Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thankful Thursday

"Each day offers us the gift of being a special occasion, if we can simply learn that as well as giving, it is blessed to receive with grace and a grateful heart" - Sarah Ban Breathnach

I so often see "Thankful Thursday" posts and have yet to partake in one.
I think it's about time.

This morning, I find myself looking through photos, both old and new.
And I'm feeling, quite simply...thankful.

The past few weeks have been rough on my heart.
But with saying that, I almost feel guilty.
Because my heart aches with so much more than hurt on a daily basis. It aches with pure love.

And I have pictures to prove it.

A rainy Tuesday afternoon last week, was spent with 3 lovely "K's".
I was thankful to see my friend, Kelly, living her dream...at home and happy with her children.
Karina and Kelly...this pictures makes for happy tears.

A lil' birthday love for my sweet birthday twin

What is going on here? Not quite sure...but I love it.
Kristopher Me and Karina, all totally ready for this picture!

Karina and I...forever representin' September 18th

"It fits guys, now let me down!"

Kelly had a smorgasbord of healthy lunch selections...I had to balance it out with these 3lb. cupcakes.

Is there chocolate in my teeth?


I'm thankful for friends who live doors away. Thankful for walks on a gloomy day, that instantly turn bright when you see these smiling faces...
Kim and Noah...aren't they adorable!?

walking their awesome doggies, Sketchy and Rory...or are they walking me?!


I'm thankful for birthday celebrations, after my birthday. It means I get to see these ladies.
Kelly and Jessica

I'm thankful for super thoughtful, clever gifts that make my heart smile.
Does Kelly know me or what?! A crazy cat lady cup and coffee all in one! AHH!

KellyAddison was sweet enough to think of my split ends. After all, she didn't have the best time playing hairdresser last month.
Remember this photo?
Poor girl.

And who can forget this one?!
Yikes!!

My gift from Addison
Conditioner!! And the good stuff...not the 77cent kind that my jagged ends are used to! :)

Why does time have to go by so quickly...always. Why can't dinner go til' midnight? These ladies made my night.
Me and Kelly

Jessica and I

I <3 this photo.


and I <3 them. I'm thankful for Thursday nights that end with friends. And Fridays that begin with friends. Friends who you just saw less than 12 hours ago.


Jessica...the hostess with the mostess

She asked if she could "continue romancing me for my birthday"...
How could I turn her down? After all, the girl makes a mean homemade pizza.
She invited me over for the afternoon. One that turned into an all day affair.
So, I got ready for the romancing, packed up my Peter Cetera cd and headed right on over.
There were beautiful gifts. And when I say beautiful, I mean from the inside out.
Me and my pretty pretty presents

Exchanging birthday presents with Jessica and I is like an art. We open slowly. We explain why we may or may not like each gift beforehand (when we really know the other one is gonna love it) We cry. We oohh and ahhh over every detail. Then, we cry some more. And if Jessica is lucky, I dance to Peter Cetera's, "Forever Tonight" and she "feels my breath on her shoulder"
(I owe ya one, Jess)

I spot a kitty.

My AMAZING handmade card...can't wait to find the perfect frame for this beauty!
"Crazy Faith"...two words that are dear to me. I'm crazy. I'm faithful. And "Crazy Faith" was my very first blog post. *tear

*more tears...a photo of Kelly Me and Jessica from almost 10 years ago.

Yes, that is me...with no eyes and apparently no teeth, wearing all my beautiful gift decorations...I'm thankful I don't really look like that.  Scary!!
However, the gift inside was far from scary. It was a gorgeous, touching, very special book, that deserves its own post. It made me...can you guess? I bet you can't. Okay, of course, it made me cry. But I didn't even read it while there. Jessica's beautiful message got the tears going.

I could cry now, because my freezer doesn't have any of this in it. Try it. You won't be sorry. "Late Night Snack" by Ben n' Jerry's. Vanilla Ice Cream with caramel and chocolate covered potato chips. Ugh huh. A dream come true. Like, totally!

Jessica and I after a much needed "quality time" day.

I read the book when I got home. I bawled.
So thankful...
:*)


I'm thankful for date nights at home with my husband. Nights spent in pj's. Nights where we order Chinese, snuggle (awww, I said snuggle) on the couch and watch movies all night. Nights when it doesn't matter they forgot my eggroll because they gave us 5 extra fortune cookies.(seriously, take-out people never get my order right!!! Never!)
"Uhh, yea, I'd like to order a quart of Chicken Lo Mein topped with the BBQ boneless spare ribs, with a pint of won ton soup, 59 egg rolls and while you're at it, might as well throw in a few extra fortune cookies"
Oh, Mr. Twinkie, you glutton.


I'm thankful for the day after THIS ONE.
A day where a dear friend makes it all better. A day Kelly and her girls that has have a way of erasing so much of the hurt. 

We started a band. Addison took the stage. Front and center.
She performed her new hit single "Yea Yea Yea Yea Baby you're a firework B1011111 Yea Yea Yea Yea"

Her Mama entertained the crowd with her amazing faces.

Miss Chloe charmed em' with her pretty dress and sparkling blue eyes.

I rocked out on the kitty cat keyboard (um, how appropriate) to my new smash hit, "Bite Me, Aunt Flow"

The girls took a nap while Kelly and I lounged on the couch, eating ice cream and reminiscing. Thankful for girl time. Girl time rocks!


I was thankful and so very touched, when I came home to birthday packages and loving words written inside ice cream and homemade kitty cards. From friends I met in lovely little blogland.  Thank you so much, Diana and Julia!!!



I'm thankful for...
Remember the birthday card from my Mom?...the one she told me to play when I needed to stop thinking so much...the one that meows "Happy Birthday" to Me. Yea, that's been getting a lot of play lately. AND, the kitties are kinda mega obsessed with it.  It makes them bat at each other, give each other kisses and always ends with butt sniffs. See for yourself.  (a quick preview of the crazy cat lady in all her glory, surrounded by the fluffies)
 p.s.- excuse the horrible clicking sound from the cheapo video cam on my camera. 

P.P.S. - I'm VERY thankful for my Mama and for my fluffies.



I'm thankful for today. 

Those are just a few of my "Thankful Thursdays"...
What are you thankful for this Thursday?


Sending out lots of Thursday Lovin',

23 comments:

Mrs. E said...

I'm thankful for your friendship =) And your hilarious comment on my blog lol! Oh, and of course marathon text-athons!!! I hope you have a wonderful day today. Thinking of you! xoxoxoxo~

Unknown said...

This is such a touching post! Love it Maria! It is wonderful when you have such great friends. The pictures are beautiful and you can look at them and remember happy times. I am thankful for my family, relatives and friends as well as the amazing Bloggers like you that I have met in the Blogging world. I will never forget the day I got connected to the internet a few months after the death of my sister in 2008. Then it was not easy to get good internet service in our area. It has changed and it has enabled me to link up with a lot of groups and individuals. Thanks for being one of my new friends in the Blogging World and have a great Thursday.

Kelly @ Stay at Home Trader said...

MARIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAHA you are so funny! How do you take me from tears, to smiles, to almost wetting my pants in every.single.post? hahahahaha! There are so many funny things in this post, that I don't even know what to comment on! I think the "Bite Me Aunt Flow" pic is my favorite. hahahaha! I love the picture of You, Kelly & Jess. You all look so pretty, and I always find it so amazing that you have been friends since child hood. I miss my childhood friends so much...and they are all 1200 miles away :( But, that's ok. Because, I'll just force all of your friends to be friends with me. hahahahaha! Psycho-Psycho! We really do have so much to be thankful for, and I am again so completely humbled by your ability to look outside of yourself, and take the time to be THANKFUL for what you have in this world, despite the horrid situation you are facing. I LOVE the cat video! HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my gosh, I need to read this again :) I love ya to pieces! Happy Thursday to you!!! XOXOOXOXOXO

Emily Weinzapfel said...

Great post! And I hope you had a fabulous birthday! :)

Stephanie said...

Great post, Maria! You DO have so much to be thankful for and it's great that you recognize that! You are one lucky girl to have such close friends, a great hubby, and, of course, the KITTIES! :)

I love you pictures SO MUCH because I feel like I can feel all of your emotions in them - happy, sad, thankful, hopeful... really great! I feel like I'm right there with you. :)

I hope you have a good weekend! (It's almost the weekend....right?!)

<3

Stephanie @ Blonde Highlights said...

As always, I love this post! :)

On another note, I just gave you the Versatile Blogger Award! Check it out whenever you get a chance!

XOXO, Stephanie

Unknown said...

your posts always bring a smile to my face. you have such sweet friends! that is something to be cherished.

cheers, girl.

Unknown said...

I love reading your posts! There always so cheery and your pictures are always cute, funny, and goofy! You have such a good outlook on life and you manage to stay so positive. Have a great Thursday!

Rebecca said...

What a great post. Looks like you had an amazing BDay. I'm thankful to have blog friends who post pics of themselves with no eyes or teeth!!! Hilarious! Love that pic! Hope you have a great year! :)

stlavonlady said...

Looks like you have a ton to be thankful for! Great pictures of some fabulous memories. I love looking through old pictures. I was just looking through some yesterday of my daughter. It really makes you stop and think about how blessed you really are.

Following you from the Thursday blog hop and would love a follow back. : )

Julie
Stlavonlady The Best Beauty Tips Tricks and Savings

Unknown said...

That was a totally awesome post!
I am a new GFC fan from the Thirsty Thursday Blog Hop. I hope you can visit and like me back at My 2 Cents
Thank you and have a blessed weekend

V said...

I love happy posts like this :)

Oh and I would be loosing my shit if they forgot my egg roll! That's my favorite part!! :)

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

Great post! I also have to add you are one of the sweetest person I have ever encountered on the internet. I wish you lived close bc I know we would be great friends! Wishing you the best always. Happy friday!

Jessica Nicely said...

Hi Maria!! :) It always looks like you're having fun and I always notice how loved it seems you are...lucky girl!! :) I am working on my email back to you, just waiting til I have time to give it the justice it deserves! :) I'm wishing you a lovely, love filled weekend!!! :)

Kerry said...

What a wonderfully fun looking birthday filled with so much love and friendship and gorgeous gifts that really should not have been opened because they were wrapped so nice!!
Here's to good friends and good times :)

Aimee @ Explore, Learn, Have Fun! said...

So very glad I found your blog from the Lots of Lovin' blog hop - I'm your newest follower! You have such a beautiful blog! What a fun birthday you've had too! Hope you have a wonderful weekend ~

Aimee @
justkiddingaroundatlanta

Miranda said...

Great post! I'm having to go back through the week and find where I was putting comments that were just disappearing. Sorry this was so late. Anyway, You are so amazing... you have the best pictures and the best way to describe how you're feeling. You are fearless with your ability to write about your raw raw emotions. Love your blog, love everything about you. I can't wait to find out which book you got for your birthday. Take care of you and please know you are very special to me - I think of you quite often!!

Lindsey said...

Maria,
First of all I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I am so glad you have such great friends and family surrounding and supporting you! You are an amazing woman, and friend, from what I've seen lol, and you definitely deserve it. Thank you for your always kind words on my blog and for your support. Please know you are always in my thoughts and prayers as well! Ditto on the words with friends lol!! Someday, we should meet up some where...PA is a big state I know, but there has to be something in the middle, right?
A girl can dream.

Unknown said...

Hello again Maria,
I would like to inform you that I have just passed on the Blog On Fire Award to you. You can learn more about this on my Blog. I am really happy I met you in the Blogging world and I am a big fan of your Blog! Take care and all the best to you.
Judy

Unknown said...

Maria! You have an amazing life filled with wonderful friends, family and fluffy kitties! On a day when I was having a bit of trouble finding the bright side, you brought me along through yours! Thanks!!

PS- At the end of the video, your kitties look like they were saying to each other "That's not me making that noise, I thought it was you!" "Well, it's not me!!"

Diana said...

Maria Maria Maria!! I'm so thankful for u!!!! I couldn't log on to my blogger for days so u can imagine how insane I was going thru the weekend. I love ur posts and how they make me sooooo happy! I feel like we've been friends for years!! :) hope u had another awesome weekend w those wonderful friends u have! I'm jealous! They get to join in on the picture fun!! :) love ya bunches!!!!!!

lisa said...

Happy Belated Birthday! You and Jessica sound like a fun pair! :) Such great pictures! You have a lot to be thankful for!

Happy Monday!

Lisa

waitingforarainbow said...

Hahaaha your cats did exactly what you said they'd do, sooo funny. my cats freaked out when I watched the video. Too funny!

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