30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Day 30

Yesterday was Day 30.

I was thankful for the chance to get up early on a perfect, grey November day (the best sort of day for being indoors with friends and family, stuffing yourself with good food). I was thankful for the chance to watch a bit of the Macy's Day Parade (it's not Thanksgiving at the Hildebrandt house unless you've watched at least one float), the quiet drive, preparing dinner with family and good friends, FOOD (glorious food!), bananagrams, laughs, fellowship, hugs, a crackling fire, hot cider, curling up with family for a movie, and finally sleep.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" - Psalm 107:1

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Days 11-29

Wow. So... someone wasn't very good at keeping up with their blog. *ahem* Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I think it's time for an all-out recap, which I'll attempt to make short and sweet.

Day 11: Kick-starting the Christmas spirit at our town's Holiday Fair with friends, and an evening of sweet fellowship and fun with Laura making homemade pot pies (and probably gaining 5 pounds after eating them). ;)
Day 12: The freedom to go to church and worship the Lord with our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.
Day 13: Online Scrabble games with Karyn.
Day 14: The opportunity to go to college, and the blessing of learning from good teachers.
Day 15: My cat, who, though clearly psychotic, is still a source of constant entertainment and comfort (especially on cold winter nights).
Day 16: Our veterans and all the brave men serving in our armed forces today. May God bless and protect them.
Day 17: Wandering public libraries full of good books.
Day 18: Warm, clean pajamas straight out of the dryer.
Day 19: Jigsaw puzzles and books on tape.
Day 20: Gas logs, especially if curled up beside them with a good book and a warm cat.
Day 21: Grey, rainy November days when the leaves shine jewel-bright and form a scarlet canopy against the dark sky, a golden carpet glowing on wet earth and pavement; a day for rain coats and umbrellas and first Starbuck's holiday drink of the year (gingerbread latte.. mmm).
Day 22: Bright, clear, brisk days of blue sky and green grass and riotous color as the trees shed their bright cloaks in golden showers.
Day 23: The Psalms.
Day 24: Hand-written letters.
Day 25: Sean coming home for Thanksgiving break! :D And of course his hugs.
Day 26: Old friends, beautiful weather, my Dad and brother safely finishing their mountain bike race, neighbors dropping by for marshmallow-roasting in the backyard, a bright full moon, home.
Day 27: Watching Harry Potter 7 in the theaters during the middle of a weekday. :)
Day 28: Last day of classes for the week and the start of Thanksgiving break! Being able to cook for friends and family. And more s'more-making around the fire with family and old friends. (we're pyromaniacs I guess)

And today, Day 29 if my calculations are correct, I am thankful for Dad having the day off from work; for being able to make a big family breakfast together; for the opportunity to bake all afternoon (an Appalachian layer cake and two cheddar-apple pies - I might share the pie recipe another day); for going off on an excursion in the old Volvo with just Dad and have adventures successfully hunting down discount candles, getting coffee and sitting down for a chat at B&N, just us; for pizza and the aforementioned cake at the Poppes; for a bonfire on the edge of the fields throwing sparks into a cold night pricked with stars; for songs around the fire, and laughter, and stickiness; for life; for love; for joy; for God. Thank you.

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Day 10

Today I was thankful that's it's FRIDAY! TGIF. Every week. :)

I'm also thankful for the song below. My Dad introduced me to it one of the first times we moved away, and it's always spoken home to me (we used to sing it as we drove over the border whenever we came back to visit ;D). I am so very thankful to live in North Carolina. Throughout all our moves, I've always had NC to hang on to, and we've always come back. Whenever I hear this song, it makes my heart long for my homestate, and I am so grateful to have been born in such a beautiful place, to have this land in my bones, my roots running deep through sandy soil of cotton fields and wind-swept sand bars of the Outer Banks and among the thick green forests down to the Appalachians' stony heart. I think everyone has a special place that they are bound to, no matter how often or far they roam... and this is mine.

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Days 8 & 9

Wow, I am not good about posting every day. But I was still thankful! Really, I promise.

Yesterday I was thankful for, after nannying, an almost entire afternoon to sew and read things that did not pertain to chemistry (not that they weren't there, waiting to be read... er... but I gave myself a day off). Also hot tea. And cold November rain. And scarves to bundle up in. It was delicious.

Today I was thankful for a family friend who came over to share dinner and conversation with us, after a long rainy day at school. Home is always merrier when the path to the door is well-trodden, when elbows jostle at the table, when quiet, loving voices fill the rooms, or riotous laughter rings about the halls. :)

"How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light do we see light." - Psalm 36:7-9

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Day 7

Today I am thankful for many things.

I am thankful for my dear, beautiful mother, who kept me company while I worked into the wee hours of the morning on a nutrition project. It's peaceful to have someone dozing nearby, and comforting to know that there is a creature still alive at that dark hour, and the world is not quite so still and lonely as it seems. My mom is my confidant of secrets, my picture of hunger for Christ, the Mary to my Martha. She prods me forward, and helps me up when I fall, tests me, instructs me, loves me at my best and worst (that surely takes a rare person). I give thanks continually for her.

I'm thankful for the freedom and privilege to vote.

I am thankful for Fresh Market - that they play classical music, stock their beautiful store with exotic, beautiful foods, and serve hot cider at the door (oh happy day!). 

And I am even thankful for this shockingly cold weather we are having (in NC? Inconceivable!), because besides frozen hands it also means cozy sweaters, hot spiced drinks, piles of blankets, and all things warm and delicious to keep the chill away. :)

"Praise the LORD! Oh, give the thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." - Psalm 106:1

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - Day 6

This one is for yesterday, which also happened to be the first day of November - which of course means I am thankful that I can now officially start singing Christmas songs! Unfortunately, this official rule is only observed by a few (we happy few, we band of brothers), and I haven't really discovered who those other few are, so I'll have to be a bit furtive and bide my time until the day after Thanksgiving to really belt them out. In any case, I thought I'd celebrate by sharing the Christmas song below, which is appropriate enough for the season that hopefully it can be excused. :)

"Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God,who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry." - Psalm 147:7-9

30 Days (or so) of Thankfulness - October Recap

Modesty is Next to Beauty is hosting a 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge, which started October 27 and ends on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day). I was invited to participate by the lovely Emily of Practically Pink, and so although I'm hopping on the bandwagon a bit late, I will try to make up for lost time by giving a little recap of October thankfulness in this post. :) God pours out more blessings on us than we can count, and what a good reminder to be grateful and give Him praise and thanks for His goodness that we so often overlook or choose to ignore (on bad days, I know sometimes I certainly don't want to be happy... leave me alone to wallow in my misery!) - hopefully this practice will help form good habits to be thankful in all things. I encourage anyone else who may read this to join in too (you can click on the picture above to get started) and take time to thank God for His blessings each day, even if you don't blog them. Now, down to business.


Day 1
On Wednesday, we celebrated my good friend Brianne's 20th birthday at our families' weekly fellowship meeting at our house. I am so grateful for such a delightful, kind, loyal, and creative friend. :)

  "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest council." - Proverbs 27:13

Day 2
On Thursday I was very thankful for soup. Like Despereaux of the story book, I can't get enough soup. On the day in question, I found this delicious recipe for Golden Lentil Stew (I used regular lentils, but it still turned out very nice) that I highly recommend for a very autumnal, spice-laden soup.

Not my picture. ;)

"There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God." - Ecclesiastes 2:24


Day 3
I am so thankful for my father. On Friday night he rented Karate Kid, and we made a big bowl of popcorn and watched it together. I treasure our little times together, just me and him, even doing simple things. He is the most gentle, patient, uncomplaining, thoughtful, funny, hard-working, and kind person I know, and more than anything I would like to be more like my father... I could have no better person to learn  a servant's heart from than him.

"As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him." - Psalm 103:13


Day 4
Saturday I was thankful for hot chocolate with whipped cream from Starbucks, and book browsing with Mom and friends at Barnes & Nobles, and especially both together. :) What bountiful, unnecessary goodness God delights to give!

Not my picture. Again.

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." - Psalm 16:6

Day 5
I am thankful for dear friends and family to celebrate autumn with, for a celebratory dinner of hot dogs, for a backyard bonfire at the edge of the fields, for a cold, clear sky so thickly netted with stars, singing psalms and hymns around the fire, and ending it all with marshmallow toasting and much stickiness.

  "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew from Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing - life forever more." - Psalm 133