I give thanks for: blue sky and big puffy clouds, rain when we get some, corn-on-the-cob picked from the field an hour before we cook and eat it, and yellow watermelon from Texas.

For homemade ice-cream, waking up in the morning and a warm place to rest at night, for the ability to speak, hear, taste, touch, and feel. For those whom I love and who love me. For tiny little things like purple flowers, pine cones in bright green moss, blue dragonflies, a big furry dog wagging his tail, and a horse wuffling deep in his throat.

For the quarter I find on the sidewalk, the garden coming to life in spring and going to rest in winter, our home, friends, and family. For education and learning, our freedom and those who serve to protect it. For those who need service and hope, and the God who provides.

For the stars in the sky and the way they are the biggest picture book ever with so many stories to tell, for the amber glow on the eastern horizon promising the new beginning after the failure of yesterday. For the Psalms so rich and full, and the way that first view of the mountains heading west takes my breath away.