2011 - The Year in Review

2011 has been a year that has out-distanced our expectations. We have been so blessed this year and we are thankful. I like to look back each year and think about what worked and what didn't. To pause and give thanks for all we have to be thankful for. To examine myself and see if I've made any improvements in my character.

As you know, this year I participated in the Siestas Scripture Memory Team hosted by Beth Moore's blog. The goal was to memorize a Bible verse every two weeks throughout the year. To help in the process, we wrote the verses out in a notebook so we could work on them whenever we had a few minutes. I did great! OK, what I really mean is that I did great the first four months or so. Then I began to fall behind. Memorization is not as easy at 55 years old as it was at 10 years old. This is not an excuse. This is just the truth that it was harder than I thought it would be. But I stuck it out and I have six new verses firmly planted in my mind and heart and six verses that I can kind of quote, but don't always know the address of. I really enjoyed participating in this.

We added two new grandbabies to our family this year. I don't have the words to describe how wonderful marvelous terrific joyous and fun it is to have three grandchildren. When we all get together it is loud, crazy, chaotic, fun; more than I could ever have hoped for.

The appraisal business took off this year. At least in comparison to the past three years. As I write this we have received 254 orders this year. And there are still two business days to go! After the financial disaster we've been through we'll never take our income for granted. But we are feeling cautiously optimistic for 2012. And we feel blessed beyond measure for 2011. Because of the increase in the appraisals, Dan has been able to cut down to two shifts a week at Sam's Club. Yippee!

I'm pretty satisfied with the progress I made on the 101 in 1001 list. (see the tab at the top of the blog)  I have some disappointments too. I'm really bummed out about my weight. I want to lose 30 pounds. But wanting doesn't make it so. I didn't meet my goal of books read in 2011. I'll try again in 2012. I started the year with anticipation for the x-stitch projects I would complete. I ended the year bogged down in too may Christmas stockings to make. I read the Chronological Bible again this year. I'll start it anew on 1/1/2012. I did a better job on keeping a budget spreadsheet in 2011, but I have a long way to go to make it more accurate. (I really suck at math, anything to do with numbers so this is a huge challenge for me). I completely ignored my "green thumb" in 2011 and I missed that activity.

All in all, 2011 has been a good year. It is a year I will look back on with gratefulness for so many blessings. Yet, I'm ready for it to end. I'm anticipating 2012. Can't wait to see what the new year will bring!

Happy Thanksgiving

We are so blessed!

Let's make an effort today to concentrate on those we love (instead of what we're gonna buy when we go shopping at midnight).

Let's pause today to thank God for the blessings He bestows on us daily.

Let's focus on all we have to be thankful for.

Let's have fun and relax!

Happy Thanksgiving

Monday Miscellany

Take a few minutes today to revisit Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. You can find it in its entirety here. It is a great yardstick for how far we've come, and how far we've yet to go.

If you're praying for Joanne of "The Simple Wife", check out her blog today. A group of her friends have come up with several suggestions for helping and encouraging her and her family. Please remain in prayer for this young wife and mother.

I'm feeling so thankful today. Thankful for all the blessings God has given me. Thankful for my husband, my kids, and my grandchildren. Thankful for the roof over my head, the clothes in my closet, the food in my pantry, our sources of income. Thankful for my friends, those I know personally and those I've made through this blog. Thankful most of all that God is ever-present in my life. He's always with me, just waiting for me to talk with Him, waiting for me to be quiet enough to hear His voice.

Enjoy your day...

A Look Back...

This week, besides taking down my Christmas decorations, I will be looking back at 2010 and evaluating it. I will also be looking forward to 2011 and planning for it. Today I’m looking back:

This year it was clear that God was working on several areas of my life with me. Primarily, generosity, gratitude, and trust. As so often happens, these were the areas I was feeling prompted to work on myself!

Gratitude: I have been so grateful this year for God’s provision, for His ever-presence, for His interest in the smallest details of my life. I do not have the words to explain to you my gratitude for how God has provided for us since late 2007 when the housing market began its collapse. And if that weren’t enough, He has provided for us this year by Dan’s appraisal business increasing more than we could have imagined! It’s not back to the old levels, but it’s way ahead of 2007, 2008, 2009 levels.

Generosity: The day the earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, my thoughts immediately went to an orphanage that I had seen on TLC’s show “Adoption Stories”. There were several episodes involving this orphanage and I remembered the director’s name, Dixie. I also remembered her flaming red hair! I could not remember the name of the orphanage. I googled on what I thought it was and found it. Thank God none of the children had been injured, and although they were all very shaken, there was no major damage to their buildings. I felt this overwhelming desire to help, but was a novice at organizing a charity drive. I decided to just do it, and we collected eight boxes of general donations to send to Haiti. Then, this past summer, two friends and I joined together for a Flip-Flop drive for the orphanage to celebrate our birthdays. Our goal was 162 pairs of flip-flops and we collected well over 300 pairs. Wow! What a great experience that was! This past week I went to Family Support Resources to wrap Christmas gifts for kids living in the 20 group homes managed by FSR. I came away with a great idea for a charity drive for their kids… look for details later this week.

Trust: I read a book this summer that revolutionized my prayer life, and my trust in God. The book suggested that instead of praying and asking for the resources we need for our daily life, we should be thanking God in advance for supplying those resources. In His time. From sources He chooses. Our job is to trust that He will provide and to wisely use what He does provide. Wow, that really spoke to me and beginning that day I changed my prayers. I no longer ask God to send us appraisal orders. I thank Him for the orders we’ve received, for the orders we will receive, and I pray for wisdom in using those fees the way He intends us to use them. This has made a huge difference in my attitude.

This year has been exciting in a variety of ways. Dan has taught me more about the administrative side of appraisals so I can be a partner of sorts in DEK Appraisals. He plans to teach me more next year, which I’m looking forward to. I like to be a contributor to the success of his business.

I spent time with friends this year, read lots of books, enjoyed time with my kids and granddaughter. I didn’t cross-stitch as much I wanted to, but there’s always next year.

In 2010, I really felt the difference of being out from under some of the stress-load of the previous three years. I felt it emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically. It was wonderful! It’s funny how you don’t realize the weight of the stress until it starts to lift. You actually feel lighter.

All in all, 2010 was a fantastic year. Now, I can turn my thoughts toward 2011…

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is next week. On Thursday to be exact. I am so excited for that day to arrive. There are many elements that go into making Thanksgiving a special day for me. I want to share some of them (in no particular order).

The Macy’s parade: Now let me clarify that. I love the Macy’s parade as it was when I was a child, not today’s commercialized version. Seriously, who’s ever even heard of some of the featured personalities in the parade? It’s become a huge advertisement for NBC and the latest show(s) that are doomed to failure. I know, I sound a tad jaded. But I miss the focus being on the local marching bands, the floats, the traditions. I still turn it on each and every year and have it in the background as I go about preparing for the onslaught of guests coming my way.

The turkey: I don’t know why the myth persists that it’s difficult to prepare a turkey. It’s got to be the easiest thing in the world to cook. Just spray it with Pam, cover it with whatever herbs and spices appeal to you, throw it in a 325 degree oven and leave it alone for a few hours. Check on it a couple of hours in to see if the breast is getting too brown, cover it with a tent of heavy duty aluminum foil if it is, and leave it for another hour or so. Take it out, let it set 30-60 minutes to set the juices, then carve. I love the smell of turkey roasting. It’s such a cozy fragrance. (I bought my turkey this weekend, it’s in the freezer just waiting to be thawed!)

The HUGE crossword puzzle: The past few years The Arizona Republic newspaper has carried a mammoth crossword puzzle on Thanksgiving Day and on Christmas Day. Oh my gosh, it is such fun. It takes up the centerfold of the paper. It’s large enough that everyone can work on it. The only challenge is that there are some guests who need to work on it in pencil. We prefer ink. It can look pretty messy by the end of the day. And we’ve yet to actually finish one. Somehow it’s just not as fun the day after…

The guests: I’ve been so blessed over the years to host some really big (at least to me) feasts. If there are less than 25 guests, it’s just not a party! We’ve had a variety of friends, neighbors, family, and strangers join us over the years. This year, we’re only going to be a total of 10, but I know as our family grows, we’ll get back up into the high numbers. If you don’t have any where to go this year, come on over. We’ll have plenty of food, plenty of pencils for the crossword puzzle, and plenty of fun and fellowship. Just holler at me by the Tuesday before so I’ll know you’re coming!

The reminder: We should be thankful every day of our lives. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that we forget to express our gratitude. I appreciate the reminder of Thanksgiving Day to reflect on all of the things that I am grateful for. Not just the usuals; friends, family, jobs, etc., but the little, seemingly insignificant things too. I am thankful, and I want my life to reflect the gratitude of my heart.

Monday Miscellany

Two months from today is Christmas Day! Dan is a huge Johnny Cash fan (me, not so much) and he had a song on his Christmas album with the lyrics of “Christmastime is coming. Christmastime is coming. Christmastime is coming, and I know I’m going home.” That song has been running through my head all morning!

Time of a change of decor at my house. I’ve had my fall decor set since Labor Day and I usually take down the Halloween potion on November 1st. This year since we’re trick-or-treating with Sunny, I think I’m going to take it down and get my Thanksgiving decor set. I bought a huge, beautiful pumpkin at Sprouts yesterday, along with two little pumpkins and some mixed nuts in the shell. I’m ready to say good-bye to October and hello to November. I’ll change out the Halloween pieces in the photo below, rearrange with my huge pumpkin, and voila, it will be Harvest time.

I went to a baby shower yesterday and saw so many friends and former co-workers that I haven’t seen in years. It was such fun to catch up with everyone! We played a cute nursery rhyme game and I won! Now I have a beautifully scented candle to enjoy this week.

No Sunny this week, I’m on Grammy Daycare vacation. I have a list a mile long of things I need to accomplish. I think I’m over-reaching just a tad. I need to cross-stitch diligently to have a hope of finishing the four stockings that are expected this year.

Praise God, Dan’s appraisal business is through the roof this month. He has received 25 orders so far. He used to receive 30+ orders regularly before the real estate market crash. I told him how much he has generated in fees so far this month and we figured out that the last time he made that amount in a month was in 2006. Just more confirmation that the last three years have really been awful. God is faithful!

Gratitude Journal

I am reading "One Simple Act (Discovering the Power of Generosity)" by Debbie Macomber. I just started it, so am only on chapter three, but I'm already inspired.

In the first chapter, she talks about keeping a Gratitude Journal. First thing every morning she writes down five things she's grateful for. She explains that when she first started, her list was mainly made up of her family, friends, career; the big things. Now that she's been keeping this practice for years, those big things still make her list occasionally, but her list has more depth today. She's able to see how God uses life's trials in unexpected ways for her good, so she's able to be grateful for seemingly negative things - troubles, pains, losses - that result in good.

I know, you can already see what's coming next. Yes, I'm going to start a Gratitude Journal. As soon as I can go to Michael's and purchase the perfect Mary Engelbreit Journal from the dollar bin. (remember, paper addiction)

I am going through a phase of wanting to be more generous, more encouraging, more accepting... guess that's why I was led to this book. Her point is that generosity begins with gratitude. I'm excited at the thought of surveying the things I have to be grateful for with more depth.

And of course, I have that whole list issue going on too, so, of course, I'm attracted to the idea of another list. Just trying to be honest here. But seriously, after the events of the past few years, I need to take a good look at gratitude. I have a lot to be thankful for.

You'll probably hear more from this book in the coming days...