Seeing the Good in the Bad

This coming February will mark 2 years that my family was sued by our POA otherwise known as our "Phony HOA.".

I'll never forget the feeling of being served those papers. A rush of despair  flooded through me, I couldn't sleep, I cried, I worried, I lashed out, I spent hours and hours on the computer pouring over
possible loopholes to get ourselves out of the mess we seemed to have landed in...

Fast forward to today. We were blessed with a
an angel of an attorney, we have new wonderful neighbors and I have started a new venture....do I miss my cows? Yes of course, do I miss kids out here?
You bet... but things change. Change is a part of life, it's part of the journey, the path so to speak.

I honestly have to say that I am grateful for everything that has happened.. it sounds crazy but if my
journey had to include this lawsuit and this is what it took to bring me to where I am now... I guess I feel
gratitude for the experience...

I have learned a great deal from this whole ordeal. It's made me much, much stronger than I was before, it's caused me to meet neighbors I hadn't met before, and funny to say it's made this neighborhood more like an
actual neighborhood.. We have had to reach out and that's had a sort of ripple effect.

More than anything it's shown me how much my family, my husband, my kids, my friends love me. Everyone has been so supportive.

Lastly I/we met Bill Davis, our attorney. Just the greatest guy you could want to meet... I probably wouldn't have met him otherwise.

Reading this probably makes you think I'll  be sorry to have this whole thing end... yeah well .... not quite..
but it helps to look at the good if you can.. it's always there.

Wonderful Warmth

Today it hit me how nice it is to have this wood
burning stove.

Its a little old fashioned, but it really warms the place up.. and there's just something about the glow of a fire...just kind of makes me feel like the house is a home..

I'm so lucky to have this wonderful thing in my house...one of the best things about winter!

 

I express gratitude for this humble little stove!

Thank God for Thrift Stores

 I'm sure I've mentioned that I am the youngest of 8 children....
My husband tops that by actually being one of ... 15 children..
and yes we are both Catholic... or were raised Catholic.. the fertile religion..

Anyway when I was a kid I wore basically 2 types of clothing.
School uniforms and" hand me downs".

Hand me downs are the clothes your older siblings and their friends have outgrown and are still considered to have some wear left in them.. It wasn't a big deal to me because  all of my friends were in the same situation...(parochial school).

I didn't really mind that my clothes were preworn... but it would have been kind of nice to have gotten to pick them out!


Basically though the reason we had to wear our siblings old clothes was a matter of stretching the old family wallet...

Enter the Thrift Store of today! Full of pre used clothes and other interesting and useful items!

I love going to thrift stores, it's fun, affordable, interesting ( as you really never know what you'll find), and green.

If I can save an item from being thrown out, and by not buying a new item it means I'm helping the planet, keeping it cleaner! and I get a bargain..

We just don't think about for instance how much water it takes to produce the cotton for the t shirts we wear..
If you have a moment check out this link
http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-impact-of-a-cotton-t-shirt

So... I guess I have to say...
I"m grateful I live in an area and in a time where it is easy and
acceptable to shop green at local thrift stores!

Ha! I bet I'm not alone!

Pedernales State Park

 School starts tomorrow, after 2 glorious weeks off... The anticipation of the end of the break has been, well not really good..This being the last day and it was so beautiful  we decided to go to the Pedernales State Park for the afternoon.

We hiked down to the falls and found a little trail that led down to the water, which was like a storybook picture...

Pedernales Park is pretty close by and we go there when we can..
it's actually pretty cool to be so near a place like this... In the summer we can swim in the river and in the Fall and Winter we can go to  hike and enjoy the scenery..

I am grateful to live so near, and that the powers that be have kept and preserved parks for we the public to enjoy...I gotta say, government aint all bad.....

 Tomorrow when Juliette is sitting in school, she can remember her day today and it will fortify her.

My beautiful yard

After, what... how many days of gloom and yesterdays really cold wet weather you can probably guess what I feel thanks for today...

Woke up to sunshine! Thank you, thank you universe for this fantastic, clear, shiny day! This is why we live in Texas..

By the way, what I'm finding is how much there is to be grateful for... how much I have that I just take for granted.

Know what I mean?

An Attitude of Gratitude.. Day 2

Today I want  to express my gratitude for Jerry, my husband.

This photo isn't very good, but I still like it ...it makes me happy to see it..
Any way I am grateful to have my husband in my life.  Our relationship isn't always easy, and I'm not quite sure which one of us it is that makes it trying at times, but our relationship has made me a better, stronger person... and when we are getting along he's actually pretty amazing.

He can honestly do anything.. He can build a house, make anything, fix anything and figure out anything.. This guy is capable in everyway...( well not cooking, he'a not a good cook).

He is also an amazing musician, and the fact he has this artistic side that is always being denied for our benefit is not lost on me.. he is sacrificing for our family and I hope he knows I feel gratitude for what he does for us.
Jerry is the one who has always encouraged me to find what I want to be, even when I feel like giving up, he listens and cheers me up and tells me I can do it. To have someone who believes in me is such a gift, a blessing.

Oh yeah, one other thing... he made great kids with me... there's just somethings you can't do on your own...

Jerry, thanks for  everything! I love you and appreciate you!

2016 Living in Gratitude

Happy 2016! 

Thus begins a year of gratitude...
Day 1: I am grateful for my beginnings... my parents.

My parents were actually pretty average, but to me and most of my siblings we think they were the best.. I think the primary thing they did for us as their children was to appear madly in love with each other.

My father passed away when he was far too young. I believe he was not quite 70. I was 30 and my oldest child was 6 months at the time. He died of cancer. I recall my dad at home ( he was receiving Hospice), any way I recall him sitting up in his bed, looking at my mom and telling her how pretty she looked.... he's dying and he wants her to know he still sees her as a beautiful woman...that's what I remember about my dad...

Now that I'm older I realize they were both way too young to be parents.. I mean really all parents are just people... without a clue.. just winging it the best they can....and it's all about love. Love for each other, love for their children... and love for the life they live together..

I was born in 1963, which means my parents were products of the depression era, WWII, all that stuff....
My upbringing was fun, not perfect but I have to say I always felt loved...

So Mom and Dad, I say thanks for being the best parents you could be for me and for the rest of my siblings...you made me who I am today...literally.
I love you both..
I am Grateful for having Maxine and Tom Bordelon for parents..