Counting Our Blessings - Linkup

The Counting Our Blessings Linkup is such an important part of my blog. It's something that defines not only my blog but my life...looking and focusing on blessings. It's not always easy but it's important for my mental well-being. It keeps me focused on my faith in Jesus and that's the most important thing in my life.

It's been extremely hot here and we have been under a heat advisory.  Instead of it cooling down at night as normal, it''s even quite warm at night.  On the evenings that it's not, though, I'm so thankful to be able to sit on my deck and look at the mountains. It's such a calming feeling.

I sit out here and pray to the Lord and always feel much better. I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful view and Someone to talk to anytime I want.  😊

My son made me this beautiful bird house! I absolutely love it and it's hanging at the end of my deck near the food and water for the birds.

I love how he burns the wood as a finish.  It shows off the grain of the wood so beautifully! I know the birds are going to love making their home in this wonderful house.

These lilies were a gift from someone at my son's work. I have enjoyed them so much! They have been blooming non-stop for weeks and bring me such joy!

She gave us a lot of things for our yard including bushes, trees and garlic. I wanted to thank her for all her kindness and so I made her this for her home.

The roses and rose buds are a deep purple that doesn't show up that great in this picture.  It's her favorite color so I wanted to make it personal for her.  I hope she likes it.

What would have taken me maybe an afternoon to paint, this welcome sign took me over a week.  Recovery from cancer and chemo is a very slow process and I'm exhausted every day. I don't feel well most days but I'm thankful for the fact that I'm in remission and that I WILL get better.  I have faith that the Lord has a plan for me - just like He has a plan for you!

Please share your blessing on the linkup below. It can be something you made, something that blessed you, an article that encourages, or anything that will bless others. Thank you for being a part of my blog!

Linkup!

Hello friends:

I'm changing my linkup as I think so many don't participate because they think they have to share blessings only.  That has never been the case but in the effort to help us all connect more, I want this to be a linkup that everyone will feel comfortable participating in.  Please do share your blessings if you'd like, but also share things you're making, a recipe, a book you're reading, or just a blog post that you think others will enjoy and be blessed by.

I have been feeling a bit better and have finally had the energy to paint.  I just finished this beautiful piece that was designed by Kim Christmas. Her designs are so fun and such a joy to paint! This took me a lot longer than it normally would but I'm so glad to be able to feel good enough to paint at times.

My cross stitch is still on the back burner as my fingers are still numb from the chemo.  I'm hoping that they come back to life soon. I've been able to crochet off and on, as with the painting, so little by little, I'm getting back to the things I love.

I am reading a lot of new, wonderful books that I will be sharing about soon.  I'm not doing as much book reviewing for others so will also share about books that I chose to read just for myself.

Please do share on the linky below!


Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup

Hello friends.  I hope you are keeping safe and enjoying your time at home. I have been self-isolating for so long because of the chemo, this doesn't seem strange to me.

It's been two weeks since my surgery and I'm doing pretty good.  I'm still very tired and having some pain, but I can handle all this as I know it will pass.

Many of you know that my husband was in the hospital for seven weeks before Christmas and have been asking me how he's doing. He has his up and down days. They gave him medications that he should have never had and it has done something to his brain. He has problems with hallucinations and getting confused. Some days, he's very lucid and those are the days that give us hope that he will completely recover from this. We are working with him every day to help him and I am so very blessed to have my sons to help me. They are here all the time to help me because I couldn't take care of him on my own.  Please pray for my husband, David - for a miracle and his complete healing

My youngest son got me these adorable cactus. I have always loved cactus and these just brightened my day

I have them on my desk where I an enjoy them all the time.

When I was in the hospital, I was so blessed to look out and see this view

Isn't that absolutely gorgeous? If you have to be in the hospital, it's nice to have a beautiful view!

It's also getting warm enough here that we set up our deck chairs today so we can start going out and enjoying the outdoors.  Honestly, I feel like I haven't sat in the sunshine for so long! I know it's going to do me good both physically and mentally.

The linkup is below and I hope you'll share a post from your own website or blog with others.  It's so great to be able to share our lives in this way and bless others with what we are up to.



Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup

It's been quite a while since I did the Counting Our Blessings Linkup but I thought today was the perfect time to restart our little linkup parties!

As many of you know, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer months ago (goodness, how many months? Seems a lifetime now) and that I started chemotherapy in October of last year. After six treatments, I had a pet scan and was told that they saw no cancer except in the uterus.  They did the hysterectomy last Tuesday, March 24th (exactly one month after my last chemo treatment) and, Praise God, they found no cancer anywhere except a small spot in my uterus - which is obviously gone now! Praise Jesus!! My doctor's were amazed and delighted. My Oncologist is a Christian man - a praying man - and that was such a blessing as I went into this battle. Prayer is one of the biggest weapons we have. Even when I wasn't able to pray for myself, I knew others were.

Honestly, I still haven't absorbed this. When I was told I had stage 4 uterine cancer - that it was aggressive - I didn't have a lot of hope that I would actually ever be cancer free. I'm still trying to really hold these words in my heart and accept them.  I know I am in remission and that I won't actually be considered healed until I'm cancer free for 5 years, but I am choosing to live in the moment and find joy that they found no cancer. This is such a huge, huge blessing and I thank the Lord every moment of every day for bringing about this miracle!

I lost my hair early on in the chemo but now it's coming back. Not only that, but it's coming in all white! My grandmother had and mother has the most beautiful white hair so I was really hoping I would get this gorgeous white hair, too. Please don't let this picture frighten you but I wanted to share that indeed my hair is coming back!

Can you see those little hairs? My son calls it's my newborn baby hair! 😂 You can see I have no eyebrows or eyelashes, but those, too, will return. To counteract this frightening picture, let me share a picture of my beautiful grandmother.

See what I mean about her gorgeous hair? So seeing my hair coming back is another blessing. When you lose your hair, it's hard to believe it's going to return but it is!

I had so many people praying for me. I received cards and gifts and words of encouragement and that was a blessing! To be remembered when you are going through something like cancer is really important. It's a lonely, isolating disease so to get emails, notes, and gifts is such an uplifting thing. Another wonderful blessing.

Speaking of isolating, I was isolating way before all this Coronavirus started. When your immune system is compromised, believe me, you stay home as much as possible. The fear of getting sick is something on one's mind constantly. So when all this started, I was a pro! I'm used to staying home and, thankfully, I'm a homebody and an introvert, so this has not been as hard for me as it might be for someone else.

I am so blessed by my sons, who have been with me through this every step of the way. My youngest son went with me to the hospital for my surgery but they had started the new rules of no one but the patient in the hospital. Oh my goodness, that was so hard for me. However, he stayed close by and I was treated so wonderfully by everyone in the hospital. It was quite eerie because there was hardly anyone there but I also got a lot of attention and it was a good experience. I did have to have a unit of blood but all went well and I only had to stay over night.  Another blessing!

I hope you'll participate in t he linkup. It's so wonderful to focus on our blessings and share them with others - especially right now when we are all needing a bit of encouragement. So share on the linky below a post from your own blog that will bless others!


Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving! There is so much to be thankful for even in the hard times. God blesses us all the time and I love that we focus on that through this linkup. 😊

I cooked for Thanksgiving and did it over four days. I knew if I took my time, I could do it! I ordered my groceries online and then all we had to do was pick them up. I love this service, especially right now when I can't do the shopping and I don't want to add to my husband's growing list. Our store does such a fantastic job and it's really a blessing having this service when you're unable to go to the store.  They even take our coupons so you save just as much as if you did it yourself. Yay!

The only down side to our Thanksgiving was that my oldest son got sick and couldn't come over. I had just had a phone call two days before telling me my white blood cell count was down to dangerous levels so I can't be around anyone sick for sure! I felt so bad that he couldn't come over as I was so looking forward to having my whole family around me. It was just one of those things that happens that makes one sad.

We had a wonderful meal and I was so thankful to have my husband and youngest son share in our bounty. Here's my turkey and it was so delicious!

We had this delicious turkey, homemade dressing (stuffing), creamed corn, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, marshmallow fluff salad, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie and chocolate pie. It was a feast!

I also made sure we took pictures this year. Sometimes I forget to take pictures of my family and then I feel so bad.  I even dressed up! 😂

Here's a picture of my husband and I.

The little hat I'm wearing was a gift from a new friend.  She sent me a huge box of beautiful hats and scarves and I have so enjoyed picking out a new one to wear all the time! Thank you to my new friend, Julie, for blessing me with such a beautiful gift!

This is my youngest son and me

He has been such a huge blessing to me. He takes of work every time I have to go and do chemo and he drives me there and then sits with me for seven or more hours while I have the drugs administered. He is truly a treasure!

Finally, one of my son and my husband

These two bless me in so many ways! My husband serves me with joy and cares of me in so many ways. I am so thankful for both these wonderful men!

Going through cancer and chemo treatments is something like going through fire. I am so thankful that God promises that He is with us when we go through things that feel like we will be overtaken.

I had my third chemo treatment yesterday. I went there wondering if I would be able to have it because the week before, as I said, my white blood count was dangerously low. They tried to get my insurance company to approve a shot that would help my body produce more white blood cells, however, with the holiday week, it didn't get approved. So when I went to my doctor's office (2 hours away, remember), I wasn't sure if I would be allowed to have this treatment. I had been praying the whole week before that my blood levels would be normal.  Not only was I praying, but my family and friends were praying, too.  God answered those prayers! When they did my blood test, my white blood count was back to normal! Only God! I am so thankful that He cares and blesses in so many ways.  It may seem strange that I actually wanted the chemo treatment, but my son takes off from work to take me and if I hadn't been able to have my treatment yesterday, I would have had to go back down again and he would have had to take off from work again.  Not only that, but I get so nervous before these chemo treatments that it's hard on me. Waiting to do it would have really given me great anxiety so it was such a wonderful blessing to just get it done!

So now we come to a cross road. They will be doing a ct scan on me in two weeks to see if those spots on my lung and liver are gone.  If they are, then we will do a hysterectomy and I feel like that would help me so much.  Right now, I am fighting against the very thing that is producing the cancer so to have that removed, would give me more of a fighting chance. So dear friends, that is my prayer request this week - that the ct scan will show those spots gone and then I can have surgery. They would do the surgery quite quickly so that made me feel better, as well.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

Again, I have been so blessed by friends who have sent me beautiful gifts! I will be sharing pictures of them with you soon.  Every time I receive a package or a card, it brightens my day so much! To be remembered as you're going through something like this brings a lightness to my heart and swells my heart with joy at being remembered and loved. Having cancer is isolating so these thoughtful gifts and cards help lighten that feeling.

What are your blessings this week? I hope you'll share on the linky below! Remember, it can be something you made, a celebration, a recipe, something you learned through Scripture, or anything that blessed you and will bless others.  Thank you for being a part of this linkup!



Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup!

It's time to count our blessings for the week. Sometimes we have to really dig to think of even the smallest blessing and sometimes they come as if in buckets, but either way, God does bless us each and every day in one way or another. It's so helpful to me to focus on them each day and to share some with you every week to give Him the glory and to store them up in my heart for when things seem hard and I need to focus on all He has done. So let's get started!

65.  I was able to get a knee injection last week after my knee being so sore and I'm really thankful for that and for my kind doctor who tries to help me eliminate as much pain as possible. He also has a knee issue and understands what it's like to live with constant pain. I'm so thankful for a wonderful doctor who takes care of me and allows me to live my best possible life.

66. I've been stitching again a lot more and it feels so good! I'm trying to stitch every night while watching my favorite British shows. I've started a new Christmas piece and here's the start.

Here's the kit and picture of what it will look like when I'm done.

This is one of the kits that my hubby and son got me for Christmas last year. I love the Mill Hill kits and all the details they put into them. There are lots of beads in this kit so it's going to really pop when I'm all done. It's so cute!

67.  I'm also painting a bit more and have started on Christmas ornaments in that department as well.  😊 I have learned through the years that it's never too early to start making things for Christmas! Here's my latest project.

They are snowman icicle ornaments. I know it's hard to tell anything right now by looking at them but they are going to be adorable. I'm really enjoying spending time doing what I enjoy and it's such a huge, huge blessing to feel good enough to do these things!

68.  I'm also so very excited to be a part of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid. As a blogger who always wants to keep the focus on God, it's such an honor to be a member of this group that is serious about the Bible and wants to share the good news about Jesus Christ. I will be sharing more about this soon but I am so incredibly blessed and excited to be a part of this!

Now it's your turn...what are your blessings? Please share on the linky below!


Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup!

I am so thankful for all that God allows me to do and blesses me with! I love being able to share the little things I do here with you that mean so much to me. I hope you'll join me in counting your blessings, too!

54.  I am so thankful for all the wonderful books I get to read and review! It's such a huge blessing for a bibliophile like me! I have always loved reading and get this from my Dad who started his day off reading the newspaper and was always reading a historical book. Now I get to read all kinds of wonderful new books and give my opinion! Wow! I also am so blessed to have this little girl as my reading and snuggle buddy

55.  It's been so much fun taking pictures of Mitzi with my books for my new Instagram account. At first she wasn't too sure what it was all about, but she watched Cookie (who is the ultimate ham when it comes to having her picture taken!) and she soon was in the groove! Here's a couple more pictures of  Mitzi with my books or e-readers

I found this great app for my phone that allows me to add all kinds of fun stuff like the crown on her head in this picture. She truly is a little Princess!!

56. I am starting to write again. This is a huge, huge blessing as I had really lost my desire and confidence for my writing. However, I do know that God has give me such a huge testimony that He wants shared. I have renewed excitement to share what Jesus has done in my life and how He has brought me through so many hard situations. His strength gives me a sense of purpose and this has really blessed me. How could I not share this with others?

Now it's your turn to share! Use the linky below to share your own post or leave a comment of how God is blessing you! I can't wait to read your blessings!


Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - LinkUp!

I'm back with our linkup, dear friends! I've been having some bad and good days and sometimes, I just don't have the energy to do everything I'd like to do. But you know what? It's all good because God has seen me through so much and He will continue to heal, strengthen and comfort me. What a blessing!

46.  Remember the beginning of my afghan I showed you last time? I finished it and got it shipped off to the person I was making it for! I made this for my Mother for Mother's Day. 😊

I had a two day marathon to get this done in time to ship it but I made it and she got it a few days before Mother's Day. I think the colors are so pretty!

47.  I finished my Celtic Santa - Wales! I had been anxious about doing the beard and mustache but, you know what, it ended up being quite easy. I did have to take the beard out once because I didn't get it even, but the second time was the charm. Here is my finished Santa!

Next, I will cut him out, make a hanger and then back it with felt. I'm excited to start a new Santa soon from the Celtic series.

48.  Remember this?

Yes, I'm still working on it. After finishing the Santa, I decided to go back to one of my big projects and work on it for awhile. I only have two big projects going and I like to switch back and forth. I have one big project in my craft room and one in my family room so I can work on which ever between little projects.

My stitching has been sporadic because I have aggravated a tendon from my wrist to my thumb. I had x-rays last week and will be getting a shot in my hand next week, which I understand will be almost an instant cure. I'll be so glad! It's quite painful.

Your turn to share your blessings! Share on the linkup below (or in the comments)



Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup!

It's so good to be doing our weekly linkup again. Love to count my blessings!

34. I'm doing quite well after my surgery although I am very, very tired. I was concerned about how tired I am but found out that it's very normal to feel this tired, especially after the type of surgery I had. I rest and sleep whenever I feel like it as I'm sure my body needs it for healing. I am so very, very thankful to the Lord for resolving everything so beautifully!

35. I am slowly adding new foods in and so far, so good. I saw my surgeon last Friday and he removed the drain, so for the first time in six months, I have nothing attached to my body! Such a huge, huge blessing! I will go back in two weeks to have the staples removed.

36. I try to go out on the deck as much as possible during my recovery. I think the fresh air and sunshine are so helpful in healing plus I just enjoy being outside! 😉 I have had a sweet little hummer visiting my feeder and I was finally able to snap some photos of him.

I circled him on this picture in case it was hard for you to see him.

He's the only little hummer I've seen so far this year but he visits the feeder frequently and I love watching him.

37.  I have been doing a little stitching. Not as much as I would like as I'm so tired and stitching relaxes me so much, it makes me even more tired. 😴 Here's my update on the Wales Santa.

Thank you so much for your patience with me on being inconsistent with the linkup these past few months. I'm really praying that things will be getting back to normal and my linkup will be consistent from here on out. I appreciate so much my readers and my friends who have prayed me through everything.

Please share your blessings on the linkup below!


Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings Linkup

I'm getting this posted late, but better late then never! 😉 I was so tired today but managed to get a bit of housework done. The weather has been quite strange this year and one day it's freezing and the next it's 70 degrees! I think that's why I can't shake this sickness. Anyway - let's get on with the blessings!!

23.  My biggest blessing this week was getting my doctor to agree to a referral to a new surgeon. You can read about this in my last post.

24.  I forgot to share the Valentine's gift from my hubby. He got me this beautiful pink mini rose! Isn't it pretty? I love having flowering plants in the house. It brightens our home and cheers me up!

25.  Speaking of flowers, aren't these gorgeous? They smell amazing! 

I had to include this picture, even though the vacuum is right there, because Mitzi was watching me take pictures and she looks so adorable! She's my little angel girl and such a blessing!

26.  I wasn't able to put too many stitches into the Celtic Santa - Wales this week but here's an update with the new stitches in place.

27.  This girl is such a blessing! She absolutely loves sitting in front of the heater on these cold days and evenings. I love this picture because, if you look closely, you'll see she has one eye open and one eye closed! 😄 Many times I'll look over and Mitzi is in one bed and Cookie in the other. 

28.  Look at this adorable thing!

A poodle with bunny ears for Easter! You know, I couldn't pass anything like this up. I absolutely love it. I am always so excited when I find a poodle. 

29.  Finally, we started painting our back bedroom that we're going to turn into a library. The current wall color is not anything I like at all so decided to go with a beautiful turquoise color. It may seem like a lot of color, however, there will be bookshelves around the walls so it will be a great pop of color on the exposed areas.

The color looks more turquoise in real life but this is close to the actual color. I'm absolutely loving it! I don't have a lot of energy right now to get this all done like I would have in the past, but I'm working on it as I can, with my husband's help, and it will get done. 

You can share your own blessings on the linkup below! Thanks so much for reading about mine and for participating in the linkup! 

Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - LinkUp!

It's been a busy week! I wasn't here last week because it was my birthday. I actually got to celebrate two days which was really nice. My sons had to work on my birthday and wanted to celebrate with me so I celebrated on my birthday with my husband and then Friday, we all had another celebration. I am extremely blessed!

102.  On my birthday, my hubby gave me beautiful red roses! It was such a nice surprises!

We went to the movies that night for a special showing of "The Odd Couple". It was so fun to see it at the theater. My hubby had never seen the movie so it was a big treat for him and he really loved it.

Then we went to shop at Michael's and I got a couple of really cute things. I just love the new Caron Cakes and I decided I would like an afghan from this beautiful color. It's called Faerie Cake! Isn't that a wonderful name?

The color is one aqua color after another and I love it! I also got this beautiful binder to hold my calendar for the new year.

I really like what it says, too. It's the large size folder for the 8 1/2 x 11 calendar by Me & My Big Ideas. I have been using this calendar for over a year and love the whole set up. I had the smaller calendar but am anxious to have the larger one for more writing space.

Then we went to WalMart to just kind of window shop. I have been wanting to get another Beta fish once I had my craft room set up in the house and have been watching for them. They never seemed to have them at WalMart but I decided to look again. They had gotten a new shipment so I picked out this little guy.

He is so pretty! I have him on my painting table so I can watch him while I paint. He probably feels like he's in the ocean after going from that little cup to this small aquarium. He's doing so well and I'm enjoying him so much!

103.  Then on Friday, we went to Olive Garden to eat and it was a good day to go! It was Veterans Day so my hubby got his meal for free! He served in the Navy and I'm so proud of him. It was nice for him to be acknowledged for that service. We also got a free appetizer and I got my dessert free because it was my birthday! We had a lovely meal and it was so nice to be with my whole family!

My youngest son gave me this gorgeous purse! I love it!

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?!! I have wanted one for so long but I have never seen one this beautiful! It's a Montana Purse and it's so well made and beautiful. I have a wallet that I've had forever with the cross on it and wanted to get a purse, too, but at the time, couldn't afford it. I was thinking about the purses not long ago but didn't say anything. Amazing how my children know and love me! I was so shocked to see this purse and I adore it! It's a beautiful birthday gift!

My older son gave me gorgeous pink roses! I don't think I've had so many flowers for years and years! To have so many roses - wow!!

We then went to the used book store that I haven't been to for years. It's been here since I've lived here - 30 years - and I had completely forgotten about it. I am looking for those British mysteries I love so much and thought they might have some. Yes, they did! I got a few books and then I was just exhausted and we headed home.

We had wonderful coconut cake for my birthday and then watched a couple shows on tv. It was an absolutely wonderful birthday! I am incredibly blessed!

103.  I've been doing the Scripture writing that I have here on my blog. Here's the Scripture for the 13th written out and clarified on the forms I have available.

If you're interested in joining me on this, you can go HERE to get the list for November and the forms to write them out.  I'll be doing a list for December soon so be watching for it.

Please share your blessings on the linkup below or in the comments. I love seeing how God is blessing you, too!

An InLinkz Link-up

Blessings - Julie