Blessed

I am blessed with a lot, and this little guy is at the top of my list!

My Southern Sunday Journal

At the end of the week I think it is good for a little reflection and introspection.  Just a few random thoughts and gratitudes:

 Like most everyone, I am busy and sometimes I worry about not spending enough time with my parents.  Yesterday my husband, my son-in-law Josh, and my Dad cut down and sawed up a large dead tree on my parents' property.  My Dad had been instructed to supervise but not do anything much.  Well, take a guess how that turned out!  Here's a picture to illustrate.

In my Southern family, you have to work really hard to keep up with the 78 year-olds!

My little Mother grabbed her rake, looked at my shoes and said, "Can you work in those?"  I answered in the only acceptable way.  "Why sure!"  (I had to try hard to not let her see me huff and puff.)

Gratitudes:

I'm thankful I come from hard-working Southern stock.  Don't whine; just work.

I thank God for the fact that my business is sustaining my family in such a tough economy.

I'm thankful for God's grace.

   Have a wonderful Sunday!

  photo credit: top photo from flickr, mobile bay ray

Monday Musings

My husband and I decided to take a drive up into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this weekend. Since we live within a half-hour's driving distance you might think we do this often. We don't. Because of the beauty and majesty of our mountains, it is one of the top vacation destinations in the country. We locals are proud of our mountain heritage and it is the rare East Tennessean who takes the privilege of living here for granted. That being said, most of us rarely visit our precious National Park because of the traffic and the tourist-trap kitsch.

But we decided to take advantage of a beautiful late summer afternoon and headed up with a small picnic. What a blessing! The cool air and curvy roads brought us back to why we are so proud of our mountain home. As we rode with the sunroof open and the wind in our hair, we laughed and talked and made plans for the future just like we did so many years ago. Life is far from perfect but it is still good.

photo credit: flickr/ben pierce