A Merry Thankful Thursday

Christmas is almost here! There's snow on the ground, there's an air of excitement everywhere, there's Christmas music on every station, cookies and candies fill every counter and we all wait in joyful anticipation for the birthday of the King.

I'm taking an extended holiday this year which begins the 23rd and won't bring me back to the office until the 3rd of January. It would be just a bit of an understatement to say that I'm excited about the time off, the time with family, Christmas in general. It should be a good week.

picture circa 2007

See this lovely crew? Well we all look a bit different now, but we'll all be together for the holidays :) Yep, we'll all end up in Nebraska over New Year's to enjoy the always amazing Family Weekend with the School Sisters of Christ the King. We'll get to spend some quality sibling time with our sister sister. It'll be a great week.

Alright, since it is Thursday and there is just so much to be thankful for without further adieu here's my Thankful Thursday list.

At this moment I am thankful for...

(1) The beauty of the Christmas. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is to see the churches decorated for the Lord's birth (see first picture). It's just beautiful and the focus is always where it should be, on Christ.

(2) Friends far and near. It's alway fun to get updates/pictures on faraway friends during this holiday season. It makes me aware of how blessed I truly am to have such wonderful people in my life.

(3) Family. We're a close crew and I'm eternally thankful for that. I'm thankful for my extended family as well, I am truly blessed to be loved by so many.

(4) The inspiration of others. There are so many amazingly talented and creative people out there and I love that I can go to craftgawker or pinterest or any number of other websites and share in their creative fun.

(5) A sweet boyfriend. I don't talk a lot about my boy on here, but he definitely makes the list this week. I'm thankful that I've been blessed with a good man who's made me part of his family, who listens to what I say, shares my faith and loves me. It's pretty sweet ;)

(6) The upcoming break. I'm looking forward to not having a lot planned, which mean lots of downtime, lots of games, good conversation and good ol' family time.

(7) Corny Holiday Movies. I love happy endings, in fact I tend to avoid movies that don't have happy endings, that's one of the many reasons that I love all the holiday movies on this time of year. They are all oh so predictable, but they're light, fun and always end, well, happily.

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!



Christmas Wishes

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I saw this quote and absolutely love it. It sums up the season's essence. Happy 10 days 'til Christmas!

 

"What is Christmas?  It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.  It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace."

~Agnes M. Pahro

Blessings on a Thankful Thursday

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception! I always love Marian days, for some reason I always feel like you receive extra graces on days that celebrate Mary. It's like she's spoiling her children :)

I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable little man last weekend. He's a friend of some good friends from college and he is just the sweetest little thing (it did of course help that he slept the whole time I was there, but I'm sure he's just angel when he's awake as well...).

He's my friends' first child, so it's always fun to share in their excitement and watch them maneuver the new territory of being parents.

I'm still plugging away on Christmas cards/letter/gifts/packages which helps to remind me of how blessed I truly am, so since it is Thursday I'll take up no more of your precious time and go right into my Thankful Thursday list.

At this moment I am thankful for...

(1) Friends and Family. It's such a wonderful time of year to remember all those far in near that have blessed me over the past year.

(2) Christmas Candy/Cookies. I love going through recipes to find the perfect food to bake for the holidays, and of course I'm always thankful for all the cookies and candies that I have the pleasure of tasting from friends and family.

(3) Religious Freedom. Everyday I am thankful that I live in a nation where I can go to Mass during my lunch hour without the fear of being shot or imprisoned.

(4) Music.

(5) That I'm Catholic and get to celebrate awesome feast days like today :) 

(6) Good Books. I have a stack of books I'm reading through and a list of recommendations. I'm so thankful that I am able to read, have at least some free time to read and live in a country where I can go to my lovely local library and get all the books I could ever want, for free :)

(7) I know this will change, and I'm sure I'll be thankful when it does, but I'm thankful that at the moment I have no one that relies on me. That, as selfish as it may seem, I can go home and curl up on the couch watch a movie, drink some cocoa and not have to provide for anything else. I pray that someday I'll be blessed with children to interupt my me-time and a husband to worry about and put his needs before mine, but for the moment I'll take my single bedroom apt. with no roommate.