November Twenty-Twenty-Two

 

Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.   -Robin Wall Kimmerer

The best memories are made while wearing a silly costume. -J.J. Kissinger

New York Marathon Recap

Just because you are happy it does not mean that the day is perfect but that you have looked beyond its imperfections. – Bob Marley 

It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world. -Mary Oliver 

If the only prayer you ever said in your whole life was “Thank you,” that would be enough. -Meister Eckhard

Research on emotion shows that positive emotions wear off quickly. Our emotional systems like newness. They like novelty. They like change. We adapt to positive life circumstances so that before too long, the new car, the new spouse, the new house--- they don’t feel so new and exciting anymore.  But gratitude makes us appreciate the value of something, and when we appreciate the value of something, we extract more benefits from it; we’re less likely to take it for granted.  In effect, I think gratitude allows us to participate more in life. We notice the positives more, and that magnifies the pleasures you get from life. Instead of adapting to goodness, we celebrate goodness. We spend so much time watching things- movies, computer screens, sports- but with gratitude we become greater participants in our lives as opposed to spectators. -Robert Emmons

When I am grateful, I am neither rushing nor slouching through my day- I’m dancing. -Br. David Steindl-Rast

Gratitude is like a flashlight. It lights up what is already there. You don’t necessarily have anything more or different, but suddenly you can actually see what it is. And because you can see, you no longer take it for granted. – M.J. Ryan 

I believe, every day, you should have at least one exquisite moment. - Audrey Hepburn

Continue / To let gratitude be the pillow / Upon which you kneel to / Say your nightly prayer / And let faith be the bridge / You build to overcome evil / And welcome good

—Maya Angelou,  “Continue ”

Sibling Love

 

I love the resignation on Anna's face as she is holding up her brother who just pounced on her back....

sibling love indeed :) 

O Christmas Tree!

year 3 of cutting down our Christmas tree at Muskrat Flats Tree Farm

80 Years Loved

What a treat to have a slumber party in Anacortes last night to celebrate Gene's 80th! Tracey found a banner that she sent with us for the occasion that captured it the best: "80 Years Loved."  

another November birthday girl who got a special plate 

really fun candygram 80th birthday card that Tracey commissioned me and Anna to make for Papa 

cheers to 80 years! 

Rafiki Run 2022

We are so grateful for those who supported us for our annual Rafiki Run this year at Seward Park in Seattle as we raised over $7600 for Children of the Kingdom! We could not have had a more beautiful day with blue skies and with Mount Rainier showing up to cheer us on. YAY! 

Thanksgiving Holiday 2022, cont.

Looking back through our notebook of Thanksgiving letters that we have from the past 26 years, I came across this one from 2016 where I quoted Andrew Peterson in my reflections that bears repeating here:  "I sat down a few days ago to record my memories of the last year. My initial impulse was to write down all the good stuff, the successes, and the happy surprises. Then I started writing down the bad stuff, and I felt a pang of guilt because I was more or less complaining. Then I began to see all the ways the bad memories had shaped me and my family, the way they had given birth to redemptive moments. Remembering the good is important but you can too easily paint a false picture. Remembering the bad can turn into a litany of complaints. The trick is to remember it all and to remember the hard stuff in the right way, because sometimes the bad is where the great is hiding."  

The colors on our run to the Arboretum on Friday were spectacular! 

Camellias blooming in November

Taylor at the World Cup Watch Party at the Hestad's

prank gift boxes that keep on giving :) 

Thanksgiving Recap 2022

 

Thanksgiving morning run at Redmond Watershed with Lila, Elizabeth, and Maegan

Seward Park 

along Lake Washington Blvd. 

quick stop at the Valley of the Gnomes on the way home 

top chef making his recipe of choice (fried chicken) for Thanksgiving 

Cheers! 

Thanksgiving dinner with Megan Kibby joining us (sweet friend of Janie's whom she took under her wing when she was a student at Belmont many years ago and who now lives here in Seattle) 

fancy Chick-fil-A sauce on our table :)