Speak Thanks

Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to enjoy family and friends. We "give thanks" for all the blessings in our lives. My thought for today is to be sure we "speak thanks" to anyone and everyone in our lives that make us feel loved and happy. Let what's in your heart overflow and be expressed from your lips.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this beginning of the holiday season. Share the love.

Dear Lord

Thank you for the beauty and contentedness that cushions our lives

Thank you for my husband and life partner, who is so good to me

Thank you for our families that are very important to us

Thank you for the dear people directed into our path to be friends

Thank you for our good health that allows us to be strong and active

Thank you for providing so many opportunities to enjoy your world

Thank you for the leisure we have after long work careers

Thank you for your patience in suffering my weaknesses

Life is good

Just one thing…

Dear Lord, please guide my mother to prepare for her surgery by helping her stop smoking.  Expect a battle of wills.  Please dispatch an angel to keep her under a wing while they shore up her heart.  We would love to have her here with us for a while longer.  Thank you.

Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς
Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Thank You for Being a Friend

It’s a rainy day in Chicago, but I am surrounded by the virtual sunshine emanating from my friends and am feeling grateful.

I enjoy our get-togethers for golf, cocktails, lunch, or dinner almost more that I can express. Your unexpected phone calls delight me. The generosity of your invitations overwhelms me. Favors offered are heartwarming. Your emails and Facebook status postings and photos help me feel connected from far away. Visits are joyfully anticipated. Encouragement for my blogs from readers goes a long way to inspire me.

Through all these avenues of communication, I am getting to know and love you more. Thank you for everything,

Hugs and kisses are always gratefully accepted,
Laurel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOqyygAQSX0

Giving Thanks

Since my blog day falls on Thanksgiving, I thought I would keep it short and sweet. I am thankful for so much these days, it's good to ponder my good fortune.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband, Ron; for his love, companionship, care, and friendship. I am also amazed by his tolerance of all my foibles. It ain't easy being married to a Haropulos woman.

I love and appreciate my immediate family - Mom, Xandy, Althea, and Jason, and every one of my extended family members. We share many treasured memories, and I look forward to creating more. I miss my Dad, but appreciate all he did to love and provide for us and help us grow into worthwhile adults.

My friends are a constant source of joy, comfort, and amusement. It has been a real pleasure to reconnect with so many via Facebook this year. Sometimes technology really can be a blessing.

This new life Ron and I have built in Chicago is so perfect for us at this point in our lives. We love our urban home, and all the stimuli that comes with living in the city.

Thank God for our health, and the ability to be mobile and enjoy walking, exercising, golf, and the other activities that help keep us feeling young.

And I give thanks for the opportunity to life a more simple life now, as a result of hard work and planning for many years. I need and want fewer "things", I have time to savor our blessings, and I am hopeful about our prospects for continuing to live an active life of comfort and joy for many years to come.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, with love from the Baileys.