30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 17 - 30]

Do I ever have so so so much to be thankful for this morning! My sister-in-law and her baby were in a car accident last night, scaring the beeejebes out of her family and friends, but they are okay! Our prayers were answered, thank you Lord! On that note, it seemed ever so appropriate to publish the last of my thank you's.

I've been terrible at posting my pics on Instagram, and there were days I missed because this month has been nuts. My daughter got the chicken pox - confining us to our house, my husband got a fever that lasted two miserable days, our heater broke, outlets stopped working in our living room... ahhhhh... I found it super difficult to be grateful for anything. Still, it's in these trying times we're called to be thankful. It's in trials that we're forced to appreciate all God has given us. So when I view the events of this month it seems like the work they required were menial details; unimportant, trivial, non sequential in the grand scheme of things. We still have our health, we were able to scrape up the money to fix what needed fixed, we had friends to help us, food to put on the table, warm clothes, and God didn't have to bless us with any of that. So I'm beyond thankful!

Beginning with Day 17 [Memories]

Whenever Kyle and I go hiking or camping or anything outdoors I take something home and add it to this mix. The flowers are from him and each piece is from something special we enjoy doing together. 

Day 18 [Something New]

My slippers! They are super warm and comfy. Kyle took me shopping for my birthday and when he asked me what I wanted, this was first on my list. I wear them everyday - it's part of the stay-at-home mommy wardrobe.

Day 19 [Best Friend]

My husband, my best friend.

Day 20 [Seasonal]

Ever since my first birthday I've have an obsession with Mickey Mouse. I have Christmas Mickey Mouse decor, Valentine, 4th of July... etc.  I simply can not resist the ears.

Day 21 [Where You Sleep]

I love sleep. If I could capture 10-12 hours a day, that'd be just perfect. To be honest, I could've taken a picture of my couch, or recliner, or the passenger seat in my hubby's truck, I do not resist it so I'll sleep wherever. I'm a much happier person when I sleep, because I feel so much better. I can't explain it... when I'm sleepy my whole body aches for it... why fight it?

Day 22 [Clothing]

The day I took this picture, my daughter wore the cutest outfit. I should've taken a picture with her in it. She loves those sparkly shoes.

Day 23 [In Your Closet]

Our closet has tight quarters. I'm actually thankful for a small closet because it forces me to watch what I purchase and keep only what I wear. As you can tell I still need to get rid of some, it's overflowing. I  have a system to my clothes that I like a lot. I store them according to summer and winter. When I get out my summer tub it's like shopping - I forget what I have!

Day 24 [Gratitude]

Thanks to my sister I started a Thankful Journal nearly a year ago. I filled one already and when I got my brand new, clean journal I decorated it. I filled it with quotes reminding me why being thankful in all circumstances is good for the heart. Even on bad days I force myself to find 5 things to be grateful for and my heart is always full as a result.

Day 25 [Artwork]

These are actually terrible pictures and they do not do my sister Mel's work justice, but these pics give you an idea of her talent. This coffee table contains a river scene, fish, rocks and all, that are her handy work. We have one piece that we proudly display in our home, but I can't get a picture of it worthy of showing to you. She's pretty amazing.

Day 26 [Transportation]

My daughters ride.

Day 27 [Daily Routine]

This is Marley's "routine" every.single.day. He's my watch dog.

Day 28 [Nighttime]

My nighttime cuddle buddy. 

Day 29 [Light]

I took this pic a while back on our way home from Colorado and it's one of my favorites. 

Day 30 [Self Portrait]

I actually hate selfies. It's not something I'm grateful for, in fact, I typically stop following people on Instagram if the majority of their pictures are ones they take of themselves. #petpeeve I was actually kinda disappointed to see this on the grateful list, so I scoured my pictures to see if I had any "self portraits" and found this one. The day I graduated from college. I was excited. 

I think next year I'm going to create my own Gratitude Challenge. This is something I definitely want to do again. This is just another wonderful piece of my daily thankful journal, which forces you to see the good in everything and thank God for giving it to you. Thanks for following me on this journey! I'm sure it won't be the end of it. 

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude (Day 10-16)

I'm a little behind the times. I planned on posting this Saturday, but we got a new-to-us computer and my dad was busy setting it up. I find posting on my iPhone difficult, time consuming, and totally not worth it, so I waited and am now EXTREMELY grateful for this wonderful gift. I might not be out of the stone ages completely, but people - I HAVE A MONITOR THAT DOESN'T TAKE UP OVER HALF OF MY DESK! Woooohoooo! That's something for which I can most definitely be grateful. It makes this "job" of posting and publishing that much more enjoyable.

Day 10 was "Nature" and as I was walking around looking for a good nature shot I realized that my flower garden still has blooms! It was beautiful, because colorful leaves had found a resting place in and around this particular plant and I found myself (once again) grateful for fall and all the colors.

After taking that shot I found myself wishing I had a worthy camera, and although that isn't a bad thing to wish for, I also chastised myself a tad. Instead of being grateful for the camera on my iPhone that does take remarkably good pictures considering, I was wishing for something else. Thank you Lord for providing me with the iPhone and all it's capabilities.

Day 11 was "Something Old" and this one wasn't hard. I display these antique books used by teachers and students from the 1800's and early 1900's. Occasionally I'll gingerly open the pages and peak at the handwriting, names and dates. They're falling apart, but it's so interesting to see what qualifies as "early readers" today vs back then. We are far, far, far behind the times. My 7th graders would've struggled with a 3rd grade reader. Makes me sad.

Day 12 was "Hands" and this one was a no brainer. I picked an old picture JUST because I loved my little Beans hands in it from the moment I took it.

Day 13 was "Written Words" and I chose John 21:25 for many reasons: 1. When my friend Deb pointed it out to me it blew my mind and I've been thinking about it ever since. 2. I'm studying the book of John with a high school student who asked me to help her learn God's Word and study it correctly. Since we started with John it's been at the forefront of my brain these last few months. 3. Our Pastor Hod taught chapter 6 of John to us in church one Sunday morning and it.blew.me.away. and I'm forever in awe over what the Bible is teaching me. Wow.

I wrote: "Wow! What He reveals to us is all we need to know for the moment. He gave us this 1 book for here and now." The way John states that last paragraph is so matter-of-fact and simple, "I suppose..." and the thought that the world could not contain the books had everything Jesus did been written down - blows me away (yup, that's a common occurrence as I study the Bible). It makes me wonder what we'll be learning in eternity. If one paragraph in the Bible "blows my mind" I imagine we'll be spending all of eternity learning about our great and awesome God. Seriously can't wait.

Day 14 was "Movement" and I captured Kyle playing tug-of-war with Quigley (his favorite game). Quigley is so strong!

Day 15 was "Technology" and I chose the keyboard. I'm forever grateful for the computer and keyboard, it's makes writing a breeze! The keyboard was a fantastic invention for all writers. It's much faster than a pen and paper and the delete button is so much easier than repairing mistakes on a typewriter. I'm thankful for the ease I can write up a blurb about -whatever-whenever- I want.

 

Day 16 (today) was "Animals" and I have 2 dogs that will forever crack me up, keep me on my toes, and show me the true meaning of unconditional love: Marley and Quigley. Marley doesn't believe he's a dog or that he's small. Quigley, on the other hand, doesn't understand how big he really is, therefore, Marley is the dominant one who is forever bullying poor Quigley. Cracks.Me.Up.

Marley (in an attempt to show dominance?) likes to sit on Quigley. Despite how difficult this is for him, he insists on doing it. The logic doesn't make sense to me, but this is a glimpse into the world of Marley. Haha.

Tomorrow (Day 17) is "Memories" and I'm really going to have to think on this one. There could be a ton of options here.... hmmmmm... I have a lot to be grateful for, so stay tuned, and join me on this photo gratitude challenge. It's never too late to start!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 7-9]

This weekend was not a fun weekend. I ended up with a stomach bug that forced me to lie in the fetal position all day Saturday. This weekend I was grateful for one thing: my amazing husband who selflessly took care of me and his daughter allowing me to spend my time on the couch or the toilet. (TMI? Sorry...)

Due to that fact I did not participate in this challenge over the weekend. I'm picking it up today with Day 10: Nature. I did participate all week up to Day 9 so I'll share those with you!

Day 7: Something Funny
This might only be funny to me (typically that's how it goes in my world), but I couldn't resist sharing my Halloween socks, googly eyes and all. On the back of these adorable polka-dot socks were fuzz ball lady bugs, complete with antenna's, googly eyes, and a cute little button nose. It went perfectly with my lady bug costume that I wore in conjunction with my daughter's love bug costume. (You want me to share? How can I resist?!)

Isn't my little love bug the cutest love bug ever? (Yes, I'm biased, but seriously...)

Day 8: Favorite Color
I do not have a favorite color. So I took a picture of some leaves I've gathered when I'm outside with Briella Bean for a Pinterest Project. I picked them because I like the colors! It seemed appropriate. Color is one of the reasons I enjoy fall so much.

Day 9: Inspiring Person
I've engrossed myself in Milton Vincent's book "A Gospel Primer," it's this 97 page book that I'll probably read a portion of every day. Seriously. He has inspired me to make the gospel message the central focus of my day-to-day life - from the moment I get up until it's time to lay my head down at night. Heck, I hope to dream gospel! By doing that task (I refuse to call it simple, because it just isn't) my life has changed in so many ways starting with TRUE thankfulness, peace, a new eternal perspective, etc. etc. I'm beyond thankful that Milton Vincent shared how preaching the gospel to himself daily changed his life, because it has most definitely changed mine as well.

Doing this gratitude photo challenge has added a new dimension to my thankful journal I've been doing with my sisters for almost a year now. I not only encourage you to jump on this photo challenge bandwagon, but I encourage you to begin a thankful journal as well. You'll find that instead of being thankful for the "surface level" -things- in your life, you'll be thankful for everything BIG and small, which will ultimately change the way you think in such a positive way. Trust me, being thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) will change your life.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 4,5,&6]

Fall is my favorite season. I love the 60-70 degree weather, the smell of dry leaves, the crisp-fresh air, and the colorful, changing leaves! I'm not sure I have a favorite color but I have favorite combinations like teal, gray and pink, or orange, red, green, yellow and brown, or red, black and brown or or or. That's probably why I love spring and fall so much: the combination of COLORS! 

Day 5 was the morning sky. I set my alarm to watch the sun come up, but yesterday was a gloomy, gray day. It was a perfect day to relax, curled up under a blanket and reading a book or hanging out with my Bean, but I spent it cleaning my messy house. I didn't check everything off my "to-do" list but I worked hard alllllll day to accomplish a lot of it. It was worth it, despite zero motivation. So here's to another day in the life of a stay-at-home mommy....

The morning sky was the same as my afternoon sky: gray and cloudy. This is Bean sitting at the table, eating and dreaming about being outside in this mess. 

Day 6 is books and anyone that knows me, knows I'm a big fan. Here's -a-small-part- of my collection. My theory is that you can never have too many... I'm glad it was on the "Gratitude" list, because I'm most definitely grateful for books. They help keep life interesting, imaginative, and thought provoking.

Tomorrow is "something funny" and between Quigley, Marley, and little Bean I'm sure I won't have any issues finding a perfect picture opportunity during the day. They keep me on my toes, that's for sure, and I'm most definitely grateful for that.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 3: Happiness]

I wait until the end of the day to post my favorite photo to go along with the day's theme, so I'm a day behind on posting it here. Yesterday's theme was happiness. All day I was reflecting on the many the ways in which God has blessed me: I'm happy because I have an amazing husband. I'm happy because together we share in the joy of having a beautiful daughter. I'm happy because our dogs show us daily the meaning of unconditional love. I'm happy because I have a phenomenal family. I'm happy because I have an amazing church family. I'm happy because I have an amazing group of women that I'm blessed to call friends. I have so so so so so many reasons to be happy. And yesterday I spent the day thanking God for giving me happiness. I had zero issues in capturing happiness.

We decided to spend the evening grilling at a lake approximately 10 minutes from where we live. My sister and her hubby live an island life and filled our freezer full of fresh seafood on their visit this summer, so we grabbed the lobster tail, a colorful vegetable arrangement (thanks to Bountiful Baskets), garlic bread, and a couple of Redd's Apple Ale and headed down the road. It was an awesome night.

I truly believe happiness is found in the small things that God gave us to enjoy, like...

... colorful, yummy vegetables sauteed over an open fire with butter and sea salt...

... a dog and his ball...

... a wonderful husband who's an amazing s'more maker...

... a daughter who's favorite place to be is outside AND eating to boot...

... a daughters first experience eating (and LOVING) s'mores...

... and happiness is for sure in an October Silhouette that truly reflects the love between a father and his daughter...

I didn't realize that undertaking this photo challenge would force me to look for perfect picture opportunities in the simplest, but most amazing things like smiles, leaves, or a morning sky. Once I find that "perfect picture" I also find myself thanking God for giving me the opportunity to enjoy it. It's like a picture thankful journal and one I'll probably do every year!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 2: Smile]

I am most definitely grateful for this beautiful smile. I have plenty of opportunities to take pictures of this smile throughout my day and I had a hard time choosing. I narrowed it down to 2; aren't they all adorable?

All smiles on the merry-go-round!

She hysterically giggled the entire time. This smile melts my heart!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude [Day 1: Favorite Food]

I love photo challenges and this one I'm considering as part of my thankful journal. Everything that is listed are things I should be thankful for and as I'm searching for a perfect picture opportunity, I'll be thanking God for blessing me with it. Join me!

Day 1 was an inner debate between no-bake cookies and bread. Bread won.

Especially fresh-right-out-of-the-oven, melt-in-your-mouth bread...