and many more...

This the last day of this challenge and I'm glad I was able to participate in it again and both years when I'm done I feel like it's gone too quickly, 30 days is not enough time to list all of the things I'm thankful for. So here are a few more things I'm very thankful for; some more than others, but thankful just the same.

1. my hot and toasty electric blanket, it' makes crawling into bed at the end of a long hard day in an unheated bedroom tolerable!

2. a good supportive bra or 2 or 20...
3. a great fitting pair of jeans and my cowboy boots!
4. Bridger
5. the digital camera
6. the kindness of strangers during this year with Ron's health.
7. being able to pay the toll for the person behind me on the interstate or buying the person behind me in line at dunkin dounts a hot chocolate and wishing them a good day or a Merry Christmas.
8. great neighbors
9. a mother-in-law who serves meals for three vegetarians and a mostly meat eating family and makes sure there are delicious options for both.
10. Tyler's giggle
11. Andrews gentle heart
12. the nurturing side of Faith
13. vitamins and whole body and soul nourishing food
14. Garlic - my horse eh, the food too ;-)
15. flowers
16. cilantro - basil pesto
17. wood heat

and there are so many more. This was just a few off the top of my head. I started reading a book about making a list of 1000 things that we consider gifts, I couldn't finish the book because of  time and the fact that it was too mind numbing for me but I got the general idea and this quick list just made my think of making my own list. Hmm, maybe if I did that next year I wouldn't feel like November's Gratitude challenge went too quickly....

for better relationships

I am so thankful for a relationship that is way better now than when we were kids, a relationship that is honest, fun and a blessing beyond measure.  Thank you Jenny for being such and wonderful friend and blessing in my life. You are an amazing beautiful woman and friend. I love you!

uh-oh Buckley...

You got caught being naughty...cute, but naughty!

Ummm Katie...

g

...there is an easier way to get your dinner... Silly little lady!

for knowledge

I am thankful for knowledge, information and common sense.

for water

Very thankful for our Kangen Water machine!

my knitting needles

I'm thankful for my collection of knitting needles, the ones handed down from my great grandmother, the ones given to me by my grandmother the ones purchased at goodwill and thrift stores and the few that I purchased. I'm thankful that I can create beautiful things with them and that those beautiful things are helping make ends meet.

for medicine

after another trip to the ER of the local hospital tonight with Ron, I'm thankful for medicine and medical care. I'm also thankful for my health.

for answered prayer

photo courtesy of  D. Baker

Happy Thankgiving!

From all of us here at From the Country Farm we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! As we stop and give thanks for all that we have remember to not only thank the person that prepared our feasts but for the farmer that grew it!

toasy toes

I'm thankful I found some nice toasty warm footwear last year; Bogs, so any of you looking for toasty toes, look now further -go to the nearest store and pick yourself up a pair today! Worth every cent!

fourth time!

I am thankful I have a daughter who LOVES donating her beautiful hair to "lots of love" (as she called it when she was 5 years old). This is her 4th time donating about a foot of hair. The last time she donated was June 15th, 2010. Way to go Faith! Keep going!

good quote

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

 

Abraham Lincoln

for wool

I LOVE wool! Wool sweaters, socks, mittens, hats and the animals that produce them! I love the fact that when you put them on it's like an instant furnace. I'm thankful oh so thankful for wool!

How cute is this dress?

good quote

"Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do."

Unknown

change

I'm thankful for my ability to effect change. It may sound cocky, but it's the truth. I was able to do it in a positive, no pressure, nonthreatening way and I am thrilled! And because of this a few more animals were allowed to live out life as they were intended to life and lived a good life.

for success and a good nights rest

I am so thankful for the success of today's Open Farm Day, glad it's over for this year, tired and thankful I have a nice warm comfy bed to crawl into tonight. I'm thankful for all my sister's cooking skill, my mothers sewing skills, my childrens help and my husbands patience.

It's morning

Less the stress begin! We made it to Open Farm Day! Woohooo!

preparations under way!

We are steadily preparing for our Open Farm Day this weekend, the wreaths are made and hung, the lights and garlands are up in the barn and the animals have been put on alert. We told them to expect to be highly adored - by loads of people other than us! ;-)

eternally thankful...

... for my salvation.

crafts

LOVE having an outlet for my creativity, soapmaking, knitting, quilting, scrapbooking, spinning, what have you, I love being creative and am thankful for that gift.

the barn and inhabitants

 I am thankful for all the critters in my life. They are a blessing to work with and they keep me sane - most days!    

my home

I am so thankful I have a wonderful place to call home. I absolutely LOVE it!

for commitment

I love this picture and even more so the couple in it. It represents love, peace, respect, sacrifice and commitment and it's the commitment I'm thankful for because it really involves all the others. Today is our 16th anniversary and there were times that I wasn't sure we'd make it. I'm being honest here. There was a time when throwing in the towel would have been the easiest thing to do, mind you it wasn't always that way and it wasn't a daily thing, but I'm thinking likely some of you can relate and know where I'm coming from. When it would have been easier to throw in the towel I realized that I stood before God and Ron and witnesses and committed to love him and be joined together with him until we are parted by death. That was a sobering reality! It made me realize that if I went back on my commitment  not only to Ron but to God that would be a huge statement about who I am, if I took back my commitment I'd be a person who talked the talk but not walked the walk and that is not who I am. I took a look at our relationship in a whole new light and saw things I could improve on, where I could grow, where I could change, (some I'm still working at...) and not just expect all that from him. I married all of him and he married all of me including my flaws. I have a long way to go but it's worth it. I wish that more people would realize that when you make a commitment make the commitment!

Ron told me a long time ago that marriage is not 50/50, it's 100/100 and it has proved to be a wise statement. It's hard work, it's heartbreaking at times, sometimes you get your feelings hurt and yes you are capable of damn near killing your spouse with hurtful things you do or say, so are they. Marriage is not always fun and it certainly isn't always champagne and roses - though it is sometimes!

But if you work through all those things that's when you get to the good stuff; the part of you that is able to trust only this person with your life, who is the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning and who reaches out to catch you when you stumble or fall. The person who knows you in the most intimate way and has the ability for feel you pain even when you're "fine." The person who you share children with and can make your day with a kind word or warm embrace. Who can make you feel like the most cherished person on earth with a kiss on the forehead. The person who is there when you look into the future and who is also in the past and both places bring a smile to your face. The person who goes out of his way to do something he knows will make you smile or thrill you to the moon and puts your needs before his own happiness, the person you cannot breathe without. Yes my friends, that is the good stuff.

Thank you Ron for the 16 years of marriage, the time before that as friends and the many years we have ahead of us. I love you!

for a strong bond

I know after I'm gone that they'll have each others backs.

wheels!

I'm thankful for transportation that is not always horseback. With all the traveling we did today it would have taken forever or not been possible if we had to rely on a horse and buggy or our feet. I do find horseback to be a wonderful mode of transportation and I do like to take a walk, but I am thankful for my truck despite the fact it needs an engine and tires and Ron's car to get us to the places we go faster and gets us home quicker as well!

freedom

Thank you to the service men  like my husband, father, grandfather and uncles and women like my grandmother for your willingness to serve our country. Thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to those who are standing in harms way even as I write to keep us safe. Thank you.

new packaging!!

These are my new labels! I think they came out nice if I do say so myself! So many bars to get ready before the open farm day we're hosting, gotta go get crackin'!

it may seem silly...

... but I'm thankful for electricity! It allows me to do the things I have to do like cooking and laundry faster so I can do the fun things like learning a new knitting pattern or making soap!

freedom and flexibility

I'm thankful for many things today all of which relate to homeschooling my children. First I'm thankful for the opportunity or rather freedom to home school; the full, complete and total support of my husband, the lifestyle that allows me to stay home and do this, the support of many family members and friends some of which home school and some that do not and for those that think we're completely nuts! I'm thankful for the flexibility, for the spontaneity and the structure of homeschooling. I'm thankful to those who paved the way before us who knew that this was in the best interest for their children and fought so the rest of us could have a go at it too. I'm thankful that I've been there all along for, with and beside my children and that I've witnessed many moments of  "a-ha! I get it!" and worked through the frustrations of not getting things the first go round and I'm thankful we can take the time needed for them to get it and not hold the rest of learning back or be held back when they are ready to zoom forward in something. I'm also thankful that we are enjoying this journey together, even the days that are less then 'perfect.'

co-operation from Katie

If everything continues along the path we're on right now we should have goat kids at the beginning of April 2012! I'm so thankful that Katie found the visiting buck WAY more alluring today than she found him repulsive yesterday despite the fact he has peed all over his face and beard and reeks like a rutty buck will at this time of year and maybe tomorrow Strawberry will find him completely irresistible as well! Venus is holding out for a buck at another farm, one that met her fancy quite well last year and had a stunning doe with!

blessed by and thankful for...

...great meals shared with great friends. Thank you Nancy! You are a true gem!

spontaneous day trips

I woke up to a back rub and a question, "Do you have any plans today?" Then a "Let's go to Portland Head Light and take some pictures! C'mon, lets go!" How could I refuse?! So off we went!

We had a really good time too!

for goat school

What a blessing it was to have the opportunity to go to a mini version of goat school with the Spauldings of Stony Knolls Farm. What a wealth of knowledge and all around great people!

And what nice words were spoken abut our very own Katie and Buckley!

for life strengthening words...

...words like:

Peace..............Mercy...............Grace.......Hope.............Love.....


...and the greatest of these really is love.

the past 4 months...

Odd as it may seem I'm so thankful for the past 4 1/2 months,  yes, I'm talking about the time my husband has been ill, in and out of the hospital and home. It's been a long hard road we've battled and tomorrow marks a big day, Ron is returning to work which I'm thankful for but I'm also viewing it as a mixed blessing. Ron is not cured, he's still weak but has made an amazing recovery and making wonderful strides daily! I cannot tell you how proud I am of him without the waterworks starting. So I'll spare y'all that and suffice to say I'm very proud of him. But it's the last the last word in that sentence I'm focusing on. Home. Ron was in the hospital for a month, and back to the ER several times since he got out but for most of the time during all this he was home. He was here recovering, enjoying, rehabilitating, resting, playing, loving, smiling and living. He was home and bonding with our children and seeing them in a whole new light. He tole Andrew yesterday that people should be retired while they have children at home and work after they are gone. Hearing him say that meant so much, it brought tears to my eyes. Our relationship has grown too and we're closer now than ever before. He's had time to reflect on the things that matter, to think about things that matter and let go of things that just don't. He's been given the chance to live like he was dying and then the blessing of knowing he's not.

We've managed to pay all our bills; albeit some were late, but paid just the same, we had food on the table and gas in the car to get him back and forth to the appointments he had due in large part to the love and support and financial help from family, friends, neighbors, churches and complete strangers. I know without a doubt that it was the prayer support, God's grace and mercy we had during all this that got all of us safely through this. I was able to leave the farm and be at the hospital every day with him and knew the farm was in the capable hands of my kids overseen by my mom and I was able to be there with him at his appointments and not have to worry about missing work because we made the choice a long time ago for me to stay home with the kids and I'm thankful everyday for that. 

I'm thankful for the past 4 1/2 months because we've been home together growing, laughing and loving and I'm going to miss these past days when tomorrow comes.

Ron it's been so very nice having you home with us, these are days I'll cherish. I love you.

another round of giving thanks - for an entire month!

Oops, I forgot to post yesterday despite the fact that I knew this was coming up - chalk it up to an overly stressed brain fart. But anyway, I participated in this last year and had such a wonderful time thinking about all the blessings of my life that I'm thankful for so I'm participating again this year. It's a daily challenge to focus ourselves on the things that we are thankful for, I encourage you to do the same.




To start off with, I'm going to post two things I'm thankful for today because I didn't do it yesterday. So for today I'm thankful for 1. photography and 2. beautiful things to photograph.

 I am thankful for photography because my memory cannot hold all of the things in it that I want to remember; and there are lots, but when I look at a picture I can remember that moment, that feeling or place. Photography is very emotional and powerful for me much like scents. My babies are growing up so quickly and there will come a day when they are grown and gone and I'll have memories and pictures and hopefully will be able to look through them and smile as the tears run down my face looking back at a life well lived and loved.

I'm thankful for beautiful things to photograph because without them life would not be worth living.