The view out my window

I'm sitting here, as I do many mornings, sipping coffee, reading and responding to emails, beginning the day with computer-related tasks. Which this morning includes some online Christmas shopping and translating a dental bill. (And by translate, I mean roughly, with the help of my favorite online German-English dictionary: "Leo" as I commonly refer to it:) You have to love how precise and technical German medical bills are. I'm still not sure what "dental pulp" or a "dental dam" is, but I'm thankful to know what exactly we paid for. :)

Now...back to why I am writing this post... (Kind of like the TV announcement, "Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming." :)



I am so thankful for the view out of the window in our guest room/office. I can see out over our small but beautiful town. I can see the surrounding hills which are dusted with snow this morning. I have marveled recently at the variety of what I have seen, looking out this same window, these past few weeks. Sometimes the taller hills are snow covered while the shorter ones are still green. Sometimes the sky has been streaked with pink. Sometimes there is blue sky and sunshine. Other times, like this morning, the sky is a layer of solid white and grayish clouds.

Pictures don't do it justice. I wish you all could be here to see the beauty I see out this window everyday.

The view out of our living room window:

A view on a recent morning's snowy walk:

Gratitude Journal #23

What I'm thankful for:
*Birthday packages and reminders of what wonderful family and friends I am blessed to have
*A wonderful weekend spent visiting a college friend and catching up on life
*A delicious Thanksgiving dinner shared with friends
*Laughter
*Healing
*That we currently have a winter wonderland - we've had snow on the ground for the past week (which isn't common here!)
*Sunshine and the way it reflects off the snow
*Music
*Reminders that life is short - seize the day!
*A warm, comfortable home
*Grace, Truth, and healing
*My wonderful husband, for many reasons, one of them being that he takes care of car stuff - most recently, putting on the winter tires

What I want:
*To go for a walk in this crisp, beautiful winter weather! (which I will do as soon as I post this) Done! It was great!
*To live each moment to the fullest (and this doesn't mean busyness)- to not take any day or any one for granted
*To seek God first, always, and above all else
*To "absorb" Christ
*To spend more time reading and journaling
*To love and encourage those around me
*And to be honest, I want the bright yellow mail truck to bring my birthday box from my parents...it's somewhere between them and me and has been for a little while (maybe the "Zoll"/Customs guys are having fun going through it? :) It came today! YAY! (I'm waiting til Mike comes home to open it - it's more fun to open packages with someone!)