A Grateful November Hodgepodge

I started blogging after retiring from a full-time, demanding job in 2011.  Curious to see if I had posted anything about my 67th birthday that first year, I looked back and found that yes, I had.  It was spent with our daughter and her family in Dallas, but my outing with Ava Grace, 5 at the time is still a special memory.

We went to the Galleria where we had lunch and shopped at American Girl and even took Kit to the ice skating rink where she excelled on her first try.

That night we went to the huge Fall Festival at Prestonwood Baptist Church where Bat Girl was not too proud to snuggle with her pretty mom.

Gracious, the changes these 11 years have brought and I am more than grateful for the majority of them, especially for my 78th birthday today, the 1st of Nov.

Thank you Joyce for this week's Hodgepodge questions.

1.  What about your upbringing are you most grateful for?

My parents.  I am grateful for the life of commitment to each other, to our family, to their faith, to the people they ministered to, and the example they set every single day of their lives.  I'm grateful to have grown up in the south in the mid 40's - 60's, in a rural area where everyone was either called "Aunt" or "Uncle" or by Mr. and Mrs.  That was an idyllic time to grow up.

2.  What are two or three things that bring you comfort?

Sitting around a roaring fire snuggled in a warm blanket, sipping hot chocolate, surrounded by family.

3.  Something beautiful you saw today?  (or yesterday depending on when it is you're answering this question)

The sunrise while on my morning walk in The Village.

4.  Have you ever used a typewriter?  Tell us a memory associated with that.

Oh yes, and in fact first typed on one that looked exactly like the one above.  My dad had one that he used all the time, and allowed us to play on it.  My memory is watching him type a mile a minute with no errors using his forefingers only.  I was shocked when I took my first typing class that that was not the right technique.  It sure worked for Daddy.  He would have been a great texter.

5.  Something you are grateful for today.

To be healthy, active, happy, and a year older.  I'm grateful for God's faithfulness to me and my family and for my eternal hope in Jesus Christ.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Jax's 1st Halloween

Landon's 1st Halloween

Ava Grace (Center) and fellow students will have their first school theatrical performance this weekend.  Obviously, acting comes more natural for some than others.