Thankful Thursday ~ Grammas!

Aisey visiting Gramma T who is improving every day!



Miss Mia is so her Grandfather S's Granddaughter - this is how he "smiles" for the camera, too!

 I am so blessed to be raising my daughters so close to both sets of Grandparents.  The girls see my parents almost daily.  They see the Hubby's at least weekly, if not more often.  This past Saturday, the Hubby took the girls to visit his parents while I completed some overtime for work. 

Then, Miss Mia and I made two different versions of bread and invited my parents up for dinner.  The Hubby made spaghetti and meatballs to go with the homemade bread.  A Cesar Salad rounded out the meal.  We sat around the dinner table, enjoying the meal as well as simply being together.  Miss Mia had Aisey right beside her.  Papa S fed Aisey while we ate.  Gramma S had to go on a Potty Run with Miss Mia halfway through our meal.

After our meal, we hung out in the family room, enjoying the warmth of the fire.  Gramma S sat on the floor playing with the two girls.  Papa S sat on the couch and was used by Miss Mia as a jungle gym while he cooed to Miz Aise. 

I sat in the background, snapping photos and enjoying the interaction between my girls and my parents.

I wish every child could enjoy their Grandparents as frequently as my girls!

Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for - it's been really hard to narrow it down to one specific topic to mention this Thursday.

I had a lot of different, special reasons. BUT - I'm going with this:

I'm thankful for having electricity and the ability to get out of our driveway. In that same vein, I'm thankful to have a job where, should I need to work at home, I'm able to do so! Today, I was already scheduled to work at home, so I didn't need to worry, but I know of others who ended up working from home today, when they were scheduled to be in the office.

To give a little history, last Friday, our area got hit with a storm. We received around 12 inches of snow from the storm that started around 3pm Friday and lasted until 9:30am Saturday. Unfortunately, places south and east of here were hit even harder. Pittsburgh (we'll only discuss local town, although DC was hit even harder) received anywhere from 16 to 28 inches. The schools haven't bothered to open and much of the city is still shut down. Many, many homes are still without electricity - again, since Friday.

Then, last night into today, we received another blast. This time, we only received 6 inches or so, but on top of what we currently have, it just created a mess.

I'm so thankful to have electric and be sitting in front of our toasty warm fireplace. And, although I'll whine and complain, I'm glad that I have the chance (and ability) to drive in to work!

Oh heck, let me also add - I'm thankful we've had such a great snowstorm!

Thankful Thursday

I don't have my fancy little photo to put atop the page today, but I think we will survive.

As I continue my introspective phase, I've decided to acknowledge my Mary Kay Gals! I've been a consultant for 8 years next month! I cannot believe how much time has gone under the bridge since Steve and I discussed my taking on Mary Kay when also fighting the losing battle of 20 hours mandatory overtime each week. There were times when I wanted to give it up, but I never did.

The reason I can't give up my Mary Kay - the friends I've made. Some of my best friends started out as just "clients". Ilis, a former consultant herself, was in another area at work and found me. I didn't know her from any of the other 100s of employees in my division, but she had heard I sold Mary Kay and she needed her "lotion." So, she put in her order.

Now, she will stroll in my house, straight to my Mary Kay cupboard, and go "shopping". She'll usually yell at me for making her buy too much - just seeing a product is too much temptation for her. In the end, her receipt is usually a royal mess from all the additions, my cheeks hurt from laughing and my soul is warmed by her friendship.

Many of my other Mary Kay Gals are much the same. Yah, most don't necessarily stroll into my house and do their own shopping from my cupboards, but they are some of my greatest friends. I know I could ask anything of them, and be assured that I would be helped in whatever manner was needed. I also know that, spending just a little time with any of them centers me and makes me realize how wonderful it is to be here, at this time, with these friends.

Thankful Thursday

When I found out that Russ had left us, I knew we were losing a wonderful, wonderful person from here. No one will be able to fill the shoes that are now empty. But I want to try.

One of my first steps in trying to emulate Russ is to sit back and think about my life and take the time to remember the great things in my life.

It goes without saying to say that I'm thankful to have known Russ and to have had him as part of my life for 10 years. I'm thankful to have been taught by him, not just in a classroom setting, but through his acts of kindness in everyday life.