Today, I am grateful for...
• Being able to hear a barrage of happy made-up songs in my girl's tinkly little sweet voice, singing like nobody is listening, singing without a care in her world. I am humbled, hearing her sing.
Earlier this week a local girl, seven year-old Mikayla Francis, lost her life to a rare form of cancer after a brief battle with the illness. Her parents had been advised to move Christmas forward by two weeks and celebrate it with her, which they did. They will not hear their little girl again this lifetime. That is a long, long time to go without a sound that fills your soul as a parent. I have great empathy for any family going through their first Christmas without their child/ren - Steve and I will go a lifetime having never heard Ellanor's voice (save for a few sweet-sounding premie 'mews') and it is still something that gnaws at me, haunts me. My heart goes out to this brave and beautiful family and the many others who are sheltering their own torn and broken hearts this festive season.
• My iPhone.
There, I admitted it (after previously making the grand statement to my husband on being presented with it - as a hand-me-down - that I didn't need any "fancy-shmance phone that has no buttons"). Even if only for the awesome camera, which isn't nearly as good as the camera on his iPhone4 (which is amazing... and the video recorder? even MORE amazing!).
My phone enables me to take photos like this...
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• Our stupid dog.
She still, after six years, makes me laugh so much. We took her for a 90 minute walk yesterday. Apparently, she's a little out of shape. When we got home, poor Jazz flopped on the floor and there she stayed until dinnertime. At the time of taking this photo, she couldn't be roused for comment.
• Despite my disdain of all the rain (when will it stop, already?!), I am really quite awed by this crazy weather we're having.
As long as it doesn't cause any more property damage, I'm quite happy to be stunned into silence when I see views like this outside that make me dash for the DSLR and race to the front yard because nobody will believe me that I was standing under a clear blue sky with sun shining on our trees while watching this darkening (so black with the sun shining on it) "cloud" - if it could be called that, for it was truly ginormous - coming towards us. This huge front passed over our heads and ended up dumping a huge deluge...
So there you have it. Just a few things I'm grateful for, in photos. Of course, that's not to mention the twinkly Christmas lights, not having to go to the shops because I have no Christmas present shopping to do (we have done away with the gift giving and are going with gift making this year... yes.... we are *those* types of friends/relations - the ones who don't get sucked in to duty-bound materialistic giving - so deal with it!), a husband who is cleaning the kitchen for me, a week full of pre-Christmas excitement and advent calendar opening... I could go on and on.
How about you? What are you doing this weekend and in the week leading up to Christmas?
This is part of today's Maxabella Loves.... linky. One of the most feel-good link-ups on the net!
