Ten on the Tenth....

     We finally all succumbed to the requisite cold bug for wintertime in Arkansas.  David is almost over it; Phil and I are in the throes of it.  So this blog comes to you by way of Stopped-Up-Heads and Tissues-R-Us in the capital city of the great state of Woo Pig Sooie.. .Razorbacks... (And, no, I don't have any cold medicine in me as I write....Ha!)

     Things the cold bug has made me appreciate...
     1. First on the list would  be my sister-in-law and niece who brought us OTC cold medicine tonight and chocolate cake.  This may not sound like much. But neither Phil nor I feel like hunting for cold meds right now and we're running low.  Plus, my sweet sister-in-law can be within a 5 mile vicinity of a sinus germ and get sick.  So she went above and beyond the call of duty and we are grateful.  We never doubt her love for us.

     2.  I actually appreciate being able to breathe - something I take for granted every day. Now that we are all walking around with our mouths open, looking like Nemo underwater, I appreciate the effortlessness of daily breathing and feel for those who are permanently dependent on oxygen and other devices to help them breathe.

     3.  I am grateful that when I snap my husband's head off, he doesn't snap back.  (He says there is a reason why he doesn't but I don't think I'll go into that...)

   4.  I'm grateful that none of us had to go to work today. Work is a blessing but being able to lay in bed guilt-free when you could work but really don't feel like it - that is also a blessing.

   5.  I'm grateful for the rainy day we had.  Almost like mother nature is in sympathy with our blowey noses and our watery eyes... almost like the weather is cavalierly saying, "Take the day off!!  There's nothing you can do out here anyway in all this mud and such."  So.... we did!

  6.  I'm grateful for a warm house and electricity, blankets and also for  little dogs who curl up by your feet when you feel like heck.  Also for the two bird feeders in our front yard and the ability to watch the little guys come out in the rain to feast - a Cardinal against a grey sky, a small black-and-white Woodpecker hanging on to the small feeder.  Blessings...

  7.  I'm grateful for all the days when we don't feel like heck and for the fact that this is our first really bad cold of the 11-12 winter.

  8.  I'm grateful for the internet and the fact that I can listen to neat stories through Dr. Dobson's Family Talk Radio - people like Ravi Zacharias, people that I would never be able to meet or hear without electronic devices.  Being sick gives me the desire and the time  to sit still and listen.

  9.  I am grateful for the way the Lord meets me every morning when I open my Bible and prayerfully start reading.   This afternoon I was thinking that I didn't really have any friends to talk to and even if I did, they couldn't understand me since my head is clogged and I'm not exactly speaking English right now...:)  Then I remembered how He meets me every day and has lifted my heart every time over the past week or so and I felt joy, knowing my best friend is ready to visit  with me at the drop of a hat and I don't have to worry about Him getting my germs or understanding my words...

10.  I am thankful for all the blessings that God gives, both in this life and in the next.