friday blessings

- Jesus is the head of our imperfect home.  He gives us grace to handle our imperfections.

- My husband is a man of faith, open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

- The turkey was delicious.

- The cranberries were delicious--despite my not having any orange juice to add to them.

- No one was sick on Thanksgiving--not always a given around here.

- My aunt invited us for desert.

- Beth, eleven months old, didn't get a second nap due to my rushing around to get dinner done.  I actually forgot her nap!  Nevertheless, she was happy as a lark at my aunt's house.

- Without any extended family around to play with kids while we cooked, I didn't have time to do my time-consuming stuffing recipe (whole wheat bread crumbs, lean Italian sausage, dried cranberries, diced apples, onions, celery).  We also didn't have enough extra bread to dry any bread crumbs.  But the Stove Top stuffing with cranberries the church gave us wasn't half bad.  Dinner was saved by their generosity.

- It snowed this morning.  Beautiful.  Didn't stick, but what a happy thing to wake up to.  (Okay, not if you're my husband.  He prefers visiting the snow in the High Sierras.)

-  I have two beautiful girls, Mary, almost three, and Beth, eleven months.  I didn't plan them--God did.  I can't imagine life without them.

-  There is a blessing in having boys first.  Peter, 7, and Paul, 6, my sweet sons, can help watch out for their sisters when the courtship years come.

-  Online friends--always a blessing.

-  Our church has a very sweet Children's Director, and a very nice Pastor.

-  Our church body is generous.

-  I'm trying to teach Peter to self-correct his glass-half-empty thought patterns.  I read that pessimistic people are not only less happy, but also less effective in their lives.  Anyhow, this morning, Peter rephrased a negative thought to make it a positive one--on his own.  Praise God!