Giving Thanks

Life is really scary right now! My grandmother is a child of the Great Depression and I have always been grateful that I have lived in a somewhat economically stable time. Now I wonder what the economy like will be for my children. Will they be children of a great depression?
Everything has become about money and the bottom line. Even my favorite radio DJ lost his job because of the economy! Those usual worries in life have grown tenfold. Our ways of thinking have changed. We now face challenges that we once thought to be the worst case scenerio; they now become have reality.
I will admit that for about two days last week, my prayers to God were angry ones. Then a good friend of ours reminded me to remember to be grateful. I then remembered a talk given in church one day about gratitude. I was given the challenge to give a prayer in which I did nothing but give thanks to God about anything and everything. I was also challenged to give more thanks in my daily prayers. I found that my prayers changed drastically! and so did my relationship with God, my family and friends.
After my angry prayers, I apologized to God for taking it out everything on him and began to give thanks. I started listing off things that I was grateful for. I did this while I was driving to work, while I was working out, while I was eating my lunch and anytime that I had a spare moment to list off things that I am grateful for.
Though I am still facing reality, my needs have become smaller because I already have so much. I still worry about our needs but I know I am not without. The atmosphere of my day changed. My attitude changed and I could tell a difference in my interaction with others was kinder.
So this Thanksgiving, try listing off the things that you are grateful for and don't just do it today! Do it everyday! The hardships will be there but they will become lighter when you remember to give thanks.
I am thankful for you.... my friends and my family; old and new. For all that you are and all that you do, I thank you.
I am thankful for Hotstuff! for his laughter, his love and his patience with me.
I am thankful for Miss May.... thank you for rescuing me from my grief.
I am thankful for Bubba Jones... thank you for rescuing me from myself.
I am thankful for my parents... for the lessons they taught me.
I am thankful for Granny Chamberlain, Papa and Grandma Palmer... thanks for your love, support and patience.
I am thankful for all of my siblings; Hotstuff's siblings and step-siblings are included in that.
I am thankful for a home, a car that works, a good job, health insurance, the change in my pocket, the money in the bank [when we have money =) ], the food I have in my kitchen, heat and a/c, running water that is hot and cold, indoor plumbing! and though our carpet is over 30 years old atleast it is not a dirt floor!
I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
I am thankful for the life I have and the country that I live in. For the freedoms given to me by those who have fought and still fight to insure that I have those rights.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
~Honey

Pneumonia and the new car

It snowed last wednesday and I couldn't get to work. So I called in and told them I couldn't make it in. Besides that I was having the most incredible chest pains. I was not feeling 100% and thought that I just had a chest cold but then something felt off. So I skipped work and call my doctors office. I go in and talk with the doctor for a few minutes and he suggest getting a chest x-ray. Sure!! No problem! It's only the second time this year I have had a chest x-ray! (the first time it showed that I had pluerasy- an infection in my lungs). I get the chest x-ray done and when the films are ready the doctor goes over them with me.
"You see this side of you lung? you see how clear the lines are? and you see the other side of your lungs and how they are all fuzzy?" he says to me.
"Well, you've got pneumonia!"
PNUEMONIA!!!! I am flabbergasted! and yes that is a real word. Thank goodness for PTO. I took the rest of the week off and stayed home. I felt well enough to work but I decided to take it easy and not aggravate my lungs. Hotstuff hates when his lungs get aggravated! It's just so aggravating he says.
So while I am home with pneumonia.... our wonderful car that Hotstuff and I have had since we
were first married had hit old age. It was 9 years old with 147k miles on it. It got to the point where we were starting to put more money into it than what it was worth. Solution: new car. We went in to just check out our options and ended up driving home a silver 2008 Pontiac G6 with only 21650 miles on it. It's like riding in a space ship that get's 30 miles per gallon. We got the best deal on it!! Many dealerships are trying to stay in business that they are almost giving away their cars. They gave us for a trade-in $2,000 more than what our car was worth and knocked $7000 off the asking price. It is a buyers market!
That was my week.... how was yours?
~honey

"Carve-nival"

As a family tradition, every year we hold the Palmer Family "Carve-nival". We hold it the saturday before Halloween. We generally just have family but this year we extended it to some friends. We get together, carve pumpkins and enjoy dinner. This year I served white chilli. YUMMMMM! This is a family tradition that was started on Miss May's first halloween.

For halloween, Miss May dressed up a tinkerbell and Bubba Jones went as a dog. We hope that all of you had a very Happy Halloween!

~honey