There are 2 times during the (school) year that are more busy than the other months. October-December, and then April-June. So yeah...most of the school year. And this past week was one of the busiest. But...it's life. And in doing life, we need to look for those blessings.....little things, big moments, small treasures, large events. We are to give thanks for all things, in all things.
Let's link up with Susanne this week to find FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the week. Click here for the info.
- DINNER DATE: Claire, the ballerina teen, and her boyfriend had a dinner date with some other friends to celebrate their friend M's birthday. M's family is Asian and their tradition is that when a child turns 16, they treat good friends out to a nice dinner. So, after we dropped Claire off, Dave and I headed out to dinner ourselves. It was nice to just sit and relax over a couple of drinks and yummy food. It showed me that our lives will soon be dinners out with no kids more and more............I thank God for these dinner dates with my husband and for seeing our youngest daughter enjoying life with her friends.
- SPRING CLEANING: usually this wouldn't make my fave list but on Saturday, I decided to do a thorough cleaning of our master bedroom before heading to the 5 pm church service. Dave helped me pull out the dressers and I did all the dusting, vacuuming, organizing of the walk-in closet, desk, nightstands. I also got rid of 1 large bag of clothing for Goodwill and 1 small trash bag of stuff to throw away. I've decided we are going to really begin a more "minimalist" life-style in regards to books, knick-knacks, etc. It feels great to get rid of "stuff" and have a bedroom where order has been restored. I'm thankful I have a marriage partner to help me "do life" by keeping our home in order.
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| the Stewart and Indian Lakes Trail Shaker Mountain Wild Forest Southern Adirondacks 18 April |
- HIKING! Yup...another Sunday where my real Sabbath was hiking in the deep woods of the southern Adirondack Mountains. My hiking friend Cheryl met me there at 10:30 a.m. and we quickly hit the trail. The weather was beautiful but still cold in the mountains. We started out at 37 degrees. It became warm though by the time we were done around 3 pm. The lakes, which were our destination, were still frozen solid. Here is a photo I took of the 2nd lake (Indian Lake) which was stunning:
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| Indian Lake Shaker Mountain Wild Forest |
We did get "lost" briefly, but I uttered a quick, silent prayer and soon found the blaze on the tree....we had wandered off to get close to the first lake (about 1.5 miles in from the trailhead) called Stewart Lake and upon turning around, we turned around too much and found ourselves quite a distance off the real trail. That can be scary!! Thankfully, Cheryl had pink tape in her pack so we marked our areas when we ventured off the trail. Hiking together is a way of doing life together and my friend Cheryl and I have been friends since we were 7 yrs old in 1967! Although our lives are a bit different (she's single with no children), and we only see each other on hikes as we live about 2 hours apart, we always have so much fun. I think it's important to do life with friends...whether on a trail or in a tea shoppe!
- INSTANT MESSAGING: this past week, our oldest daughter messaged me about college graduation plans, important info regarding moving off campus, etc. I love that I can stay connected to my oldest girl who is about 3 1/2 hours northeast of us via the instant messaging system on my iPad. (or cell phones). I'm missing her, I'm praying for her as she wraps up her final semester of college, and I'm praying she begins to interview for jobs. Doing life with this girl has been a huge blessing....I always tell her I'm so happy God lets me be her mom!
- SMALL GROUP! I consider it a huge blessing to be a small group leader with amazing, spiritually strong women/moms in the group. I always look forward to the Thursday evenings that we have meetings. We pray, share Scriptures based on the study, encourage and lift each other up, and even do social events together. Doing life with a group of Believers and growing together is a huge gift from God.
That sums up my week.
Flowers have been opening up, the weather has been up and down, and spring cleaning my house continues.
It's the weekend and I hope you all take some time for a Sabbath from your busy lives......breathe in, breathe out, and do life with loved ones.
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| beginning of the trail to Stewart Lake/Indian Lake April 2015 |
7 comments:
Hiking and spring cleaning - double inspiration for me!
So glad you had a lovely dinner date with your husband - more time together is one of the sweet parts of kids growing up. Just wait til you get grandchildren :)
Happy weekend - hope you get some great hikes in!
What wonderful blessings you've had even though you have had a super busy week at school/work. Those dinner dates are special...as a matter of fact, we are having one tonight...nothing fancy, just picking up something at the auction we will attend tonight...but it is fun because we are doing it together.
Loved visiting here, Faith, my friend!
What a great week! Doing life with your spouse is a great blessing.
I'm glad you were able to go hike with a friend. Finding time to connect with friends is one of my downfalls, but you set a good example!
I'm thankful for texting, too. I would never know what my girls are up to without it!
I remember those times of going out when our kids were getting old enough to have dinner with friends and thinking, Wow, someday we'll be doing this all the time. Not so much yet with great-grandma here, lol! But for so long as the kids were growing up we had to "divide and conquer" to get things done, it's been nice to do more things together.
So exciting when one of the kids comes to the end of a college career and makes the transition to working. Hope she finds just the right posotion for her. I love staying in touch by texting, too.
So nice to have a date with your husband. It's been so long since my husband and I have been able, but we are still in the thick of raising young children. One day....
Spring cleaning also made my list this week. I really, really love when we can donate some items and clear out some stuff.
Loved your Fave Five.
Love your last statement. Breathe in, breathe out, live life with your loved ones. Yes!
That hike looks like fun!
It is truly a blessing to be our girls' mother! I am thankful every day for my daughters (and sons!).
I did read your message about your workouts. Sorry I haven't responded yet--it was a crazy week.
Brrr, that sounds like it's quite a chilly hike. But the views must make up for that!
I had been through my closet last month and got rid of a lot of stuff too. It's somehow nice to see all those empty hangars sitting in there and clothes with a little space between them. As always I still struggle with getting rid of the books though have made good progress there too.
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