Almost Thanksgiving Faves

Here we are at Friday again and so quickly flew the last week.  I'm sharing FIVE of my FAVE blessings that came my way.  To learn more about the FFF community, head over to Susanne's. 

still bloomin'!

• ROSE BLOOMS!  My two rose bushes are still blooming! This is the latest this short bush has ever had a bloom.  The bigger bush (not pictured) with the pink tea roses usually lasts until the week of Thanksgiving. This past week there were 3 roses on it! This orange one has never bloomed past Halloween. It made me smile when I saw it opening up on Monday.  I'm thankful for pretty flowers that linger long after summer. 

• BLANKET BLESSING:  A former special needs student of mine is now 14 yrs old and being homeschooled by his adoptive mom. He was born to a drug addicted mother and without going into major details due to privacy issues, he has a half brain and is one of the most generous kids I've ever known. I had him when he was just 5. He decided to do a service project for babies in this NICU where he spent the beginning of his life.  He wanted to see how many receiving blankets/swaddling blankets he could gather and bring to the newborns. When his mom, whom I greatly admire, posted his project on social media, I decided to get my book group involved so since we are reading about loving others and meeting the needs of the needy among us, I posed to them, this service project.  They were generous and purchased several blankets. And Deb, whom I have never met in person, but whose blog I read and who is also a fellow FFF-er, also sent me a package of them!  What generous sisters in Christ I have. I'm so thankful to all who participated and as of Wednesday afternoon, J-----has collected 277 blankets!  It was so much fun to get a hug from J----on Wednesday morning and to chat with him for a few minutes. How he's grown educationally/developmentally and also physically.  I'm amazed at this boy and the things he can do without the use of his left arm. He is truly a blessing to his adoptive parents and I just love the entire family. 

Wednesday dawn~6:30 AM~

• SUNRISE:  This past week has had some beautiful sunrises while I've sipped my first mug of steaming hot coffee in the family room and watch from the deck doors.....but Wednesday's was particularly gorgeous so I snapped a pic with my iphone. I'm so thankful I can linger over coffee, God's Word/the scriptures, and watch the beautiful dawn. 

Toby Mac and Diverse City!
MVP Arena
Albany NY

• TOBY MAC CONCERT!  Last Friday evening, our friend Darlene picked Dave and I up and drove us to the Toby Mac concert along with about 7000 other fans.  Zach Williams opened the show and although I'm not a huge fan of his music, it was fun to see him perform.  Then the big draw....and an item on our bucket list...Dave has thoroughly loved Toby Mac ever since he first came out in 2001.  We own every cd I  think.  The show was amazing and his testimonies so uplifting and touching. Of course most of us know what horrible tragedy he faced a few years ago regarding his son Truett.  Following Toby, the band Mercy Me came out and if you know their music at all, you know they are all about worship and getting the audience members to their feet in worship. It was a powerful evening of praising God. I'm thankful we  could get these tickets.

image courtesy of P*xaby site

• WIFI FIXED!  Our internet wifi was acting odd yesterday. Dave didn't believe me because he was working from home in the upstairs office and said his internet connections was solid. I said Yes, my laptop SAYS I have internet connection but no wifi. So when he had a small break, he went into the basement to see if this was a Spectrum problem or an us issue. It was an us issue. How he can tell is beyond me but I guess having an MS in Computer Science is helpful. He has us on 2 different wifi connections and both were out. He discovered the problem and said it looked as though someone (neighbor...foreign country..he said it could be anyone) was trying to hack into our system! Whatever he did, which took about 15 minutes, so his entire break time, worked because it was back up and running for the rest of the day. I'm so thankful for my husband and his computer/internet knowledge. 

That wraps up my list. To all of my USA  friends: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Weekend!