Day 6 - Books

This was a hard topic for me because I love to read almost more than anything else.  I'm not sure how to express gratitude for books but I know that I've loved them since I was a child.  I can read a really good book in 2-3 hours and have spent many nights reading into the wee hours of the morning.

As I was thinking about this, I decided to share some of my favorite books.  One of my most favorite series of all time is Francine Rivers Mark of the Lion.  If you haven't read this series, you should run to the nearest bookstore and buy them immediately!  You won't be sorry!  I also love Karen Kingsbury's books.  I love Harlen Coban, James Pattison, so many authors so little time.

I'll tell you a secret...I'm hoping for a Kindle this Christmas to feed my addiction!  What are some of your favorites and why?

Day 5 - Morning Sky

I will forever be grateful that I got to see this morning sky!  I was in the right place at the right time and found myself leading an amazing team to Israel for a 2 month trip.  At the end of our time, we toured the country and this was the beginning of our tour.  We got up at 3am one morning and hiked to the top of Masada.  Let me just tell you, I thought I was going to die!  I almost gave up halfway up but being the leader, I couldn't quite let myself to that so I pushed through and I'm forever thankful that I did.  This is what I saw literally minutes after getting to the top.  We stood there as a team and watched the sun rise over the Dead Sea!  It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I'd ever seen!  (Well, let's be honest, one of the few sunrises I've ever seen period!)  Being on top of Masada wouldn't have been half the experience it was if we hadn't got to see the sun rising and I will never forget that beautiful morning!

Day 4 - Leaves

I never realized how grateful I was for fall until I stopped experiencing fall and all that came with it.  I lived in Denver for almost 5 years and there are a lot of evergreens.  If you drive to the mountains in the fall, you can see the yellow aspens and maybe a few red leaves here and there but mostly yellow.

When I moved home in the fall of 2001, I was almost giddy when the leaves changed.  I had forgotten how amazing that time of year could be and was literally overwhelmed by how much I loved fall.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the cool mornings that warmed up so much you wondered why you were wearing a sweater and than at night you wanted your sweater again, the nights around the fire, the apple cider and all the other cliches that go with fall.  So whenever I see the leaves, I'm reminded that I am a fall girl, even though I love summer best!!

Day 3 - Happiness

There are a lot of things that make me happy, so as I contemplated this one a lot of pictures came to mind.  As I was driving home tonight I was still pondering it, especially knowing that I was once again behind.  In my defense, this cold or whatever it is, is totally kicking my butt.

Anyway, I was having dinner with Pam tonight but decided to do some laundry before going so I put it in the sink cause I was too lazy to go to the laundromat.  As I was sitting at dinner I looked down and realized that my ring was gone.   Here's a picture of my ring: 

Now it might not look like anything special but one of the things that brings me the most happiness is travelling.  I love going places I've never been and seeing places I've never seen before.  I bought this ring almost 11 years ago in Jerusalem and have worn it almost every single day since then.  It has kept its perfectly round shape and its almost become a part of me.  I thought I'd lost it last summer and practically had a meltdown (I'm not kidding, ask anyone who was there!!)  My cousin found it for me and I don't think I've ever been happier....until tonight!  When I found it again for the 2nd time.  I can't explain what it is about this ring but it makes me happy.  Maybe because I got to go where Jesus was and walk where He walked....I don't know but whatever it is, this ring brings me happiness.  So total my gratitude is for the little things that bring us happiness.

Day 2 - Smile

There are a lot of things that I could say make me smile or even things that I could write about so this one is a bit tough.  And even tougher is coming up with a picture but I think this one says it all:

I always thought that I'd have kids some day but that's probably not going to happen at this point, and honestly I'm ok with that....because I have these kiddos.  Each one of them is special and unique in their own way and they all make me laugh for different reasons.  I love the way each of them interact with me and it's always changing as they get older.    For the most part, they still think I'm cool so I'm going to hang onto that for as long as I can!