

They have been there for every one of my children's births, our ups and downs. They have stood by us when we made decisions that not everyone agreed with. They made sure our kids had special moments just for them. They kept our kids when we were struggling and needed someone to watch them. They have taken us and our kids on grandpa ventures and taught all of us more than I could ever imagine. They let our kids and even myself practice our creative cooking skills on them. They have blessed us over and over again.

Truly without them I honestly think that I would have thrown in the towel on so many things but they would talk to me, encourage me, and love me and it gave me the courage and strength to keep on going.

I hear people talk about their in-laws and how they are treated. I thank God every day that I have these two people in my life. They are the example that I want to be like. I pray every day that I am just like them when my kids marry.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 20

Today, I experienced something different. Our family was invited to supper at the neighbor's house this evening. What was different is that this family is Mennonite. They dress differently than we do and they believe that kids do not speak unless spoken to. One thing they do well, is cook from scratch. We had homemade creamed corn, hash brown potatoes, roast, salad, and a wonderful apple pie. Apparently, the girls in the family made the meal.

I feel like I made a new friend tonight. The mom of the family and I decided that we are going to start walking in the evenings when we can. I know that I have friends from our church and around that I can share things with but I think this friendship is going to challenge me to really be on my toes regarding the Bible and my beliefs spiritually. The Mennonites believe similar to what we do but I know that they totally immerse them in the Word. I have been praying lately that God would give me the strength to be diligent about my quiet time and I believe that this is my answer.

I am thankful for my new found friend and the wonderful neighbors that God has placed in our lives.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 19

I was talking to my boss today and explained how my sister-in-law had challenged us to blog about 30 days of Thanksgiving. She laughed and asked how I was doing with that. I told her that I had been doing well so far. There was one topic that we talked about and I have decided was worth sharing.

I am thankful that I am a woman. I love that God gave me that momma instinct that only women can have. I love that I can cry and relieve the stress. I love that I am desirable to my husband. I am thankful that I have the passion and desire for so many things. I love that my children at some point saw me as wonder woman, the best at everything I did for them, and the fixer of all problems. Honestly, I don't think I would have made a great guy so I am really glad that God made me a woman.

Today, I wish to end with a bit of my weird and twisted humor:

"I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let him forget he's a man" because "I will stand by my man" and all I ask is a little "R-E-S-P-E-C-T". "Cuz I'm a woman."

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 18

I am thankful for holiday/birthday traditions. Until I married my husband, I can only remember two traditional things that my family did. Every year we would go to the Art Museum that had been transformed into a Christmas tree forest of sorts. Different schools, clubs, etc. would decorate Christmas trees and they would be put on display for everyone to walk through and look at. I loved doing that. The other thing was that on the day of A&M /UT game we would pack up and go to the ranch so the men could go hunting. My granddaddy had attended UT and his brother had attended A&M so they decided instead of watching or listening to the game they would just go hunting together. We would all go. Just for the record, I am not someone who enjoys hunting.

When I married my husband, I knew that his family was extremely close and did a lot of things together. One thing that has never changed is how Thanksgiving and Christmas are celebrated. At Thanksgiving, everyone gathers early in the day at the grandparents house. The women start making preparations on the meal while the men and the kids do whatever it is that they do. Once the chicken and dressing (there was no turkey in this family) was cooking then the women would sit and visit while they crocheted, played cards or dominoes, or such. Soon the table would be set (back then we all fit around it, now we have to have a card table for the kids) and the food put on the table. We would gather around the table once the food was ready. Grandpa/Dad would bless the food and the feast would begin. We would laugh, visit, and eat. The whole while taking our time, not rushing, no televisions on, no external devices interfering with this time. Once everyone was stuffed, the kids would clear the table and then the clean up would begin. Once finished, then naps and visiting took place. That night leftovers were pulled out and eaten. It is a great time.

The only difference in Thanksgiving and Christmas is that after the meal at Christmas, the family would gather in the living room. The youngest child or designated child would hand out gifts one at a time. Everyone watches in anticipation as the person unwraps the gift. This is an all day affair. Again with no television or external devices. Just family.

Birthdays are celebrated with the family gathering for a meal. Whoever has the birthday chooses the menu and after the meal is eaten then the birthday person reads each and every card aloud. Every gift is opened and celebrated with all.

You see I love all these traditions because it tends to bring us all together for a while. Now that we all live apart, these traditions are even more important. I am just thankful that we are able to still have them.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 17

I am thankful for the following:

The Lord is my shepherd means That is RELATIONSHIP
I shall not want means That is SUPPLY
He Maketh me to lie down in green pastures means That is REST
He leadeth me beside the still waters means That is REFRESHMENT
He restoreth my soul means That is HEALING
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness means That is GUIDANCE
For His name sake means That is PURPOSE
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death means That is TESTING
I will fear no evil means That is PROTECTION
For thou art with me means That is FAITHFULNESS
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me means That is DISCIPLINE
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies That is HOPE
Thou annointest my head with oil means That's CONSECRATION
My cup runneth over means That is ABUNDANCE
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life That is BLESSING
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord means That is SECURITY
Forever means That is ETERNITY

This one passage has all these promises in it. How amazing is that!!!! Be blessed today.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 16

I love my friends and am so thankful for them. In an earlier post, I talked about how I had melted down (yes, I am better now thanks for asking.:) ) On the night before I knew I was close to melting down so I texted three of my friends to pray and pray hard. I had immediate responses that they were all doing just that. I am so grateful for these prayer warriors. Without their prayers, I would have not made it through the things I needed to take care of calmly and composed.
I love my friends and am so glad God gave them to me.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 15

Today I am thankful for time. Today we spent some time together at the Annual Model Train Show. We have been doing this since our oldest was about 2. Actually our youngest went to his first train show at the age of 6 days old. It is something we all kind of look forward to.

I was afraid that this was going to be the year that my husband and I would be the only ones going. When we mentioned it to the boys, though, they got excited.

I tried hard to get a good picture of the guys but they usually had their backs to me. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I know that the boys are growing so fast and that time we get to spend with them is getting shorter so today I am extremely thankful for time.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 14

Today I was blessed with a special date with my husband. We were on our way to the football game that our boys were playing at and he decided to detour along the way. We stopped at Hammond's BBQ for lunch. We have heard raving reviews about it so it was a planned stop. The food was good and filling. After we left there, I figured that we would just go on to the game. (Let me preface this entry by saying that that morning I had said that I would rather have all my teeth drilled out than go to this game. My husband got a wounded look on his face and said that he had planned to go. So I told him that was fine with me.) As we drove off, he suddenly turned towards downtown Glen Rose and stopped at the courthouse. He asked if I wanted to go shopping at any of the shops. I told him no, because I would want to buy and we couldn't afford it. I did find a nice older man who was selling tomatoes and jalapenos out of the back of his truck and bought some of those from him.

We left the courthouse and drove to this wonderfully hidden park called Big Rock Park. There we took some pictures of the creek, the rocks, and some people playing with their remote control cars in a rock climbing course--think off roading jeeps only small scale.

We eventually made it to the game and endured it. Then on the way home he took down a back road and told me stories that he had heard from his grandmama. It was a totally laid back trip but well worth it.

What really makes this special is that I have been in prayer about getting closer to my husband. With our lives going in so many directions, sometimes it feels like we don't connect anymore. We just are there. In talking with God, I had used a specific example of a date to the park and here it was. I was so grateful and thankful that God honored my request. I feel truly blessed.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 13

Today was not one of my better days. I ended up sitting in my office and having one of those cries that lasts more than thirty seconds. After I finished up crying, I pulled myself together and got back on track. One of my students came in not long after that and I explained to her what she needed and all of the sudden she got up and gave me a really big hug. Then she looked at me and said, "Mrs. Pipes, are you okay? If you want to talk to someone, I am here for you." I almost cried again. I told her I was just having a bad day and it would be okay.

What really put things into perspective was that this child has Cerebral Palsy. She has physical and mental struggles daily. I watch her and her twin sister, who also has CP, deal with their disabilities. They do so with a smile on their face everyday. They never seem to get down and they look upon each challenge without fear. There is no self pity and they don't make excuses for themselves. They are willing to do what everyone else does and they do so with gusto.

Today, I am thankful for these two young girls and the inspiration that they give me.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 12

I am thankful for night time. I love this time of day! I go outside and I can look up in the sky and see the amazing stars twinkling. The endless night sky lights up with millions of glistening, sparkling stars. Placed there by God just for us. How awesome is that!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 11

I am thankful for the veterans in my life. My Granddaddy Koenig served in the Korean War and my Daddy served in Vietnam. My uncle on my Daddy's side was in the Army until he retired several years ago.

These men fought so that we could have the freedom to eat what we wanted, go where we want to, where the clothes we want, shop, eat out, sing, dance, play sports, etc. The list could go on for a while. Along with thousand upon thousands of other men and women, these brave people helped to have a country that is free.

To quote one of my favorite songs:

"If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life, and I had to start again with just my children and my husband. I'd thank my lucky stars to be livin here today. Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away. From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee, across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea. From Detroit down to Houston, and New York to LA. Well, there's pride in every American heart and it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free! And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me! And I'll gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land....God Bless the USA!

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 10

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 On days like today when I get stressed about things I have no control over, I try to remember that God tells us over and over to give thanks for every thing. I know it sounds silly but when I am just freaking out I start thanking God for the things that He has given me throughout the day.

Today, is a prime example. I slept through my alarm but God managed to wake me up in time. I had to thank Him for that because this was not the day I needed to be late or miss. I got to school and was greeted with an unexpected meeting. I was told the parents were upset but when I got in there it was just the opposite. The parents wanted to let us know we were doing a great job. Another prayer of thanks. One of my students finally caught on to a concept that was giving us all fits. A major prayer of thanks!

The day is not over but I just have to say that my perspective and attitude changes when I lift up things with a thankful heart instead of whining all the time. Trust me, I do my fair share of whining but as I grow in my walk, I find that my first words are not so much "I want...." as they are "Thank you for...."

Today, I am thankful for you and your family wherever you are.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 9

I am thankful for my close friends. They are the ones who really know and love me anyway. They know my faults and still manage to put up with me. They know all the crazy things and still help me stay sane through it all. Without these people in my life I would have gone over the edge a long time ago. I believe that God put them in my life as a physical anchor for me to have. God has blessed me with some godly women to be my friends to pray for me and talk with me and my best friend--my husband to hold me through the ups and downs of life.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 8

Today is a Wordless Day of Thankgiving. Enjoy!

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 7

Again I am late with this post but it is finally here. I am thankful that God blessed with an inquisitive mind. I love to research things. I love historical things but I am notorious for what my friends at work call "hunting down the rabbit until it can't run anymore." If I don't know something then I will research everything I can about it. I want to know things and I want to feel like I can contribute to conversations.

There are people out there that think I am really a ditsy person. Sometimes I am but for the most part I think I have some sort of smartness in me. If I don't understand something then why would I continue to want to be ignorant. I want to understand.

God placed this desire in me and gave me the mind to know how to figure things out. I want to use what he gave me. I hate being thought of as ditsy and such so I go out and figure things out. I research the Bible when I can't figure out what a passage means. I think God likes that. I think He puts that into us so that we will dive deeper into his word and we will "hunt the rabbit til it can't run anymore."

I will admit that sometimes my inquisitiveness does get me into trouble but for the most part it allows me to become a more well rounded person.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 6

I am behind but then again what is new. I am thankful for the privilege of hearing. That has been especially true lately since my middle son had to have his eardrum fixed. I love listening to the sounds of nature, music, my family. There are times when I think I want it quiet but then when those rare times happen, I find that I really didn't like it so much.
I love listening to the birds and animals outside with their different calls and such. It is almost comforting. I love music! What more needs to be said there. I love how it calms me when I need to calm or it makes happy when I am anything but that. Right now we are learning our Christmas Choir music and it is so pretty. It evokes the most wonderful pictures in my head. I love how music does that. I am grateful that God allows me to hear him through music and through the sounds of nature and through His word. So for today, I am thankful for hearing.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 5

I am thankful today for the ability that God gave me. I am teacher. I didn't want to be a teacher because people always told me that I was going to be a teacher. God allowed me to follow my own path for a while but then I gave up and allowed God to do what He wanted to do with me. As a result, it was teaching. I think I am pretty good at it. I don't teach like everyone else. I teach the way I think I would want to learn. Hands on, interactive, and involved. Not just sitting in a chair, taking notes, and listening to someone drone on and on. I know that God has blessed me in this because every test I have taken for certification has been passed the first time. It is totally God. I have been doing this for 10 years now and I find that I still enjoy going to work every day and facing the challenges/adventures that await me.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 4 Part 2

Jesse has made us laugh, given me a few gray hairs, and loves freely from his heart. He is creative and smart.

I am especially thankful for my 3rd blessing who turned 13 years old today. He was born on Tuesday at 12:30pm. He was the cutest baby in the hospital nursery. Of course he was the only baby in the nursery but still the cutest. Most of all, he is my baby.

I love his laugh and the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles. He is caring, devoted, and generous through and through. I am so blessed that I have him in my life. For this I am extremely thankful.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 4 Part 1

This picture is not of my actual pantry. Why am I showing a picture of a pantry? Well, in Philippians 4:19 it says: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Jesus Christ." Now I know that the Bible was talking about spiritual things but today I am thankful for God supplying what we need physically. I feel blessed that our pantry is stocked with supplies and that if something did happen then we would be okay for a while. People laugh at my pantry because I do keep things in stock but if someone needs food or if there is a request for something then I have it available to give. God blessed us with it and we bless others in the same way. So today I am thankful for God supplying our needs.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 3

Today I am thankful for the nature outside. I love that God can paint such gorgeous pictures with just a movement from Him. It amazes me how the leaves change, how the sunset is NEVER the same, and how many types of birds and animals there are that are elegant and graceful. I am always stopping to look out over the view from my house at the wondrous beauty that is there. I am in awe every time. It never ceases to amaze me.
I am thankful that God put it there for me to enjoy. I know that it is not just for me but I like that I am able to enjoy it. Someone once said, take time to smell the roses and I believe you should do it every chance you get.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 2

For Day 2, I am thankful for my three sons. They are my world. They make me laugh so much. They are smart and handsome. They are talented in so many ways. They are wonderful. I pray everyday for them and their future. I pray for their future wives. I pray that they are given all the blessings that God can give them. Without my boys, I would not be the mom I am today. These are the best 3 blessings that anyone could be thankful for.

30 Days of Thanksgiving--Day 1

Okay, I didn't start on time. Story of my life. Anyway. On the first day of Thanksgiving I am thankful for my husband. He knew from the start that I came with crazy baggage and yet, he stuck with me and continues to love me through it all. He drives me nuts at times but he is the one I pour my heart out to and he is the one who holds me when I just need to be held. He always says this about me but I think it is true about him--He completes me. I chose this picture because I love him all dressed up and he looks hot in a suit.