Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 I really didn't have a lot to share tonight, but thought I should at least share some blessings! There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, right?  We just need to stop and think about it and praise God for all He has done for us.

Yesterday afternoon we were both pretty tired. Just haven't really been sleeping well and we still seem to be catching  up since we were sick for a couple of weeks following our trip.  So we took a nap and we were both pretty sound asleep, and then we were awakened by a knock on what sounded like our bedroom wall, which is on the end of the house.  It kept knocking, so I jumped up and looked out the window and didn't see anything. I went around to the doors and checked, and there was no sign of anyone anywhere. So I went back to bed, and we started to doze off and it started up again. This time we both got up and went outside and walked all the way around the house and still didn't see anything.  We finally decided it must've been a woodpecker in the tree outside our bedroom window. That's the only thing we could figure out.  I am thankful it wasn't anything else and there was no real cause for alarm, but you know how those strange things that happen kind of unnerve you?  Yeah, well, Praise God everything was fine. However I did see this while I was outside looking for "intruders".

This beautiful "Gulf Fritillary" butterfly was fluttering around in the Butterfly garden.  She was so lovely, and it made the wake up call worth all the "anxiety" of the moment...Perhaps God was knocking and wanted me to see this beauty before it flew away...

I thanked the Lord for allowing me to enjoy these few moments of peace and joy in the garden.

This verse was in our devotions for yesterday:

John 14:27  NKJV

27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Perfect, right?

A little later that afternoon a young boy from our neighborhood came to the door and asked if we had any kind of little jobs he could do for us.  What a surprise! He actually just recently moved into the little yellow house over across the way from us. He seemed like a very polite and sweet young man of about 11 years old.  We told him to come back today after he gets out of school and we would have something for him to do.  And so he did.  We have lots of little branches that are constantly falling from our big oak trees into the yard, and we always have to rake them up before we can mow the grass. Especially after the recent storms, we have had a LOT of raking to do, and quite frankly, we are getting too old for that! So when he came this afternoon we gave him a rake and set him to work raking up some branches. He was so happy! After he had completed the job so very nicely, we paid him a reasonable amount, and he was thrilled. He said he is wanting to do little jobs so he can earn some money to buy himself a phone. We thought that was very refreshing to see a young person willing to work and save his money so he can buy something, rather than expecting his parents to buy it for him. I am impressed with this young man, and we told him that we will have other jobs periodically for him to do, especially when we have any storms that knock down more branches!  He was very excited and happy and did a very good job.  Hubby and I both felt blessed to have this young man come to our door in such a manner. God knew we needed the help!  Next time I will ask if he minds if I take his picture. Maybe I should ask his parents first. Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

Speaking of jobs getting done, over the past weekend we had some fellows who are actually from our church come over and do some work for us under the house.  This is a manufactured home, and because we sit on a bit of a slope overlooking the pond, there is a tendency for rains to kind of erode the grounds around us.  We wanted to doublecheck to make sure things weren't getting unlevel under there, so they came and checked everything and did some work on the jacks that are already installed under the house just for that purpose. Then they reset some of the block columns and secured them better than before, and everything is now in much better shape. It wasn't really all that bad, but we just wanted to be sure. We are thankful for skilled men who knew just what to do and did it efficiently and reasonably!

While they were doing that, I found this strange looking fella on the skirting of the house around the corner:

Wheel Bug "The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus), is a moderately common, widely distributed, beneficial assassin bug that preys on pest insects. However, its bite can be more severe than a bee sting, and both nymphs and adults should be avoided or handled with caution."

You can be assured that I did not try to pick him up or handle him. I do, however, like that he preys on pest insects. He is welcome to all the pests out there anytime! LOL.  I haven't seen him since that day, however.

Since I really haven't been out and about all that much the past couple of days, I didn't have a whole lot of anything new to share in the way of photos.  And so I thought you might like to see how our little family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage are doing these days!  They sit right here beside me in my "Room with a View" where I do all of my writing, and I sometimes look over at them to see what they are doing...and then I realize that they can't do anything unless I pay them some attention. Otherwise they just kind of stand around looking at me with that look of "why don't you come over and play with us sometimes?"  LOL.  And so tonight I thought it was about time they started getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Oh, if you aren't familiar with Pamela's Victorian Cottage, you can click on the link for it over on the right column of this blog under the heading of  "Some Special Topics".  That will take you to all the blog posts I've written about them since Pamela's Victorian Cottage first came into existence. Maybe you will enjoy reading about their special place.  

Here's the whole family, bustling around and getting the house prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday that is coming up very soon...

There's the little mother, looking at the giant pumpkins and turkey that the two little friends from the farm down the road brought over to help out with the Thanksgiving dinner.

Here's our little farm friends at their house just before they took the turkey and pumpkin to the big house...

Everyone is always excited when company comes!

They have set up the table for tea and cookies...

For the family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage,"Life is one big tea party" all the time! LOL.

See here? Mama has already put the teakettle on the stove!

It's so much fun having guests for Thanksgiving Dinner!

The children upstairs are playing dress up and actually thinking about Christmas, but they need to remember that Thanksgiving comes first, and we should always set aside a special time to give thanks to God for all His wonderful blessings.  The only little boy who lives in the house is already saying his prayers of Thanks!

Yes, these are happy and exciting days at Pamela's Victorian Cottage!  They can hardly wait for Thanksgiving day to come!  

And now they are all reciting the 100th Psalm, a Thanksgiving tradition that has been around since we were all children!

Let's all recite it together:

Psalm 100 KJV

1 "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: 

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; 

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; 

and his truth endureth to all generations."

I hope you enjoyed this little story from Pamela's Victorian Cottage.  Stay tuned for future adventures!

Good Night Friends!