A Season for Thanksgiving

Thanks to each of you who were so kind to share your condolences to our family in the loss of our precious Mother, Mom Moseley.  With the holidays approaching, this year will be hard for us without the presence of my Gram, my Dad, and Mom Moseley. But, as I've shared before, our hearts don't grieve as those who have no hope - we are thankful for their eternal presence with the Lord, that is such a comfort.  

As we journeyed to Texas for the funeral of Mom Moseley, I wanted to share some of those pictures with you. I wanted my last post to be all about my precious Mom Moseley, but for this post - I will share some pictures of our trip there.  

My family held an impromptu 50th birthday celebration for me.  The plan was to celebrate at Thanksgiving when we usually come down to Texas each year.  However, the extenuating circumstances dictated otherwise, so those who could come, came to a breakfast my Mom prepared for us Saturday morning after the funeral.  My sister Elayne picked up a balloon bouquet and this cake for me. 

My sister made this fun collage page for me. 

My sister Elayne and I 

 

Mom took one of Dad's shirts and made it into a pillow for me.  In the pocket were some pictures taken with Dad wearing this shirt, as well as one of his pens and a comb (which he always had in his pockets). Oh, the tears that came! It was such a precious gift that I will always treasure! (My sister sent me the picture of me holding the pillow, and for some reason, it is very fuzzy). 

While we were in Texas, we enjoyed some wonderful Mexican food
and soaked up some of the warm sunshine! 

I have such a wonderful and supportive family! My Mom (not in the picture) and my 2 brothers and 1 sister came to be with us at the funeral for Mom Moseley. I wish my mother could've been in this picture! She was not around when the spontaneous moment happened. 

Our family after the funeral in the church fellowship hall. 
Mom Moseley's church put on a lovely meal for all of us. 

The day after the funeral, the graveside service was held.  This is our family at the graveside. 

While we were in Texas, we stopped by my Dad's gravesite.  Mom is working on getting the stone ready. He has a beautiful spot in the cemetery, right by the entrance.  It was good to sit at the gravesite and remember my Dad. I still can't believe he is gone! 

Back home, this is what awaited me!!! 

 

The Fall season arrives on the heels of Summer's busy season, and my kitchen is buzzing with activity from August through November! In fact, I am STILL canning tomatoes that are ripening from my garden. Hard to believe isn't it! I leave the tomatoes on the vine in the garden until the last possible moment when a frost/freeze is imminent, and then I gather all the tomatoes, putting them into cardboard boxes lined with newspaper to ripen.  

I just canned these tomatoes on Saturday. I still have more to ripen! 

I've been canning pinto beans, potatoes, carrots, and chicken broth.
It is a busy harvest season for me, all the way into Thanksgiving! 

We will have plenty to eat this winter :) 

Sourdough bread rising, next to freshly canned pinto beans. 

The Lord allowed my path to cross with a dear lady in our community who has a burden for community prayer as well.  Together we held a Pastor's Prayer Breakfast for all the pastors in our local community to come together and pray.  Sadly, many of them weren't able to come.  We hope to host another one soon.  Schedules are so busy,  it is hard to find a time to accommodate everyone. But how important it is that we gather together to pray! 

Those who came were so blessed, and all of us were encouraged after praying together for each other, so we hope to have another one in December. 

Winter showed up on Sunday - Riley and I enjoyed our walk as the snow fell.
We didn't get much snow, but it is enough to remind us that Winter is upon us. 

Most of you who have been reading my blog know how much I love winter.  I really do love the snow and all the beauty it brings. I love the quietness of the snow as it falls, and the sparkling wonder it brings to the world. Nothing I like more than getting on my cross-country skis and going for a beautiful glide through our backwoods and enjoying the splendor of the world dressed in white.  I've learned to embrace each season and to recognize it is just that - a season. All seasons come and go in their own time - although Winter certainly lingers the longest.  I enjoy the rest Winter brings and the quiet.  But, when it is time for Spring, I am ready for Winter to leave, and as we all know - that doesn't always happen, lol! But for now, we are staying busy preparing for Winter and looking forward to Thanksgiving. 

This is the season to be reminded of how much we are blessed with, and to live in an attitude of gratitude. I live with great thankfulness for all the many blessings of the Lord, and I praise Him for the comfort that He has given us this year, as we've buried my Gram, my precious companion dog Annie, my Dad, and Mom Moseley. 

I hope that your heart is encouraged, and full of the goodness of the Lord's blessings, and despite the difficulties that we all face, let us focus on the blessings - life is much better with a half-full cup than a half-empty cup :) 

Enjoy this video that I created - Great Is His Faithfulness by Charity Gayle - no matter where you are, or what your situation, we have much to be thankful for! 

Great Is His Faithfulness! 

Happy Thanksgiving dear friends!