Happy, Happy Things for Today. . .

For lack of recent photos to post,

let's go back to my High Desert Home
where it snows in the winter!

Don't know if you can see the bottom

night-time picture (if you click on it you can),
but I loved going out in the snow at night!

In the spirit of my grandson JayJay, I'm thanking God for His good gifts:

1. Whatever is happening, God is always so very, very good!

2. It was wonderful to be with my family for Thanksgiving. I have the four most beautiful, talented children (who all cook some mighty fine food!), the two best sons-in-law imaginable, and the four most adorable, fun grandkids on the planet!

3. Christmas music. Yay. It fills the house with a joyful spirit. I can’t take a whole lot of Josh Groban, but I really love his rendition of Ave Maria (love the children’s choir! but, oh, this link doesn't do justice to the beautiful, rich rendition on my CD). I play the song over two or three times in a row when it comes on. My favorite Christmas CD ever? A really long list of songs hand-picked by Melissa and compiled as a gift for Aaron one year—it’s the best!

4. Simple food. My main dish tonight is pureed lemony-garlicky sweet potatoes and celeriac. (Yum. It’s really good!) I know this is really more of a side dish, and I don’t even know what else I’ll eat, but I’ll fill in the nutritional gaps that are left at the end of the day. I’m pretty good about that. By the way, a checker at the university book store told me today that sweet potatoes are really great for helping the brain focus and attend. Well, then. If that’s true, I should be doing prodigiously well in the “focus” department because I consume a lot of sweet potatoes.

5. 18-year-old fellow students who are just so great to this middle-aged woman. One girl actually changed her course schedule to be in my Spanish class again next term (we sit by each other every day and work on lessons together). This morning, I ran into a young man who was in a class with me last year, and he seemed so happy to see me. We talked for a long time, “caught up” on each others' lives, and said we hoped we’d have a class together again this year. It’s just sweet how nice some of these kids can be.

6. God’s goodness in helping me to “let go” of some of the stress and pressure of maintaining unrealistic standards for myself. It feels a bit like a miracle.

7. Peace and joy in spite of very real challenges in my personal life. Another gift from God; another little miracle.

8. The fact that I have a house (for now) that really feels like home to me.

9. Three truly good sisters. One here who keeps track of me and makes me feel connected to both her and others (I feel cared about, and that’s nice when you live alone). One on the coast who is a kindred spirit and an awesome person. And one up the highway who let me stay at her house over Thanksgiving. It was so much fun to be with her and her husband! And also for a really great brother who texted me on Thanksgiving. And now that I’m rolling through the list of mi familia, I have to mention my wonderful mother who is just always there, always listening, always praying, always loving. I am blessed.

10. The term is almost over. I have one paper to turn in, two finals to take this week, and two finals to take next week. I’ve got a lot of work and studying to do, but the end is in sight (one more term down!), and then my time will be my own and I can work on my top-secret Christmas present for my kids.

Hope your days are happy, happy! God is good. I hope you are celebrating His gifts this Advent season.