Living. Lovely. ~ Heart of Gratitude

Thou hast given so much to me,

Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me,

As if Thy blessings had spare days,

But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.

~George Herbert

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,

to enact gratitude is generous and noble,

but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

~Johannes A. Gaertner

O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

~William Shakespeare

Did you

Have a Heart of Gratitude

this week?

Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving?

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I am so full to the brim with gratitude this week.
My grandparents arrived on Tuesday (up from California).
Have I ever mentioned how much I adore my grandparents?

I cherish every minute we are able to spend together!!
They have spent Thanksgiving with us for years and years, now.
I hope we have years left to continue the tradition.

My mom is always a wonderful hostess.
Delicious food, beautiful table, lovely company.

(My Dad's mom passed away almost 3 years ago, and her dishes now grace our Thanksgiving table every year.)




We often go walking in the late afternoon after Thanksgiving dinner,
but this year was so rainy and dark, we just snuggled up in the living room for quiet talking.
The boys colored, played with Legos, and occasionally snuggled for a minute or two.

Eventually, Ben hooked up the Wii, and hilarious entertainment ensued.



Most of my favorite childhood memories include my grandparents.
I can't even describe to you how willing they were to jump in and participate in every childhood delight we desired!!
(Do you see them above playing the Wii? Cow racing. Couldn't. Stop. Laughing.)

My grandma brought a stack of old photos with her this trip.
Photos they took while visiting us years and years ago.
One of the pictures shows the three of us girls (I was probably 6 or 7) playing with Legos we had just received for Christmas.
The same Legos the boys are playing with in the collage above.

The photo below pretty much sums up my childhood.
The three sisters standing in front of our huge veggie garden.
Grandpa in his swimming trunks..... playing in the sprinkler with us.



Life is really, really good. And I'm full of gratitude for an abundance of blessings.

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Next week's Living. Lovely. challenge:

Believe in the impossible.