End of January Faves

Can you believe it's the end of January?? This month flew by for me and i think much of it was due to having a mild winter. We've not had much snow at all and our yards are showing the brown, old grass from last autumn.  Also, our temps here in eastern NY have not dipped much below 20 degrees F which in my opinion, is a huge blessing.  

I'm sharing five of those blessings we find throughout our week and then linking up at Susanne's site with other bloggers who are intentional about being grateful.  What made you smile this week?? 

FIVE FAVES

image courtesy of central trend site

• IN-HOUSE DATE NIGHT:  Friday evening our oldest daughter went right from work to an event with friends so it was just Dave and I at home.  After texting our youngest at UNH to find out how her week was, we then made homemade veggie pizza together and curled up on the family room couch to watch this movie.  It's based on the tragedy that occurred in 2006 about an hour north of us on our beloved Lake George.  The day before the boat capsized, my neighbor, Melissa,  and I and our youngest daughters ( her Meredith, then 4  and my Claire, then 5) hiked to the top of Sleeping Beauty Mountain.  We were thanking God that next evening after learning the news that we hadn't hiked it that day instead!!  If we had waited until Sunday to hike that gorgeous October day, we would have seen the boat capsize and all those people flailing and drowning in the water!  The summit looks down right on the spot where the boat sank.  Of course the movie is more about the horrible money laundering that was going on in this country and what is known as "the Panama Papers".  I'm thankful we watched this movie.  Meryl Streep was brilliant.  I highly recommend the film as it really opens up our eyes to how some companies/people in power avoid paying taxes.

• PRAISE AND WORSHIP:  Sunday morning was just amazing at our church.  The worship and praise before the sermon was just phenomenal.  I really love to worship with music and our church has an excellent music ministry.  There's something for everyone.....from modern songs/hymns to the classic hymns. The auditorium was full of people worshiping and praising our Lord.  I'm so thankful for the time each week to enter into worship with the large body of Believers.  

• GOOD REPORT!  Dave had an appointment with a specialist on Monday and he found out that something we thought might need to be biopsied, does NOT have to be!! Glory to God! It's something that's common in men who've had vasectomies and he's on an antibiotic to clear it up. I'm thankful for health insurance and the right kind of medication. 

• PAY RAISE!  I was pulled aside by the executive director of the agency where I work as a Pre-Kindergarten Special Education Assistant Teacher.  This is a huge blessing as we have some expenses coming up.  I'm thankful for the extra money and the kindness of our director who works very hard on our behalf.

• EXTRA SLEEP:  This past week, I've been intentional about getting to bed about a half hour early for 3 nights.  It felt good to be curled up next to Dave as he also wanted to get some extra sleep.  When that alarm rings at 5:30 a.m it can be quite jarring.  The extra sleep has really helped me face the very busy days we've had this past week.  I'm thankful for sleep and comfy beds!

That pretty much wraps up my faves from the week....what made you say "Thank You, God" this week??  do share in the comment section!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!