Winter Break Faves

Well, it's mid-February and my teen girl and I have been on Winter Recess  all week.....an entire week off from work and school.  It's been great!

I'm linking up with other people who are finding 5 of their favorite blessings from the past week....head on over to Susanne's to join in!

donations!!

• DONATIONS!  Oh my goodness.  The small group I lead (Got Teens?!) is made up of 7 moms.  We all have a teen(s) or a college-aged child(ren).  We all attend the same church, although to be in the Bible study the mom doesn't have to attend Grace Fellowship.  Our church is taking a somewhat new approach in regards to service projects. Each small group is encouraged to do some kind of project as an act of service in the church community or elsewhere.  Well, now the pastors want us to start leaving our footprint in the community.  I'll be writing more on that at later dates.  I had heard of this agency through a long-time acquaintance of my husband and I.  She had something on Facebook about the agency needing clothing for women and children along with warm blankets.  Well, I looked into it, prayed about it, and presented the need to my small group.  And look at the photo above!!  (plus there were 2 other large bags that didn't make the picture!!).  The woman volunteer who came to my house this past Tuesday was blessed....and in return, we are blessed.  It is such a blessing to be able to give to the needy children and mothers in our area.  I was so proud of my moms group and so thankful that God gave us this opportunity.  We are actually thinking of volunteering there this summer!

photo courtesy of e recipe guide

• DINNER DATE!  Last Friday evening, after we snowblowed and shoveled out, Dave took Claire and I out for Indian food at our favorite Indian restaurant in town to celebrate Valentine's Day.  It was delicious. We all ordered something different and then did it "family style" by taking from each other's dishes. The restaurant doesn't mind that guests do this and in fact, they encourage it. One of my faves is in the photo above (Chicken Tikka Masala)  Claire ordered her favorite which is shown below:

Aloo Matar 

and Dave's order, which I also love..........

chana palak

What a scrumptious dinner...and then we came home, made hot coffees and watched our traditional movie we do every Valentine's Day (Casablanca). The blessing was that we didn't spend alot of money on dinner and we did something special together.  The perfect start to a great weekend!

photo courtesy of calendars website

• COUPLES GAME NIGHT!  Saturday evening was our 4th annual Couples Game Night. Each year I plan various social events and this is one of the most popular.  We had 4 couples here and what a blast we had!!  Usually the men reign in the above game...this year it was the ladies who won!!  We then played a couple of rounds of Balderdash...oh my goodness.  It was so much fun.....we just laughed and laughed. And ate lots of great snacks. Dave and I consider it to be a true blessing to have these friends in our lives to have fun and do life together!

• CARDS FROM COURTNEY!  Dave and I were so touched (and Claire received one, too!) that our oldest daughter sent us Valentine's cards.  The messages from her to each of us were so special.  The one to me from this first born daughter of ours brought tears to my eyes.  Oh how I miss her.....it will soon be spring break for Gordon College and I can't WAIT to have her home for a week.  She is a real blessing in our lives and we see such good fruit in her life that makes us stay on our knees in gratitude to God.

Claire, Grandpa M, Courtney

• DAD!  My dad was able to stay with us for the last 2 days. Unfortunately Courtney is still out in Boston for college but at least she got to see him at Christmas.  Claire and I drove out to the Mohawk Valley on Wednesday and brought him back with us.  It was great to have him visit.  We are taking him back to his house later today.  I am so blessed to have a daddy who is a Christian and such a good grampa.  He is a very godly man and I'm so thankful he is still with us. He's doing pretty good for age 82!

That wraps up my faves from my winter vacation week. There were other things like reading for long periods of time curled up on the couch next to my husband, watching the figure skating with my daughter and sipping hot tea, long chats with my dad, phone calls with my 3 younger sisters, and just sleeping in past 5:30 a.m.!!  Even working out was a pleasure this week as I didn't have to rush through my spinning!  And the added bonus is that this sinus infection finally seems to have left my body!!  Halleluia!

I hope you enjoy some milder temps this week...here in eastern NY we are having some warmer temps and some snow melt but the forecast is for more cold next week.....I'm starting to wonder if we will have a late spring.

Happy Weekend!!