Birthday Blessings

Yesterday was my birthday.  I had set my expectations pretty low in anticipation of the day, or even the week.  As May rolls into June the memories that flood my mind are of my birthday in June 2009 when Woody and Sara and I headed to Reno to "get Sara's knee fixed" and then spend the day celebrating with shopping and dinner.  Instead we began our journey with Sara's cancer. 

In June 2010 Sara bought a heart charm and had it engraved on one side "June 2009" and on the other side "Phil 4:13".  She was done with her year of treatment and set to move forward with her life.  She said she wanted something to always remind her of what God had brought her through, and she wore it on a bracelet.  I wear that charm now, and I will always remember.

There's a line in a song. . . ."HE gives and takes away, HE gives and takes away.  My heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be Your name!"  It's hard to accept God taking Sara away, but He has given me so much.  My birthday was a great reminder of that.  Thankful list continued. . . .

331.  My parents. . . I miss my Dad. . . my mom is absolutely AMAZING!
332.  My brother and his family. . . don't get to see them much. . . love them to pieces
333.  My husband. . . such a blessing. . . and his family . . . blessings overflowing
334.  Our kids and their spouses. . . .they fill my heart
335.  Early morning phone calls
336.  Grandkids. . . oh what absolute JOY!
337.  Ellery Sara Swenson born 5/29. . . . pure preciousness!
338.  Airplanes!!
339.  Friends and family near and far. . . . gifts from God every one
340.  A job I love. . . with a staff and kids that are absolutely wonderful!
341.  Laughter with co-workers. . .even when things are hectic and crazy
342.  A ga-zillion birthday wishes and hugs from my kids at school
343.  Watching kids grow up. . . investing in their lives. . . loving them
344.  High school kids. . . graduations
345.  Flowers. . . fun pots/containers. . . watering early in the morning or late in the evening
346.  Summertime
347.  Planning musicals
348. The end of a school year
349.  Memories. . .
350.  The grace and mercy of God that gets us through each day!

. . . . . could go on and on. . . . gotta go to work. . . .second to the last day of school with kids!

Blessings in a Bucket

After 17 years of living in our house, we have finally gotten around to doing some landscaping in our backyard.  It took us a long time to figure out what we wanted to do, but now it's kind of fun to have some trees and plants out there. . . and to see which ones we can actually keep living and growing!

This weekend, I decided I needed some "containers with character" that I could fill with flowers to add some interest and color.   My dear friend has a store here in Fallon called "Blessings in a Bucket".  Besides loving the name of the shop, I just had a hunch that she would have the sort of treasures I was looking for . . . and I was not disappointed.   I think this is going to be my on-going summer project. . . . collecting containers and planting flowers! 

I also found a RED table . . . which reminded me of Sara.  It makes a perfect addition to our back porch "chair time"!