Happy THANKFUL Thursday!

What a beautiful morning is taking shape outside my window. The sun is shining brighter than it has in several days, the humidity is low, and the temperature is comfortable. I've got the windows open to let in some fresh air and blow out the old air-conditioned stuffiness.

Everything is green, green, GREEN after Tuesday's rain (I emptied 5 inches out of the rain gauge!) and the veggies in the raised beds and pots are finally starting to take off. There are a LOT of little green tomatoes out there and I've picked some cucumbers and a couple of zucchini. The peppers are coming. There is just so much to be thankful for...it's a good thing it's time to link up with Rebecca Jo @ Knit By God's Hand for Thankful Thursday.

This week I am thankful...

* to finally be seeing a bit of improvement with my ankle. It hasn't been hurting all the time the last couple of days, but I do have to be careful of being on it too much or walking on uneven ground that causes it to lean in too far.

* my husband was able to fix the kids' plumbing problem for minimal $$ and it only took a couple of hours. It's a blessing that he is able to fix just about anything. It's been a very rare thing during 34 years of marriage that I've had to call a repairman.

* for the way my husband takes our son-in-law under his wing and teaches him about fixing things and lends or gives him tools. Our s-i-l is a good guy, but doesn't speak much at all. He seems to be bonding with my hubby, though, and opens up to him a bit more.

* for the honest folks selling corn down the road from our house. I hadn't bought from them before and gave it a try earlier this week. Out of 15 ears only 3 were mature. Another 3 were half-way there and the rest were nothing but blisters. I found the farm on Facebook and sent them a private message saying how disappointed I was. They got right back to me, apologized, and told me to stop by the next day and they'd give me another dozen and a half for free. I had to wait for the rain to stop ('cause did I mention we got FIVE inches Tuesday morning?), but when I got there they were really friendly and apologetic and didn't give me any problem at all. Plus, they gave me over 2 dozen ears. I gave some to my mom and we're still working on the rest.

* to be getting rid of more clutter. Our daughter wants to have a garage sale at the end of this month to get rid of all the stuff they moved but don't want to keep (and a lot of stuff the previous home owner left in the house). I don't have a lot of stuff to sell, but it's good to thin the herd a bit. Yesterday I went through all our DVDs and pulled 2 sacks full to get rid of. Our daughter and s-i-l went through them and took a pile to keep and I sent a list to our son and he picked about 10 that he wants. There are still about 30 to go to the sale. (I hate to admit it, but I found a couple of movies we had double copies of.)

* for a great day with our youngest grandson. Our daughter went out to put in job applications yesterday and he was here with me from before 8:00 until nearly 1:00. I got him some breakfast and then he "helped" me rearrange the living room furniture (yeah, I really did that with my ankle) and sort through the DVDs (which meant I had to resort them more than once).

After that I found The Croods on TV and to my surprise he sat and watched all but the last few minutes  of it. He only missed those because he fell asleep. I'd never seen it before and enjoyed it myself. It was really funny and to hear Nicolas Cage's voice coming out of a caveman was pretty surreal.

He didn't sleep long, just enough to charge his batteries, so we went outside to swing for a while and then he mowed about 100 acres worth of grass with his little toy lawnmower that blows bubbles. We capped it off with a picnic lunch on the deck, which he thought was the greatest thing!

* for the 2 little bunnies we've watched grow up this summer and the fun of seeing them playing "tag" all over the yard. And for the fact that they've left my veggie plants alone. Good bunnies!

* to God for everything he has blessed me with, especially His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

* to live in the United States. With all our crazy faults and problems, there is still no other country I'd rather live in.

* for all of life's experiences...the good, the bad, and the downright ugly...because they have all shaped me and brought me to where I am right now.

* for each one of you. Wishing you a day blessed with peace and joy!