Beautiful Fall Colors

I love to see the beautiful colors of fall. It's the one down side to living in SoCal you really have to look for them and most of the time the leaves don't turn until November. While walking out of Michaels today I found this beautiful leaf.....it was so pretty I had to pick it up and bring it home and take a picture....mind you it's not the greatest photo but I am grateful that I got to see some beautiful colors of fall even if it was only one leaf in Michael's parking lot.

I Love These Kids!!

These are some of "my kids" from my Sunday School class. I am so GRATEFUL for them! They are loud, silly, noisy, fun, thoughtful, articulate, knowledgeable, slightly crazy (they are teenagers after all lol) and I LOVE them! They make me smile each and every week. Most of them I have known since they were little. Some of them I have taught before....others I haven't but no matter they can ALWAYS brighten my Sunday. I am GRATEFUL to learn from them each week and maybe with any luck they learn something from me too. You guys are the BEST!!!

SoCal Weather Wimps

Working at the door at Costco can be very entertaining. I see all kinds of people from all walks of life. We live in beautiful Sunny Southern California and yet no matter what the weather we must always complain. The last few days we have had what is called a "Santa Ana" Condition. Santa Ana Winds are defined by Wikipedia as "strong, extremely dry offshore winds that characteristically sweep through Southern California  and northern Baja California in late fall and winter. They can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the Great Basin and upper Mojave desert.  The winds are known for the hot dry weather (often the hottest of the year) that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires."

So for the last 4 days it has been unseasonably warm....no make that it's been freaking HOT! You just don't expect to have 90 degree weather in November. So for the last four days everyone has been complaining about the heat.....then today a cold front moved in....so what were the members complaining about today....yeah you got it....the cooler weather! So what am I grateful for today you ask....is there a point to all of the weather rambling? Let's just put it this way.....my Mother use to say that anything over 85 degrees was too hot and I totally agree....so today I am grateful for the cooler more seasonable weather. Give me a few weeks and I will probably be complaining along with the rest of the SoCal population that it way too cold....we are just  never happy when it comes to the weather. =)

Finally

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a Mom.....and of course since I am one of two girls I wanted to have a little girl...growing up I never even thought that I wouldn't have a girl...but as fate would have it....and I am sure God knew what he was doing way more than I did....we were blessed with two awesome boys. After my boys were born I learned very quickly that you simply cannot beat the whole Mother-Son thing...that bond is amazing and I am so grateful for it....but still I had hoped that we would have a girl but alas that was not to be.....not to be until of course Jeremy got married. Then not only did I finally have a girl to love....I had an AMAZING girl to love. I couldn't be happier with Jeremy's choice....Holly is wonderful. So today I am grateful for a wonderful new daughter-in-law. Thanks Holly for loving Jeremy and being a wonderful new addition to our family.

Friends

Today I am grateful for all of my wonderful friends....I have many....some I have known for a long, long time. Today's post is about one particular friend. He was a sweetheart....he was kind, gentle.....an awesome mechanic and an all around great guy. I dated Tom briefly many, many years ago....I introduced him to the church and he was baptized November 4, 1978. After we broke up....we somehow managed to stay friends. We would talk occasionally usually on one of our birthdays....He ended up back in his home town in Pennyslvania and found Debbie, a wonderful lady and married her in the temple. They settled there so with us living in California I didn't see him much.....but still there was an occasional phone call or Christmas greeting. The last time I saw Tom was back in 2002...he and Debbie stopped by to visit us on a trip to California. Since then we both were busy in our own lives and had kind of lost touch. I had thought about sending an invitation to Jeremy's wedding but had lost their address. So imagine my surprise when I received a quick note from Debbie asking me to call her.......I knew before I ever picked up the phone that something was wrong............Tom had a massive heart attack and passed away on September 25, 2010 just a month past his 56th birthday.

I feel badly that we had lost touch....but grateful that I had sent him a quick one line Happy Birthday email the month before....Debbie told me he had read it....I hope he knew I cared even if we had lost touch. Just remember....if you have good friends.......let them know you care.....because you just never know.

So Tom, this blog post is for you........even tho you won't ever read it.....you were my dear, sweet, friend. You blessed my life and  I am grateful to have known you.
Love Always,
Kathy

Leaders

And I am not talking about the political kind either. Today I am talking about the role models that my children have. I am so grateful for them! Over the years my boys have had many teachers and leaders that have helped mold and shape them into the fine young men they have become. As parents you do your best to teach and train your kids but as the saying goes....it takes a village. So today I am thankful for them. The photo for today is of Jason and his AWESOME scout leader Paul at Jason's Eagle Scout Board of Review. Had it not been for this fine man....Jason wouldn't have made it to the rank of Eagle Scout.....even Jason admits that. We are so proud of Jason for achieving Eagle Scout and we are GRATEFUL to Paul for all his help in getting him there.

Election Time

While I may not be very politically minded.....I am grateful that we have the choice to vote or not. This year was Jason's first year to vote...he was pretty excited about it. So today I am grateful for our freedom to choose AND for Jason and his enthusiasm!