Belated Sunday Blessings

Belated Sunday Blessings
One of my goals this next "year" of blogging is to be more organized and less random, and yet have the flexibility to post on different subjects. See my sidebard or page for my "hopeful" schedule.

However, I am kind of random by nature, so there are going to be days like today, when I take a break from my schedule-under-trial and do something different. Yesterday I missed my Sunday Blessings post, and I really need to post some blessings.

In addition to that it is a triple Birthday Week for my family. Today is both my mom's 70th birthday, and my niece Steph's 21st birthday! Tomorrow my nephew turns 17. Of course, my youngest reminds me that this means that her first double digit birthday is only a month away from today. So Blessings and Birthdays are on my mind.

Blessings and Birthdays:
1. My house is actually dinner party clean, with a few closets cleaned out too.

2. My mom's birthday party yesterday afternoon, although smaller than we originally planned, was sweet and just right. We had three cakes - one ice cream, one gluten-free and egg-free, and one "regular" cake with berries on top. 70 candles, and three candle-blowers! My mom wanted my daughters to help her blow them out, and they were happy to do so. I wish I had taken a picture of that.

3. We have new pool deck furniture. It isn't fancy, just folding tables and chairs from Costco, with a few smaller ones from Target. The big deal is this: I have wanted new deck furniture for about 10 years now, and finally purchased some. The tough part of the decision making came down to wrestling with my desire for something fancy and hard to move/clean/store and my desire to have something I could rearrange at a moment's notice, clean in thirty seconds, and store in a small pile in our shop/garage or in the basement. The side benefit of folding sturdy tables is that they can be brought out for other gatherings throughout the year and won't be sitting unused in the rain for nine months.

4. My kids are sweet! They almost always are, but this week they helped me clean my house with kind and helpful hearts, doing things without me asking them to do them, and doing jobs they don't normally do. My oldest strongly dislikes washing the dirty dishes, (always willing to put away the clean ones) and she actually washed dishes last night without being asked.

5. My youngest made my mom a beautiful beaded necklace for my mom's birthday. She is a talented bead artist, and I know this sounds horribly braggy but I think she makes better necklaces that you can buy at a store. These are not macaroni necklaces, but beautiful beaded creations.

6. My oldest has been called the "four-year-old whisperer" by the Sunday School team at our church for her talents with four year old kids. The really cool part is that she loves caring for younger kids, and she spent yesterday evening caring for a little boy at the church softball game.

7. God Squad, our church softball team, won their game! I didn't play since I came late from my mom's birthday party, but I enjoyed some great cheering section company and watched my kids play at the playground nearby too.

8. My husband is "mission impossible" man. He single-handedly solved a worship "blip" yesterday, cleaned out the garage/shop and cleaned off the entire deck, helped host my mom's birthday party, fixed and loaded up a new used mower/tractor to be taken to his oldest sister's house in Eastern WA, and played a winning softball game - all within 48 hours. In his spare time, he cuddled with our daughters and me, and edited videos. Then he got up and went to work this morning. He doesn't know the meaning of the word "rest" unless he's on vacation, and even then we usually ski/swim/hike/snowboard/boogie board/stay active.

9. My wonderful, one-of-a-kind Mom is 70 today. I love her so much. She has filled my life with faith, inspiration, laughter, and joy. She has faced trials, and prayed her way through them with determination. She loves sparkly hats, and colorful clothes. She draws, paints, folds origami, and gardens with an artist's hand. She mows grass mazes in her back lawn, and has a love/disappointment with the deer who romp through her meadow and eat her flowers. She has decided that 70 is the new beginning, and not the end, and I love her attitude. Happy Birthday Mom!

10. My niece Stephanie is 21 today. She's young, sweet, and full of surprises. She has a wonderful laugh, and a terrific smile. Happy Birthday Stephanie!!!

11. Bonus Blessing: Our neighborly eagle owl sang us sweet lullabies last night as we went to bed, and I finally had a full night's sleep for the first time in three weeks.

Scripture Blessings:

"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenent in my blood,; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26