Life Lessons From the Window Seat

S is for Seven. After today that's how many letters remain in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. It's been fun and it's been a challenge. Blogging with a houseful of people requires a bit of finagling. Onward...

S is for Sunrise 

'the apparent rising of the sun above the horizon; 

also: the accompanying atmospheric effects'

If you've been reading here for a while then you know I have a small obsession with the sunrise. We have prime viewing out of any window on the backside of our house, but my favorite place to watch it happen is from the upper deck. 

And I like to snap a photo while I'm there. 

Or ten photos. 

Or possibly 365. 

Hubs teases and asks me why I take the same picture every morning but I assure him I do not. One sunrise is not like any other and my pictures are the proof. 

Recently Joanne (Slices of Life) shared some of her favorite sunrises and sunsets and it got me thinking about why it is I'm so drawn to the early morning skies. Why all the sunrises? And why now? 

One of the reasons I'm more tuned in to the sunrise in this house is because it's hard to miss. I step quietly out of my bedroom in the early hours of the morning and there it is. Sometimes soft and dreamy brushstrokes in a pastel painted sky...

...sometimes awash with all the colors of the rainbow. 

It can, quite literally, take my breath away. There are things about the sunrise that speak to me in this season that feel almost sacred. 

The sunrise tells me it's a new day, with no mistakes in it yet. A fresh start. Blank slate. No regrets. 

The sunrise fills me with hope. Anything is possible at the start of a brand new day. 

The sunrise says slow down. Breathe. Be present. 

It also tells me time moves fast. If you're not paying attention you'll miss it. Life is like that too. 

The sun rising fills me with awe for the One who made it, for the staggering beauty of this world, and the power so evident in nature.

 

The sunrise reminds me of the value of stillness and quiet, things I'm always looking for in this too noisy world.

The sunrise reminds me of the faithfulness of God. Every single day the sun rises. He never fails. 

My favorite verse, which is in my blog header but worth posting twice...

'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23

Ten On The Tenth

Joining Marsha today for her monthly 10 on the 10th prompt which is this-

I didn't do a year end recap on my blog this year, so I'm thinking this might take it's place. Scrolling back through the prior year's pictures it's funny the moments you see captured there that were so special as you lived them, but that were then pushed to the recesses of your mind as time rolled forward. It was fun to pull them out and dust them off.  

Here are ten for keeps..

1. A new little someone to love joined our family in February. 

The baby shower my daughter's friends hosted for her was truly so special. 

These friends praying for Sugar, who arrived just a few weeks later, is a moment I don't want to forget.

My own momma meeting her for the first time a few weeks later is another memory I'll treasure. 

2. There was a whole lot of lake fun this year-

3. Cousin time was for sure a favorite...

And even with all the comings and goings and people moving countries we still managed to squeeze in a whole lotta fun with grandkids in the house. 

4. Lots of happy celebrations happened this year, including a 2nd birthday..

Fireworks on the 4th of July...

A summer bridal shower and traveling to two different weddings of kids we knew when they were still just kids...

5. There were some fun weekends spent with college friends...

6. A great big outdoor project that will be enormously enjoyed in 2025...

7. Tea in Cambridge with my daughter on my birthday was a 5-star highlight from 2024...

That day was part of a fabulous trip to England taken with my hubs to mark our 40th anniversary....

8. Not enough sister time in 2024, but what we did have was special...

And I loved that my momma had a day at the lake with her three girls plus one granddaughter all together...

9. As always I am so grateful for the beauty that surrounds us...

10.  And last but not least, there was the Christmas holiday spent with littles to round out the year.

There was an awful lot to love in 2024. I knew this of course, but looking back and writing it down helps make it all stick. And while I'm sure I could have made a list of things I'd rather forget, it felt really good to count my blessings. 

'Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.' Ralph Waldo Emerson