30 Days of Thankfulness - Days Twenty-Seven through Thirty - Love - Mentor - Light - Happiness

Here we are...the end of the month already. I'm going to skip ahead to Day Twenty-Eight and talk a little bit about mentoring. I'm thankful that I have had some amazing women in my life to guide me on this journey we call Navy Life. I'm thankful for the friends I have made along the way and I'm especially thankful for the wise women who have mentored me in various ways. From the command leadership spouses who stood by my side while I was an Ombudsman, encouraging me to give my best to the families of the sailors, to the Godly women of the various military chapels we attended who prayed for me and my family. I've tried to pay it forward by helping new spouses who are new to this lifestyle - I know we have it a lot easier than the military spouses who endured the World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam eras and even with all of the modern forms of communication, the women who are separated from their soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines while they serve in the Middle East deserve a special mention for their faith and courage.

I'm indebted to all who serve as mentors, from the COMPASS volunteers who teach new Navy spouses how to navigate through this life, to the Military Wives Encouragement Groups through churches across the nation, to the Family Readiness Group volunteers who seek to unite spouses and provide a social outlet during deployments, and to the various other mentoring programs that are available in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. We stand together, always.

And for my grand finale, I'm going to combine the remaining days in this way...the Light of my life, the Loves of my life, the reason for my Happiness...my husband Vic and my daughter Sophia. I love you dearly and am so thankful for both of you.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Days Twenty-Four through Twenty-Six - Surprise - Kindness - Music

I'm a bit behind - story of my life lately...

Day Twenty-Four - Surprise - I love surprises, especially those that have taken some thought and planning on the part of the surpriser. When we lived in Florida in the mid 1990s, Vic's ship was in dry dock in Charleston. He was there, without a car, I was in Florida, with a toddler. There was a duty van that brought sailors home for the weekend if they were able to get away but when you're in Engineering, there are very few times you are able to do that. It was a Saturday afternoon and we headed out to my friend Sindy's house for her son's birthday party. Imagine my surprise when her door opened and there was Vic! He had come home in the van, asked Sindy's husband to pick him up, and was waiting there for us when we arrived. It was a lovely surprise - wish I had a photo of my face when he opened the door.

Day Twenty-Five - Kindness - My Mum was the kindest person I have ever known. She was an amazing mother, grandmother, aunt and friend and so much more…a child in Post-Great War England, a Land Girl during World War II who went on to work for NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes), first in Egypt and then in Paris, France where she met and married her American GI. Countless trips back and forth across the Atlantic and two daughters later, she spent her golden years enjoying the English countryside, retracing her roots, and holding hands with the man who would be by her side until the very end, 47 years later. Kindness was her greatest virtue; she always had a kindly word for people and animals alike, she was a firm believer that a pot of tea would make any situation better, and we, those who loved her, miss her terribly. Good night and God bless, Mum, you’re forever in our hearts (taken from my Facebook post on what would have been her 87th birthday).

Day Twenty-Six - It's Thanksgiving morning and my family are still blissfully asleep. I am thankful that we are all together, that we have a warm home and food on the table, all that we need and a little extra to share with those less fortunate. Being thankful makes me think of one of my favorite songs - I love worship music and truly feel most filled the the spirit when I listen to music. Enjoy!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Twenty-Three - Handmade

When I think of handmade, I think of the beautiful knitted items that Mum made over the years from Jean Greenhowe patterns.

And I couldn't think of handmade with mentioning my friend Jodie's amazing ornaments that I treasure - these are just two of the many she made for me over the years.

A pinecone made from the pages of Emma - my former blog was titled When Good People Get Together which was a quote from Emma

A cross stitched sign from the King's Arms, one of our favorite eateries at Colonial Williamsburg

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Twenty-Two - Dessert

Doesn't this look scrumptious?

This selection of teatime treats came out after the Royal Wedding in 2011 - check out Princess Beatrice's hat and the Queen's Launer handbag. Wonder if the treats were as delicious as they looked?

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Twenty-One - Leaves

I love autumn leaves and I miss being in New England at this time of year. The foliage there is absolutely stunning.

Maine 2009

I love things that are decorated with leaves as well. This two card is beautiful.

And I can't forget Christmas leaves.

Holly through the railing at Chester Cathedral, July 2003

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Twenty - Laughter

There's going to be much laughter in this house in the days ahead because my sailor is home! Vic's ship pulled in today and will be here all through the holidays and then some. There will be lots of jokes, funny stories, and crazy antics. Vic can always be counted on to make me smile and laugh.

I wasn't kidding when I said he could get up to some crazy antics

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Nineteen - Grateful

It's at this time of year that we really pause to be grateful for all that we have. I am so thankful for a hard-working, loving husband, a beautiful daughter, a steady income with good benefits, a warm home and food on the table, loving family and wonderful friends, happy memories of good times gone by and hopes for the future...so many blessings.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Eighteen - Food

'Tis the season for those special holiday foods and I am thankful that we can still get Cadbury chocolate - I'm not really sure what all the controversy was recently or was it a while ago? See how much attention I paid? All I know is that World Market had a 30% off all British foods sale on Sunday and I was in the right place at the right time. I bought boxes of Cadbury biscuits as gifts for some of my co-workers (the two departments who have been a tremendous help to me over the last four months - newbie that I am, they have had the patience of saints) and I hope they enjoy them as much as I do.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Seventeen - Color

My favorite color is blue - I love all shades of blue. Vic's favorite color is also blue although he's more inclined to favor the darker shades. Do you have a favorite color?

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Sixteen - Weather

We've been having a lot of this lately - that's us up there in the top left - but I'm not complaining. I love the rain when I am inside listening to it pattering on the roof. I'm not so enamored of it when I have to run errands and that was the case yesterday so I put everything on hold until today which was a much drier day. I am thankful for the rain, though, for nourishing the plants that make Washington so beautiful.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Fifteen - Joy

Not the best photo I know but one of the best ways to show joy - a homecoming! I was thankful here (1997) for Vic's safe return from a five month deployment to South America and I'm thankful for subsequent safe returns.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Fourteen - Tradition

How long does something have to be around before it can be called a tradition? I brought a couple of my family's traditions into our Christmas celebration - the Christmas Eve cold buffet, Sophia opening one gift on Christmas Eve, an advent calendar every year - but these were not handed down from my grandparents to my parents. I don't think either of them had a particularly easy childhood - my Mum was raised by a single parent, her Mum, and my father often talked about his abusive stepfather. They never talked about their childhood Christmases so I don't suppose they remembered them fondly. However, they made the holidays wonderful for my sister and me, and I hope that I've continued to do the same for Sophia.  I'm thankful that my childhood and hers will have happy memories.

Catching up on the 30 Days of Thankfulness

Day Nine - Warmth - Is there anything warmer than a fire in your fireplace? Vic and I debate fireplaces over and over again - we would both like a fireplace in our forever home but his idea is a fireplace that burns wood whereas mine is the less messier gas version. I guess we'll see whose idea is in the final plan. My warmest memory of warmth (pardon the pun) is, of course, in Kettlewell. Mum had specific criteria in mind when she searched for our holiday cottage for Christmas 2001 and an open fire was top on her list. I remember her stacking up the coals and then holding a newspaper over the fireplace so that the flames caught. I've got Days Four, Eight, and Nine all rolled into one! I am so thankful for the wonderful memory of the cozy warmth.

Day Ten - Smile - Sophia has a beautiful smile, see for yourself. She's a beautiful young woman, inside and out and I am so thankful for our lovely daughter. I didn't ever see myself as a Mom, thinking I'd be a single career woman but how my life changed when she was born.

Day Eleven - Life and Day Twelve - Gift - I'm rolling the days into one again! The gift of life, our beautiful daughter.

Day Thirteen - Animal - Le petit chien, our MudLynn, how she has enriched our lives. She's living the college life now, being taken for walks on campus where everyone who meets her thinks she's adorable, 

There's that smile again!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Eight - Memories

Memories - where do I start? I've been a traditional scrapbooker since 1999 and really enjoy taking our family photographs and adding narratives to the pages. Vic and Sophia are amazed at the things I remember (little do they know I write them down on bits of paper and file them away for the time when I get around to scrapbooking that particular event!). Sadly, I have not put time into scrapbooking the way I should so I am making a New Year's resolution (in November) to devote at least 30 minutes to my scrapbooks every day starting January 1. That will give me between now and then to get all my pictures, memorabilia, and supplies organized. Memories are precious, don't you agree? If you don't scrapbook, at least make sure your photos are labeled - either on the back if they are prints (use a photo-safe pencil, you can buy them at paper crafts stores) or with a short description as the name of your digital print (who, what, when, where, why if you can manage it). You don't want your grandchildren and great-grandchildren to look at a photo decades from now and wonder "Who was this? Where were they? What were they doing?".

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Seven - Faith

I am thankful for my salvation, for having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, for knowing that He is always by my side. Being a Navy wife and mother of a young adult daughter is not always easy, but I know that I can turn to Him for strength, comfort, wisdom, and healing. My God is an Awesome God. I am thankful for the privilege to worship freely.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Six - Friendship

I am so thankful for my friends. Each period of my life has yielded some wonderful friendships and thanks to the wonders of social media, I have been able to reconnect and stay in touch with most of them. It is wonderful to find on my Facebook friends list friends from my school days in England, from my early days in cable television in California to later days in the same field in Guam and Saipan, moms of toddlers who were such a great blessing to me in Florida, moms of Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts in Illinois, homeschooling moms from Virginia and Rhode Island, wives of sailors from Vic's various commands who went through deployments and celebrated homecomings with me, friends from volunteer groups, and my Sisters in Christ who have been there for me prayerfully no matter where I am or what is going on in my life. They share their news and photos of their families and it's like we're still so close in distance and spending time together. Our way of life is constantly bringing people in and out of my life, how wonderful it is to keep these friendships going no matter how far apart we may be.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Five - Fun

Family fun is the best kind of fun. I am so thankful for my family - for my wonderful husband who will take off on a family adventure at the drop of a hat (as long as he doesn't have to plan it!) and for my ever-eager (ok, that may be stretching it a little) daughter who is always up for a family field trip even when 75% of them have some sort of educational twist worked in!

Bastille Days, July 2014, Norfolk, Virginia

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Four - Cozy

I love this word because just hearing it brings back wonderful memories of Mum. Her goal in life was to make everything cozy. I can remember all the weeks of research she did for our holiday cottage in Kettlewell because it had to have an open fire and be warm and cozy. Cups of tea always made for cozy times, her style of decorating welcomed everyone into a cozy house, and there was nothing like Mum's remedy for those days when you didn't feel well - "Let's get you warm and cozy", she used to say, "And you'll feel so much better."

Just thinking of Mum makes me feel cozy and I'll always have my memories of her to make me feel that way.

Christmas 1996 - Mum and Dad manning their stall at the Naseby Court Retirement Home's Christmas Craft Fair

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Three - Nature

Day Three's theme ties in really closely with Day Two. Washington is just so beautiful - lakes, rivers, bays, canals, the ocean, mountains, forests...there is just a never-ending supply of God's glory all around us.

I have always loved being by the water - it's our dream to own a home on the waterfront or at least with a water view. Imagine waking up to either one of these every day - a couple of shots from a recent weekend excursion.

Lake Crescent

The Pacific Ocean at La Push

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day Two - Home

Home is where the Navy sends us and right now that's Washington, the Evergreen State. How can you not love this?

Washington State Ferries connect us to Seattle

Deception Pass on our trip to Whidbey Island

Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest

Even with a little of the white stuff, which we don't get very often, it is beautiful