Feeling very blessed and thankful

   "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God."
Psalm 50:23

  Last week was a very unusual week for us with Mara off to Iowa at camp and the boys attending day camp up here. It was a week of a lot of running around and also one which I got to spend more individual time with Megan. Then this past weekend Ken and Jonathan went down to the cities to pick Mara up and go to an amusement park while the younger two and I made and delivered wedding flowers and had a good time going to garage sales.  It was a fun week but I am very glad to have things back to normal again with everybody home and on a more regular schedule. I am feeling very thankful for my family and God's care for all of us.

Here are so more specifics on what I am feeling thankful for today:

#636 My little sunshine (not what is pictured above but rather Megan who wanted to take that picture). It was so fun running errands with her this week. One thing that was different about taking just one child with me is that people paid more attention to her. She was rather spoiled about everywhere we went. The big sunshine was a gift from the vacuum store lady and she got other gifts from other places as well.

#637 A letter from Mara. I love it that she took the time to write it while she was busy at camp.

#638 Having company over for lunch.

#639 Sunshine again! I appreciated all the rain but I certainly am enjoying the sunshine too!

#640 The 3 "M's", Margaret, Malia and Mara and all the fun they can have together.

#641 Mara getting to go see my Grandma along with my sister Anna and crew on their way to camp.

#642 Getting to see pictures that Mara took at camp, complete with some of the same teachers that I had when I went to camp. And actually I think it is possible that Bill Paine taught my Dad when he went to camp there. I loved hearing her tell about the people, the food, the activities and the place and remember all the fun I had there when I was a kid.

#643 All the beautiful shades of purple that God made!

#643 A little Aaron boy who asks me if it is okay if he vacuums the living room and clears the table while I am busy doing flowers.

#644 A sweet Megan that volunteered to wash the dishes while I was busy. (I did do a bit of check up on them later but she actually did a pretty good job.)

#645 Fun times with sparklers that Auntie Keren had.

#646 My hardworking husband! (Who can massage my neck and shoulders so nicely!)

#647 Getting Mara and Jonathan's test results back and they look pretty good.

#648 Sweet fellowship at church.

#649 Finding nice free printable 18 inch doll clothes patterns (now Mara is off to sewing)

#650 Radishes!

#651 A new vacuum cleaner and a fixed one and being able to have clean carpets again.

#652 Not running out of gas even though I absent mindedly got very close.

#653 God watching out for me through all my absent mindedness like running a stop sign and leaving our home unlocked all night.

#654 The good exercise I was able to get while mowing the lawn.

#655 Times to work hard and times to just rest.

#656 God giving us safety through all the activities of last week.

#657 God's continually love.

What are you thanking God for this week?