One of My Gifts~ Nellie!

It has been a little crazy over here but I am finally getting this post done about what was in the box that celebrated our friendships and the 1300 posts I had done. Thank you to all of you that participated. I wish I could have sent a box just like this to each of you.

One reason I was so thrilled when Nellie won this give away is that it is right up her alley. Nellie is a deeply spiritually person with a list as long as your arm every week of the things she is grateful for. Every Thursday she does her Thankful Thursday post and I am borrowing her thankfulness here to give you a sampling of who she is.

"I am thankful

for this lovely book Bonnie sent me,

Called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.
I have never heard of her before, but from the 3
chapters we have read already, I feel like It is
really speaking to me and I feel like she is talking
about the same things the Lord has been teaching
me in the last almost 2 years since I have been
blogging and doing Thankful Thursday.
What an affirming book for me!!
Bless you Bonnie
for this sweet gift!

#8

I am thankful

for these absolutely delightful and delectable

chocolate covered cherries!
Now these are not those typical chocolate
covered cherries with the creme in the middle.


These babies

are big, and delicious with real dried cherries
at the center covered in chocolate and a
burgundy red coating of yogurt or something!


Hubby is always so happy when I offer him one!! lol

#9
I am also thankful
for these wonderful cheese sticks.
OH MY, are they the yummiest and sooo crispy!!
I love love love crispy foods, so they were perfect
as well. They actually remind me of some hor'derves
that an old friend used to make using Stella Dora
bread sticks, bacon, and Parmesan cheese.
Awesome!!

#10
I am thankful
for the beautiful birds nest on the front of the
book jacket, because it reminds me of the
time we had a nest with birdies in our shed,
and it was so sweet to go out there and see
the cute lil eggs and then later those lil babies
chirping for their Mommy to bring them food.
So Adorable!!


and what is it about birds nest anyway???
they just thrill us so................
Maybe it is the Mom in us that likes to
feather and build our nest, who knows,
all I know is a birds nest is tops in my
opinion."

So that is Nellie just so bright and cheerful and fun to know!
Click here for view her blog and the remainder of this post.

I am so glad that Nellie enjoyed the treats, trust us these cherries are to die for! But mostly the gift was One Thousands Gifts by Ann Voskamp. This book has just astounded me with its concepts, insights, and the joy of reading such beautiful prose, or is it poetry? She just has such a beautiful and unique way of sharing her thoughts and feelings about gratitude and makes you see things with eyes wide open and a heart full of love and thanks for life, the individual moments and God. You can find Ann's blog and information about the book and how to get it here.

This is a book to be savored, marked, and kept nearby for easy reference and as a reminder. To say I love it is the best recommendation I can give it. I am still not finished reading it completely because it requires thoughtful meditation about every two sentences. I bought several copies and need to do that again. The truth of what she is saying is in the assurity that you have always known this on some level. And it increases your desire to live it more fully through the simple exercise of naming your gifts, one by one on paper. It will open your eyes in ways you cannot imagine until you actually do it.

Love and a happy Sunday to you all. If you missed our day trip from this week, it is just below this post. I found that even though I posted it pretty early it is did not hit the blog rolls and Google reader until quite a bit later in the day yesterday. I particularly enjoyed the photos from this week. So scroll down and join us on the adventure if you haven't already!