Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends!

Happy Thursday and early Friday! Happy Springtime!

I noticed on one of my April calendars that Sunday, April 7th, is also "Daffodil Sunday".  I never knew that before, did you?

Well, I always thought April 5th was Daffodil day, because that is my sister Doris' birthday (tomorrow!), and she always has daffodils on her birthday cake, if we can find them! Here are a few pictures from her birthdays over the past several years.  You will see daffodils in most of these pictures.

This is Doris and me having a little tea party on her birthday several years ago. We are using tea cups that came from our mother's mother, and the teapot is one that Doris actually gave me one year!

You will also see that her husband Art is also celebrating his birthday at the same time! Yes, that's right...his birthday is on the same day, just two years older! How did they manage that?

Doris is hiding in a 'garden' of daffodils in this one...

This was a couple of years ago, and I couldn't find any daffodils, so we had to use yellow tulips instead.

Why daffodils, you may ask?  Well, the tradition started when my sister was just a little girl, and we still lived up north in Pennsylvania, where daffodils grow and usually are blooming by April 5th.  My mother started the tradition of putting a little vase of daffodils in the center hole of an Angel Food Cake for Doris' birthday, and that is now what she expects every year on her birthday! Since our mother passed away in 2006, I've been trying to keep the tradition going. I must admit sometimes it is a major challenge to find those daffodils here in Florida for her birthday!  So...I saw that little pot of daffodils in our grocery store yesterday and I grabbed them to have ready for her birthday tomorrow. However, sadly, we are not going to be able to get together tomorrow to celebrate.  Doris has been sick with a cough and general yuck for a little while and also they have a bit of a calamity going on at their house with a leak in their shower floor that has gone into the carpet and walls, etc., and so they are in the midst of a big mess!  Sadly, it is also Art's 80th birthday tomorrow, and we were hoping to have a nice celebration for him, but it will have to be postponed to maybe next weekend.  Their daughter will keep me updated on any plans. I doubt this little pot of daffodils will still be blooming by then. I may have to look for another one next week!

Meanwhile, here's the rest of my calendar pictures for April...this one says "Home was never sweeter than now".  That is a little "Dust Bunny"! LOL.  I have a few of those under my bed...lol.

This is my Teapot Calendar...pretty teapot isn't it?

Here's the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson on that calendar:

I love this Country Seasons calendar by John Sloane..."Planting Season"...

I think those are daffodils in that picture!  I love it!

And this is the calendar in my bathroom where I keep my appointments...those are crocuses, one of the first signs of spring up north! We don't get those down here in Florida...

What we do have here in Florida in springtime are very fast growing young Sand Hill Crane colts!  They are two full weeks old now, and I think they've grown about 2 or 3 inches taller each week!

Here this fella, either Abe or George, is showing his Mama that he caught a little snake or worm all by himself!  She looks rather proud of him, but also may be telling him to be sure to eat the whole thing!

He kept working on it, and I do believe he managed to eat it all by himself!  No wonder they are growing so fast!

Aren't they just adorable?  They aren't spending quite as much time here in our yard now as before. They travel around the pond and into the rest of the neighborhood a bit more each day.

They are amazing at how well they can keep up with Mama and Daddy as they venture forth into new territory.

Look at those long legs! 

They sure are fun to watch!

Never a dull moment around here, that's for sure.

So, some things I am thankful for and some prayer requests...

1.  My sister and her hubby...thankful for them and also praying for them. They are both having some health issues along with this mess that has to be repaired at their house. I'm glad it's nothing worse, but it's still bad enough and will take some time to get things back to normal. So keeping them in prayer.

2.  Our son Scott called a while ago and his car broke down on the highway on his way home from work. He was able to limp his car into a safe area off the road and waited there for a tow truck to come and pick up him and his car and take him to his home.  Very thankful that he was safe and able to get out of harm's way quickly. However, tomorrow we will be going up to Jacksonville to get him and take him around to look for a different vehicle. His old car will be too expensive to repair any time soon and he needs reliable transportation.  So say a prayer for us as we search for something affordable and reliable.  That may be a big order.

3.  One of my church friends had some major surgery yesterday that took about 12 hours to complete, but she came through it very well and they are very optimistic for her future. She has been treated for cancer for the past several months, but they believe they have eradicated and removed all of the cancer at this point and that is very good news! She still needs prayer for her full recovery.

Here's a good thought for the day...

Romans 15:13 NKJV

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen!