Saturday, June 20, 2015

Ten Things of Thankful

1.  My husband has diligently prepared sugar water, almost on a daily basis now, to feed the many hummingbirds that have taken up residence here year round.  As a result, the hummingbirds have come to recognize him.  Yes, they really can recognize people!  He was pretty excited this week when he held one of the feeders in his hands and one of the hummingbirds landed on his finger to drink from the feeder!  He invited me to try, but I was a little doubtful it would work, because I knew they were partial to him.  Our plan was for me to sit next to my husband on the porch.  I would hold the feeder, and we would just wait.  As the birds began getting closer and closer to me, my husband got up and got his camera and captured the moment when a hummingbird landed on my finger and supped from the feeder!  What a thrill!  I'm thankful for my husband and all the thrilling moments he has brought into our lives.





2.  One day this week I had a short amount of time to do some errands.  I was walking rather quickly  from a store to the parking lot when I heard a lady say, "Someone ought to give you a ribbon."  When I turned and looked at her, she commented that I was fast.  I had to smile, because my ability to walk at a faster pace is because I am continuing to heal following my back surgery.  I'm thankful for words from others that make me smile.

3.  This probably wouldn't have even made such a list as this at another point in time.  Are you ready?  I'm thankful that I can cut my toenails again.  The last time they needed cutting, one of my daughters did it for me.  Back surgery recovery takes time, so I had to rely on others for some things, well a lot of things.  I'm thankful that I am more self-reliant again.

4.  There are so many ways people can brighten the lives of others.  I often visit my mother in a nursing home.  She, along with others there, suffers from varying degrees of dementia and Alzheimer's.  Fortunately there are people in the area who regularly go to the nursing home and share their musical talents.  Many times, "the lights come on" when people with dementia hear music, especially musical pieces they may have heard earlier in their lives.  This week a woman in her 70's went to the nursing home and played music on her accordion.  One of the residents asked if she could play any Lawrence Welk type music.  She promptly started playing one of the signature pieces that was often heard on his show.  To see the absolute joy and enthusiasm on the face of the man who had made the request was just priceless.  I'm thankful for those who bring joy into the lives of others as they share their talents.

5.  Earlier this week I decided, upon the encouragement of my daughter and other bloggers, to take up this adventure of blogging again.  I had just barely begun to do so back in 2011when life got in the way.  A day after beginning to consider this possibility, but having some doubts, I watched a Roots Tech 2015 video online.  This particular video was about tech tools.  One of the things that was addressed in the video was about blogging sites, and was another helpful prod for me.  I'm thankful for the ways we receive help when we least expect it.

6.  Do you like to sing or hum when you work?  My husband has often referred to me as his "little hummer," because he can hear me humming as I work.  I'm not exactly sure when I stopped humming, but I suspect it was somewhere during this past year when there was a degree of pain and stress in my life.  I didn't even recognize that I'd stopped humming, until one morning this past week I recognized that I was humming.  Immediately, the thought came into that my mind, that I hadn't done that for months!  I'm thankful to feel like humming again!

7.  I'm sure that all are aware that when life stands still, weeds continue to grow!  It is too bad that they couldn't at least pause, until you are able to tackle the job.  I was hoping I could get to them before they got completely out of hand, but such hasn't been the case.  (Dr.'s orders not to do gardening yet)  I'm thankful for a dear neighbor who got up early one morning to come do some hand weeding for me (not a project my husband can do these days either).  She worked for two hours as I watched.  When I tried to pull a weed, she kindly said, "You probably shouldn't be doing that."  So I would stop.  I'm thankful for my neighbor's kindness and conversation at the beginning of a summer morning.

8.  Having a make-shift birdbath and some feeders around attract birds that perhaps we might not easily see, such as a Western Tanager.  They are such beautiful birds, but they aren't here in this area for long before they continue their migration.  Sometimes we are lucky enough to see a glimpse of one in the fir tree.  Late in the day yesterday I saw one at the birdbath!  I'm thankful for all God's creations and that I can sometimes see one up close.




9.  Do you sometimes have a prompting to do something, like call someone, or do something for someone, etc.   I do.  Sometimes I talk myself out of the prompting, and other times I follow up on the thought.  This week I was reminded of how important it is to listen and to follow up.  I'm thankful for those promptings of the Spirit that help us be an instrument in His hands.

10.Lastly, but not least, I am thankful for my husband and father of our children.  He is amazing and makes me feel amazing too!

20 comments:

  1. Frist! (That's what we say at this blog hop when we are the first to comment.) Good job, Mom! Glad you could join us! :-)

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  2. Hahaha! until I got to the second one for some reason I thought I was on Kristi s blog! that hummingbird thing is phenomenal! We have a lot of them around here and they come very close but none of them have landed on us at this point. watching the birds is one of my greater Joy in living here. welcome officially back to blogging world and Ttot!

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    1. We love living where we can enjoy the wildlife as well as animals on nearby farms. It is very peaceful.

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  3. The hummingbird picture is nothing short of spectacular! My mom feeds hummingbirds. They are funny little creatures. If the feeder is low or empty, they will look in the window at her, hovering, as if to ask her where dinner was.

    I'm glad you have returned to blogging! You and Kristi have a similar "voice" and that's a good thing :)

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    1. We love how the humming birds communicate with us too. Yesterday the feeders were empty, but my husband was busy taking some photos. One of the hummingbirds flew over to him and paused about a foot away from his face and then flew over to one of the empty feeders and then back to my husband again. He made his point! The feeders got filled pronto.

      It is interesting to hear that Kristi and I have a similar "voice." We are similar in a lot of ways, so I guess this is yet another way. :)

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  4. Welcome to blogging and the TToT! Now that I know your "voice", Kristi sounds so much like you!
    I think it's only natural that the hummingbirds are attracted to the "little hummer". I'm glad you got your humming back. And that photo is fantastic!
    How nice that you have a busy bird bath. Here, a bird bath is just standing water for mosquitoes to breed. Birds just eat our dog food instead.
    I love that story from the nursing home. When we head back home for the 4th of July, I'm going to encourage my daughter to play the piano at my grandma's independent living facility.
    And such a nice thing for your neighbor to do! As a gardener, I know exactly how bad weeds can get when you aren't able to stay on top of them!
    I'm so glad to see you here. I do believe you and Kristi are the first mother/daughter to tackle the TToT!

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    1. Yes, birdbaths can definitely attract mosquitoes. The difference with this one, is that there is a little running water cascading into the birdbath, so there isn't any stagnating water. This makes all the difference. There is also a mister there that the birds enjoy.

      I'm sure your daughter's piano playing would be thoroughly enjoyed by not only by your grandma, but others there. The times I have played for my mother, others come into watch and listen too.

      There are still questions I have about blogging, but I'm sure Kristi will continue to guide me through the process. Thank you for your encouragement.

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  5. What a miraculous moment to have that hummingbird land on you! It looks so different from the feisty emerald and ruby colored ones that bicker at my parent's feeder.

    My mother had back surgery as a result of a car accident. Four vertebra fused on her lower back does not make for a lot of mobility. Still my active mother defied the doctor's predictions that she was as well as she would ever be and lives nearly as she did before the accident now. I can appreciate how grateful you were to be able to look after your own toenails.

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    1. We have Anna's and Rufous hummingbirds here, and sometimes Calliope. Right now the Anna's and Rufous are here. We have a lot of young hummingbirds now, because they nest on our property.

      I'm glad your mother is doing well. My surgeon didn't want to attempt fusing my lower back, because she was concerned about my bone density. She performed two other procedures instead.

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  6. Nice to meet you. Hummingbird, humming, hmmmm! Someone who hums or sings as they work has happiness inside.

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    1. And..a scripture I discovered when our children were quite young is, "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness" (2 Nephi 5:27, Book of Mormon). I thought that should be a goal in our home. Of course that goal was definitely a challenge at times, but it was definitely a reminder of how we wanted to live.

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  7. Welcome to the TToT! Of the many things that blogging is good for and the ways that blogging can do good, a bloghop like this one is such a good example. People sharing their weeks, offering a glimpse into lives.

    …damn! pet hummingbird! (I think there's one that shows up out side the window that this computer is on, eats insects unfortunate enough to get caught in a spider web by the air conditioner… not a 'bird person' but they are truly amazing!

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    1. Thanks for the welcome and encouragement.

      Sad to hear about the little hummingbird. Note to myself: Keep an eye out for spider webs. I don't think I want to meet the spider that makes that web!

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  8. Hi! It is so cute that your daughter was able to encourage you to join TToT, I love it.
    I know I am the only person to probably ever say this to you, but I hate hummingbirds. They are creepy. Like little flying spys, lol.

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    1. You are not alone. The objections I've heard before is that having the hummingbird fly so quickly right toward your face is scary, especially with their little beak being so close. I've felt their feathers brush side the side of my head, but have never had an encounter with the beak of a hummingbird. Now, I'm not fond of bats, even though I know they help keep the insect population under control.

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  9. My sister and her late husband always had feeders out for the hummingbirds. They are fascinating creatures. What a fantastic picture your husband took!
    Back issues - it's incredible the things we take for granted until we suffer from back problems. Recovering from back surgery and/or back injuries takes a very long time. Glad you are able to do some of the basics again:)
    It's very telling when a person stops humming (in your case) or singing in their car (like me). You know there's something up. It's good you are humming again:)
    As I scrolled through the comments I couldn't help but notice - you're Kristi's Mom! Welcome to the TToT!!
    "Prompting". Thank you for giving a name to a thing I'm aware of, but never had a name for:)

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    1. Kristi is not only one of my daughters, but is fast becoming my go-to-tech person as far as trying to gain more knowledge about blogging. Hopefully I won't burden her with too many tech calls. :-)

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  10. Hello and welcome! I love that verse about living in the manner of happiness. Beautiful. Hummingbirds are fascinating, aren't they? My daughter would love to see one up close, but I honestly don't think they come around here. We content ourselves with the local raptor sanctuary.
    Glad your back is better - not being able to do those little things in life is frustrating. I wish you continued healing and health!

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    1. That is great that you have a local raptor sanctuary. We have a couple of a couple of National Wildlife Sanctuaries locally where we can see a lot of birds. It is nice to have things like like nearby.

      Is there anyone in your area that puts hummingbird feeders out? The hummingbirds do migrate. They love flowers that have tubular shaped blossoms, and they like our butterfly bush. I think they nest in the butterfly bush.

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