A Beautiful Blessed Week - 10/19/15-10/26/15

~ Snow!!!!!!!

~ A lovely chat over tea with myself, my Mom, and a lovely older woman!

~ Receiving delicious produce from her garden!

~ Knowing that the girls were having a blat the other day while pouring over the toy cars in the magazine....

~ ...and watching their excitement as they get to drive one!! They were so excited that our friend had one for/from her grandkids!

~ The beautiful view through the hills and valleys! The colors were magnificent! The picture doesnt do it justice!

~ Making more apple butter! (in the new crockpot! :~D yay!)

~ The similarities and difference in a project L-Jo and Lil' G for school!

~ Video calling with a friend I never video called with before!
~ The ability to pray together during it!
~ Catching a woodpecker at work!

~ Mom and Dad's Engagement Anniversary! 20 years! <3 (He proposed to her in a library with the ring inside a book, isnt that adorable?? <3)

~ A creative kitty made of pretzel's! L-Jo made it! :~)

~ T-bug's abstract!

~ Pretending an old box is the Magic School Bus!
~ Coconut Acorn Squash Soup! Mmmm....

~ Light reflecting off our carousel! <3

~ Fall colors surrounding our house!

~ Reflecting colors off the windshield!

~ Brilliant blue skies!
~ Morning sunlight in the fish tank!

~ Catching fishie shadows! Reminds me of Peter Pan ;~)

~ T-Tot wearing a dress I loved as a kid! Grandma made it for me!
~ T-Tot swiming the length of the competition pool and back with a few breaks! Still quite impressive considering she really couldnt swim at the beginning of the summer!

Beautiful Blessings - 10/18/15

~ Providential timing and high heels for a needed hug from a friend <3

~ Trying out a theory during Sunday School by using natrual light to try and prevent a migraine from occuring today!

~ Seeing a bride and groom taking pictures with their grandmother at a nursing home!

~ Visiting Grandma <3

~ SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :~D Our first snow of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :~D :~D :~D

Beautiful Blessings - 10/17/15

~ The scent of herbs drying!

~ The scent of clean laundry!

~ The scent of homemade applesauce and apple butter!

~ Hanging up all our dresses and being able to tackle lots of laundry!

~ T-bug's (and all the others) excitement over a toy magazine!

Beautiful Blessings - 10/16/15

~ Seeing these fun numbers when pulling up my blog!

~Furry lap warmers! <3 Ansel was especially sweet!

~ Vegging with episodes of Get Smart! (Remember when I dressed up at 99?)

~ Beauty of a fall storm!

~ A peanut butter and tuna sandwich to make my Uncle D proud! ;~) He loves them! Mmmmmmmm so do I! Peanut butter and bacon is still a step above though! ;~) Heehee!!!

Beautiful Blessings - 10/15/15

~ The Muppet's Christmas Carol!

~ White Christmas!

~ Mary Poppins!

~ The scent of an October rain!

~ Challenging a friend with a riddle! ;~)

Beautiful Blessings - 10/14/15

~ Having a "Princess Day!" with Lil' G, L-Jo, and T-bug!

~ Making goodies together for our lunch!

~ Watching Princess movies! Cinderella (by Faerie Tale Theatre), The Dancing Princesses (by Faerie Tale Theatre), Cinderella (2015), Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses, and Beauty & the Beast (Disney)!

~ Ending the day with a princess book! "Ponyella" by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans!

~ T-Tot having and adventure and overnight at our grandparents!

Beautiful Blessings - 10/13/15

~ The pretty fall leaves the kids found!

~ The various colors from vibrant to dull!

~ Air scented from fresh crackly fall leaves!

~ Turning them into window decor!

~ Cute decorations for the front step that T-Tot made!

Mono: Seven Things I Have Learned!

As we near the 9th month since I came down with mono last winter, I was thinking back about all that happened, and all that I learned. How am I doing now? Well, I'm still getting migraines. I'm slowly regaining my stamina and strength. Its taking a while, but as Ive told several people, God will heal me completely in His timing! So now, Id like to discuss seven things Ive learned while having, and recovering from, mono!

1. Mono is very depressing to have. You cant go anywhere. You have no energy. You watch everything you love to do fall by the wayside. I got very depressed during the mono. I remember I would just cry some days in my bed because I didn't feel up to doing anything else. Sometimes even getting dressed made me cry! Praise God for the day He came to me, held my hand, and got me out of the depression! Isaiah 41:13 was an incredible encouragement! As I read through my journal during this time, I wasn't very depressed on the outside...and it wasn't until God pulled me out that I realized just how much I was! God is so very good! 
2. Sleep. Constantly. Tired. Exhaustion. You actually grow to dislike being in your bed because you're in it so much. And the couch for that matter. And sleep....golly when I first had the pneumonia (got that first during all this illness) I remember one day I slept 9 hours, got up for 3 or 4, went to bed for another 5 and was up for another 3 or 4 before I went back to bed for the night. You actually count down hours until you get to take a nap. I also recall a day in which I was thinking about the future and planning naps, 3-5 YEARS in advance! (Not normal for me, in case you want to know. lol!)
3. I said this a little in the first thing, but, you miss out on a lot. I missed dance, and Church! I couldn't do St. Patrick's Day, and ended up not doing my ballet recital either. I went to Irish Step once during all this, and my teacher told me I looked dreadful...which I did! It was very hard for me to give up dance! I missed Church for 7 (or so!) weeks in a row! And when I first started going to Church again, sometimes I had to go home early because I felt so bad. 
4. I missed seeing people during this. I had one friend who would come and visit a couple times a week, and I was so thankful for that! I didn't have a lot of energy, but its always nice to have someone to chat with for a little while. Some friends came from out of time during this, but I couldn't spend much time with them because I just felt so dreadful. I did spend a couple hours with them one afternoon, but when I got home I went to bed for the same amount of time! I was so thankful when my birthday came! I started planning it in early March so I had something to look forward to! I got to dress up and spend the evening out with my friends! I was wiped out the next day but it was worth it!
   
5. God changed me during this! My faith is much stronger than it was when it started! As I read through my journal, preparing for my post, I was amazed to see how much I praised God through it all! God was faithful through every bump and trial! (2 Thessalonians 3:3) He helped me through all the tests I had! I was scared when I had all the various tests scheduled for various things, but God gave me a boldness! Psalm 138:3! As my one friend told me, during this, I went from being a scared chicken to a bold bunny!
6. Prayer! Prayer is so important! It kept me together as it was one of the few things I could do! I was able to pray for others as well! I also (and still am) was so thankful for the people at Church who prayed hard for me while I was sick. Some of them still are praying for me since I'm still battling the migraines. Prayer is powerful. Never doubt the power of prayer! Prayer has gotten me this far through this chapter of my life, and it got me through all the battles. Ephesians 6:12 comes to mind. I am so thankful for prayer!
7. Encouragement kept me going! Notes, birthday cards, get well cards, emails, messages, hugs, small gifts, time to nap from Mom, pictures from the kids, and so much more was such a blessing! God was so good throughout it all! 

God was so good, is so good, and continues to do so much for me! Psalm 116:12 comes to mind. So many things to be thankful for about the mono! I grew spiritually, it happened during my junior year of high school instead of my senior, and just the fact God is always with me...will never leave me or forsake me! So I can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper! (Hebrews 13:5-6 if you want to look up the exact verses!) Through the trials you're going through right now, remember God is with you! Turn to Him and ask Him to help you! As I end this, I shall leave you with 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. It was one of my favorite passages throughout this!

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV)

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Other posts about my mono and pneumonia:

Pneumonia, and Why I'm Thankful For It

A Mono-logue!