Wednesday, May 4, 2011

365 Days of Blessings, Days 337, 338, and 339

Please sign up for the Blessings Blogfest on May 31st!
It's not that hard. Just one day, 10 blessings listed in one post. Sign up at:

Blessings Blogfest or follow the link on the right side of my page.

We're sharing blessings, and spreading joy!

As you may have noticed my count for the days is followed by a question mark. Why? Because I am in the midst of housekeeping, and realized that I am off on my blessings count of days. I'm in the midst of September of last year, trying to clean up my miscount there, and I'll be moving through the months, a little at a time, to make sense of my clerical errors. Hopefully I'll have it all straightened out soon.

For now, I'm giving thanks for these blessings, three days worth:

1. Sunny days in the Northwest.

2. Bird song from the Northwest - it's different and more "homey" for me than the bird song in Hawaii.

3. The smell of Northwest green.

4. A beautiful sunset, Northwest style, with the sun sinking beyond the tree branches in a cloud streaked sky.

5. Creating the Blessings Blogfest link made me learn some new skills.

6. Watching my two daughters read their American Girl magazine together on the couch.

7. A Dandelion bouquet in a vase.

8. Bluebells.

9. This awesome Easter Video


10. Blessings from a plane crash:


11. Back to homeschool, and staying strong in the midst of kids complaints - do we really have to do math today? Yes, we do.

12. Journal writing from our trip, for narrative essay writing at home!

13. Great research subjects: Manta Rays, Galapagos sharks, and Green Sea Turtles. Personal experience, and live interviews with people who see these amazing creatures every day are great ways to start a research subject.

14. Science with our Wednesday Homeschool friends!

15. Art with our Wednesday homeschool friends!

16. Plotting a skit with nine very excited and enthusiastic homeschool kids.

17. Time to sit and play in the sunshine.

18. Hanging out with church friends at a pizza place.

19. Hearing that my husband is spoken of highly by a teenage boy that went on a ski and snowboarding trip with us.

20. One of my friends kept telling me yesterday that I am glowing with my tan from Hawaii . . . thanks, friend! I feel more relaxed, and happy, and I'm glad it shows.

21. The comforts of home.

22. My usual tea.

23. Writing, and writing, and writing more.

24. Writing a love poem. It doesn't happen often.

25. Revising and Re-writing The Crystal Sword. I just re-wrote four pages, chopped three, and gave myself a good place to start again tomorrow. I even killed off a few characters, or at least made them "missing in action." And I'm happy about it because I feel like I finally made some progress in tightening the storyline.

26. Giving my character some anger issues and a more complicated past has made me like her more as a main character. She's much more "real" now, and less cardboard cut out hero material.

27. Writing for an hour and a half and totally loving every moment of it, losing track of the time.

28. Being challenged by The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans to write more complex, layered fantasy fiction. The cover art on this book nearly made me ignore it completely, but I'm glad I opened it up and found the treasure inside.

29. Reading two new favorites in the last two weeks: Ranger's Apprentice, Book 10:The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan, and The Young Samurai:Way of the Warrior by Christ Bradford. I'll probably posting a more full review of both in the next few days. I'm still reading the Ranger's Apprentice book. I know it's the last book in the series, and I'm savoring it because I don't want it to end.

30. There is a time for everything, and enough time.

Scripture Blessings:

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

4 comments:

Golden Eagle said...

It's been sunny here, too--which is a lot better than another day of rain! :)

Joanne said...

Thanks for the tip about Blessings Blogfest. I love the video Blessings from a plane crash. So beautiful said. Thank you again for that too! Blessings, Joanne

Karen Lange said...

You inspire me, Tyrean, with your thankful heart! Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! :)

Unknown said...

I love the northwest! My dad lives there and I wish I could visit more often. Maybe when my kiddos are older.

Great list and I love the first video!