goodbye, double nickels....

 Camille explained in detail why I am not double nickels plus a penny.  So I'll just say it:  56.

We won't go down the rabbit hole of questions, how did I get so old?  Where have the years gone?

Here are some things I am thankful for, on my birthday, in no particular order:

Samuel.  My son Samuel James.  He's in the Army Reserves.  Last night he was heading here from Virginia, a good seven hour drive, so he could see us for a few hours before going to bed, and reporting this morning for duty, for a two week training exercise at base in northern NY state.  We were very excited about getting to see him.  Well.  He stopped for gas in rural Pennsylvania, and oops, locked the keys in the trunk.  His ordeal turned into a three hour wait for assistance, after getting accidentally hung up on a few times, after being on hold for multitudes of minutes, then the fun of getting into the trunk...but here's the thing:  Samuel worked at being thankful throughout this whole thing.  He was thankful he had his phone and his wallet with him.  The time he spent at that gas station in rural Pennsylvania ate up the hours he would have had at home.  He did not like this, but he still saw the whole thing as an opportunity to be faithful to God, and to know with certainty that the very hairs of our heads are numbered.  All things work together for the good for those who love God...

(We hope to see him on his way back, after the two weeks...)

I'm thankful to live out here in the country, and for our grill...last night, the girls made a tomato/fresh mozzarella/fresh basil pizza. 

 I grilled the chicken.  First I marinated it in lemon juice, with coarse ground pepper and a dash of olive oil.  I dried it off, coated it in olive oil, then grilled it.  While it browned up, I brushed on a mixture of honey, freshly chopped ginger, regular ginger, cayenne pepper, melted butter, and a bit of brown sugar.  This is sweet and sticky, and the ginger and cayenne give it a bite, paired with the lemon zing, oh dear, it was good.

(I skipped the pizza, although it looked delicious, and had a bowl of shredded cabbage with salt and pepper.)

I put the grill on low, closed it up, sat down, and enjoyed being outside.

I bought myself a birthday present, this new mat from Aldi, $6.99.  

Sunny is so cute...

Birthday flowers from Paul.

In a little while, Emily, Abigail, Mariel, and Evelyn are going to be here, we are going to a few wineries!  I am so excited, it's one thing to have daughters, it's another thing to actually be friends with them!  We're only planning to do one tasting, and just buy a few bottles, but the Finger Lakes are so beautiful, and it's such a nice day...82 and mostly sunny.  

The fact that these girls also get along with each other is another beautiful thing.  Oh, it's not without some give and take, some humility and some work, and there can be little spits and spats, but forgiveness is also beautiful...forgiving and forgetting.  

Anyway, I'm thankful for the very knowledge that God has a plan for us.  This world is a rocky place sometimes, so much corruption and upside-down-ness, but those who trust in Him will not be put to shame.