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Thursday, November 23, 2017

A Blessed Thanksgiving.

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Good Morning.

As I sit here trying to find the words to express my gratitude for oh so many things that have happened this past year,

I am smelling a pumpkin custard baking in the oven (a crust-less pie for the gluten-free hubby who never liked crust anyway and always left it behind) bacon sizzling on the griddle, the sounds of my menfolk setting the table.

It’s a tradition here – with all of the cooking that goes into the main Thanksgiving meal, the men take care of breakfast giving me just a bit of reprieve to write and enjoy a bit of the morning with some relaxation before tying an apron on and getting down to the big meal of the day.

My biggest surprise came last night when Jason texted from South Carolina that he WAS coming up to Virginia for Thanksgiving.  He didn’t think he was going to be able to make it work because he flip-flopped his holiday days off so that he could come to Idaho/Oregon with us for his grandpa’s memorial service last weekend.

He walked in my door about 9pm last night.  I guess he hasn’t had enough of us over the past week! 

I am down in the basement studio out of the way typing this post, yet I can hear their stories and banter wafting down the stairwell to where I am.  Life is oh, so good.

This morning’s sunrise.  Click to play:


But my grateful heart would truly be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge the greatest blessing of all.  I got a call from my brother Mark in Arizona whom I’ll be seeing next week.

He had a seizure, and this is a concern with his brain tumor status, so off they went to the oncology center for an emergency MRI.

The following text came yesterday:
“I wanted to share with the whole family that my last MRI from a few days ago showed NO tumor.  It simply wasn’t there. 
We asked the doctor what happened to the tumor and he said ‘it’s probably there somewhere, we know there are cells we just can’t see it.’
We have been praying for a miracle and Sharolyn and I feel as if our prayers have been answered.  Love you, Mark.”
Our hearts are bursting with so much gratitude that we can’t contain it.  The tumor was about half the size of his thumb and was located in the frontal lobe of his brain.  And now not even an MRI can find it.

What caused the seizure?  We don’t know. But we do know that this Thanksgiving really has a deeper meaning to us as a family than those in years past. And when I go to Arizona next week it will be in celebration of the continuation of Mark’s life.

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I enjoyed a long walk with these two – Jeff and Sadie.

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While the saws and drills and hammers were going to re-surface the deck:

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I counted my blessings, every single one as I pressed and cut --

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Running the 6 1/2’’ segments through the 1 1/2’’ Accuquilt die -

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Working through the rainbow, color by color.

Soon all of the pieces needed for the rail section of this year’s Checkerboard Rails Leader & Ender Challenge will be ready for assembly! At this point I’m contemplating a piano key border as I KNOW I’ve cut more strips than I need, but so many things can come out of these strips, I just don’t care.  I’d rather have them cut and ready, than waiting in bins as odd hunks and chunks.

There will be no cutting or sewing this morning – as soon as this hits post, I’ll be stationed in the kitchen, along with many of you.

My best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful day!

11_23_2017

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day with time to count our many blessings and all that we are grateful for.

ONE MORE SLEEP to ON RINGO LAKE!



69 comments:

  1. Yay for good news! So happy for you all!

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  2. The best news ever! I pray it stays gone this time!
    Happy Thanksgiving

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  3. Your news about your brother's tumor brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful blessing for your family. i believe in miracles as our family also experienced a medical recovery that doctors could not explain. I am just so happy for you today!

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  4. Bonnie, that is super great news! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!

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  5. So grateful to hear your good news about Mark!! Its a Thanksgiving miracle! Reading it just gave me goosebumps. Continued prayers for him...made my day! 💕🍁🦃🍗🎉🎉🎉

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. So thankful for the news on your brother. God is good.

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  7. Oh Bonnie! I am so happy that your prayers have been answered for your brother Mark. What a special blessing for your family. Happy Thanksgiving and who will be able to sleep tonight?
    Jayne in Utah

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  8. His is good...everyday! Happy Thanksgiving to the Hunters!

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  9. Bonnie,

    Such wonderful news to head that Mark’s Time was not visible. Having had two Brain MRI’s in 7 months I totally understand how wonderful getting good MRI results is.
    So happy to hear that your friends and family will be with you today.
    My husband will be hunting per his normal Thanksgiving tradition and I will be with one of my daughters and two of my grandchildren and a few more family members feeling blessed and grateful.

    We had to put down our 17-year-old cat yesterday and that was very difficult but probably not as difficult as his last two weeks.
    Looking forward to seeing the Mystery clues coming soon.

    Thank you very very much for all that you do for all of us.

    Patty

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  10. I am grateful that you make a conscious habit to be thankful. It has to be cultivated in good times and bad. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! You are blessed!

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  11. Sending you so much love and many blessings to you and yours, Bonnie! While you have been going through the loss of your dear father-in-law, I have been thinking regularly about your brother and wondering about his health.I lost my brother 14 years ago to Fabrys Disease and it never gets easier. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  12. Wonderful news, God is good!

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  13. So happy to hear the good news about your brother. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  14. So happy for the great news on Marks health, wonderful for your whole family.
    The experience’s you have had recently make me realise how much spending time with your family while you can is. Nobody knows what the future holds, except tomorrow so excited ��, make the most of every day.

    Happy Thanksgiving America ��

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  15. Your Thanksgiving post brought happy tears to my eyes for you. Praise God for miracles! May you and your family enjoy a very blessed day.

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  16. So thankful for answered prayers. Have a Blessed day, surrounded with your family.

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  17. Wonderful news about your brother! Have a great Thanksgiving.

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  18. Tears of joy are falling here for you and yours. It is so funny how you can get connected to someone you have never met but it happened and I always remember Mark in my morning coffee prayers. God's grace shining today. Enjoy your time with the boys and "Gobble 'til you Wobble"!

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  19. The Happiest of Thanksgiving to you and your family today! God does hear and answer our prayers, praise God that miracles still happen. So Happy for Mark! Enjoy your men folk all together, and lavish yourself in motherly love! Have a very blessed day with so much to be thankful for!!! I know I am so blessed to spend one more year with my 90 year old Mother. You just never know how many more we will have together.

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  20. bonnie....a true day of thanksgiving and praise...wonderful news...

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  21. So happy about Mark and the tumor ! Prayers all is well with the seizure.
    Many blessings your way!!

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  22. Praising GOD for the good news from your brother!

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  23. Wonderful news about Mark! So much to be thankful for. I'm also having a special Thanksgiving. Forty-six years ago, I had to give up a baby for adoption. I wasn't old enough, skilled enough or wise enough to be a mom at that time. Every year on the birthday, I thought about this child and wonder how things turned out, but there were never any responses to any of the birth parent registries. This year on that day, I learned that I had a daughter. We connected because her Ancestry DNA was a close match for my youngest sister's. We've been getting to know each other and today I get to meet my 3 grandsons. They live about 5 hours away and are here for Thanksgiving. In another 3 hours, I will meet them!

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  24. Wonderful news! Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family & Loved ones all together today.

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  25. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with your family. Great news about Mark. Oh dear - would be great to make 16 patch blocks with the 1.5" strips for the center of churn dashes. Guess what I will make today.

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  26. That is such good news for all the family Bonnie. Wishing you peace, love and happiness at this special time. Xxxxxx

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  27. Happy Happy Thanksgiving!
    Good news abounds, so very happy to hear prayers have been answered.
    Enjoy the day, because tomorrow all the fun begins.

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  28. Fabulous news about your brothers tumor! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PRAYER,God hears us all. Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁🍽 once again. Enjoy your family.

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  29. So HAPPY that life has balanced your scales a bit! Happy Thanksgiving, Happier Mystery Quilt EVE!

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  30. So happy for your wondrous news! Happy Thanksgiving!!��

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  31. Happy Thanksgiving sooooo happy to hear the good news about your brother. Give him extra hugs and kisses when you see him.

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  32. Wonderful news, I love hearing about answered prayer, thank you for sharing. Blessings to one & all on this beautiful, warm, love filled thanksgiving day.

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  33. The mysteries of life...glad your brother is doing good.

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  34. How wonderful about your brother Mark's clear MRI. Just one more thing to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. And how wonderful that both your boys can celebrate this Thanksgiving Day with you.

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  35. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Bonnie!

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  36. Thanks for sharing such great news about your brother. It gives us all another thing to be grateful for. I am 4 weeks post op from open heart surgery. A miracle of today’s new technology. Another reason to be grateful this Thanksgiving

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  37. Great News! Enjoy your Thanksgiving day with your family all together to share
    in giving thanks for all your blessing. So happy to hear the wonderful news
    about Mark :0)

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  38. Who says miracles don't happen?? Wonderful news!

    Thanksgiving Blessing to you and your whole family :)

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  39. Thank you, Bonnie, for all you give to us every day. Love you! Counting the moments until the big kick off tomorrow.

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  40. Happy Thanksgiving Bonnie. Thanks for all you do.

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  41. Such wonderful news on your Brother, love you Bonnie and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!!!! Can't wait for tomorrow, I'll be sewing with Irene at the shop, wish you were there with us, singing your lungs out and laughing the day away!!!

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  42. Your post brought tears to my eyes. I am overwhelmed for your brother's report. I will keep his name on my prayer list while the seizure's origins are determined. Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

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  43. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Wonderful news about your brother! Thank you for everything you do.

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  44. Bonnie, the message from your brother is the best blessing for today. God is good and He is a very loving God! Have a very blessed Thanksgiving with your family. Looking forward to clue one tomorrow!!

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  45. The news about Mark is totally the best Thanksgiving news ever!!! Praise the Lord and the power of prayer!!! Enjoy your days up at the cabin with your family. Blessed Thanksgiving indeed!!!

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  46. God Bless you and Mark. God works in mysterious ways. I'm so blessed today too. Rec'd a call from my brother Ronnie and he has been in Heart intensive care for 13 days and many health issues. I too have sat at the waiting room last 13 days praying my heart and soul out. He is off his heart monitor and awakening and sounded weak but great report from his Dr that his recovery is going good. I have so many thankful blessings today. Never under estimate the power of God. Always stay humble and kind.

    Happy Thanksgiving my Quilt friends

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  47. Oh now isn't this the best news ever! Way to go Mark! Happy happy happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. :D
    Also to everyone else celebrating.

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  48. Wonderful news concerning your brother. Yes, we all have a lot to be thankful for, if we only stop to think about it and appreciate it.

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  49. What wonderful news, HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Enjoy this beautiful day.

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  50. I will not be able to sleep tonight!! Anticapation is killing me!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!
    Question... I recently bought a studio cutter (love it) how long does it take for the funny smell to go away from those super giant dies??

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  51. What a wonderful answer to prayer for your family. Happy Thanksgiving to you all from Australia.

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  52. Thank you for sharing this awesome news. I've been praying for you and your family.

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  53. Thanks for sharing the "thanksgiving Blessing" about your brother Mark. Although we know life is not without it's trials and we have no guarantees- Life is good and God is always with us. Marsha- Alaska

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  54. I am feeling especially grateful & thankful too.
    Bonnie & All, Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours.

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  55. Oh how wonderful to hear of your amazing miracle!!! Joining you in tears of gratitude!!! Happy Thanksgiving Bonnie to you and yours

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  56. I appreciate all that you share! Rejoicing in the good news and miracle of a tumor gone. What a wonderful reunion it will be next week. Blessings and thankfulness all around!! Hugs, Allison C Bayer Plano, Texas USA

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  57. Thank you for everything. For keeping on going when the internet gets mean, when people get nasty, when things just pile up and get too much. You teach me so much about life and even, dare I say,,,,, quilting. You are a blessing in my life! And I am about to burst waiting for the mystery to start.!

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  58. I belong to a church in CT where we have a healing ministry, and regularly see miracles large and small. It is always AWESOME when a miracle blesses our family. So pleased for your brother and your family. Lots to thank the Creator for, but the gift of life here is beyond words. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

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  59. What good news about your brother!! The power of prayer is amazing. So happy for him and the family. Continued prayers for good health to continue. Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁🦃

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  60. Sending joyful prayers of thanksgiving for the good news for Mark! And continued blessings for all of you!

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  61. Wishing you and all your family a Very Happy Thanksgiving... What fantastic news about your brother's tumor....

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  62. Such wonderful news about Marks tumour what a lovely thing to be able to share on thanksgiving.j your de k is looking great and the sunrise was beautiful enjoy your day and family fun
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  63. Congrats on the wonderful news. Prayers do matter! Now off to bed. Morning will come soon I hope! :)

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  64. Oh such wonderful blessings for Mark, and for the family Bonnie. Wouldn't it be nice to think your dear late father in law took the tumor with him on his way, helping to bring a bit of joy at such a hard moment.

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  65. Happy thanksgiving To you and lyours. God is there and hears us. What a Great Thanksgiving. We love you and

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  66. Get Up Bonnie..... I have had my one more sleep......

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  67. What a great blessing that there is no longer a tumor Bonnie. Prayers do help I know you and your hubby must be thrilled with the awesome news!
    Happy Quilting, Yoka Bazilewich

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  68. So happy about your brother’s news! Thank you Lord! It is with a greatful heart that I wish your family and friends a wonderful blessed thanksgiving season. Thank you for all you do. Much love and prayers for you and your family.

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