30 Days of Thankfulness

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.
~ Psalm 13:5-6, NL

I am thankful for the time this past month that I have had to reflect on my life, the relationship I have with my Savior, the family and friends that pray for me daily, the things I can do to make this place just a little bit better for others.

I have so much to be thankful for and even though this has been a very tough month for me and my family; in so many ways I am stronger and will continue to trust in the Lord knowing He will help get us through.

It is now time for us all to remember Jesus is the reason for the season.

I am so looking forward to being in Oklahoma with family again this year for Christmas! 19 Days and counting!!

Day 29 - Thankful for a Snow worthy Car

Stuttgart got hit by an early snow storm and with 8+ inches on the balcony and more coming down, I am grateful for a car that gets me to and from without being exposed to the elements.

A co-worker (newly arrival in Germany last week) had to catch the bus with his wife and 3 daughters this morning and walk in to the school. They made arrangements for the school bus to pick the girls up at the hotel in the mornings so they wont have to be out in this weather every morning.

We offered him a ride home this evening...been there; dark at quitting time, car not here yet, living out of suit cases, with most of your winter clothes in your unaccompanied baggage somewhere over the Atlantic, l all in a winter snow storm~

Yes I an thankful for a warm car that gets me where I need to go!

Day 28 - thankful for our family traditions

Today is Christmas tree decorating day at the Mitchell’s. For many, many years we decorated the Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Alan would take care of the pizza; home made, delivery or take-out. I would pass out the current years Christmas ornaments. Sean would put the lights on the tree, all the ornaments (from years past) would be laid out and everyone would put them on the tree. The cane canes would go on after all the other decorations. And usually the boys would but the angel on the top of the tree together! IT was a fun way for me to start off the Christmas season and a good family evening for us all.

After the pizza was finished and the tree decorated, we would light some candles, turn off all the lights except the tree and play a few specially selected Christmas songs. I encouraged everyone to wear their comfy clothes and even gave out flannel pants one year for everyone to wear on this family evening. As the boys married their wives and children joined us in this now second generation family tradition. 9 years ago I started a new tradition of giving grandchildren their December pajamas on this evening.

This year however is the second in a row that has been a little different. This year’s ornaments and December pajamas were passed out in October because that’s when I was in Oklahoma! This year there will be no Christmas tree decorating evening at the Mitchell house (we will be on our way home from London). But we do have a tree; our tree (complete with 220V lights) is very small but it is decorated with love and memories of our past years tree decorating evenings!

Maybe I will be back in Oklahoma next year in time to resume this annual tradition, but if not we will make do the best we can.

Day 27 - Thankful for those that came before me

Touring England and Germany throughout November I have often thought about distant relatives that might too have walked these same paths. Their footsteps eventually lead them to leave their homeland for a promise of new life in new country. What faith they must have had in God to pack up (or simply walk away) from their homeland and make this journey. How grateful I am to have such great names as Oneth, McKitrick, Alspaugh, Lucas, Hoge, Gilbert, Sullivan, Whitaker, Hunter, White, (to name a few) in my family tree...

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Day 26 - Thankful for My Cousins

Cousins are often the first friends of our lives.... As you grow up, they are still your friends and can sometimes stand in as your brothers and sisters..... I have some of the best cousins in the world! They may not be a part of my daily life, but they are never far from my thoughts ...and memories!!!! ( I have a niece to thank for this entry)

My cousins range from 62 to 28 in age! There are 13 of us on one side of the family and 12 on the other side (counting my 3 brothers and I are in both sets). I am one of the youngest in one set and one of the oldest in the other set.

We all have a footing in El Reno as both of my Grandparents raised their families there. Our families have grown beyond the capacity for hosting sit down meals in each others homes and unfortunately these days the times we do all gather is normally a sad occasion. It has been hard to stay in close contact with all of the cousins but with facebook we can get frequent updates and share in each others lives even while being miles apart. I love seeing pictures of their children and their children’s children. I see reflections of us (from our youth) in these pictures.

I am thankful for such a great group of cousins. I cherish these family bonds and am thankful for each and everyone.

We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near. People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds. ~ Psalm 75:1, NLT

Day 25 - Thankful for my health

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. ~ Psalm 28:7, NLT


I am thankful for good health and being able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends.

We haven’t had a normal Thanksgiving the last 3 years.

2009 I was in Germany and everyone else was hovering around the hospital in Norman in between meals.

In 2008 Alan and I were both very sick with some type of flu and we ate mashed potatoes for our meal!

In 2007, Alan was admitted to the hospital the night before Thanksgiving very ill from some type of virus and then the rest of us (including me) started dropping like flies shortly there after with the same thing in varying degrees of severity). I don't think I ate anything that year!


This year after a Thanksgiving dinner on Post we are headed to Hieldelburg, Germany to get on a bus headed for London! We will be in London Fri-Sat and head home on Sunday.

And who knows hopefully next year we will be back in Oklahoma healthy and ready for a Thanksgiving meal!

Day 24 - Thankful for suitcases on wheels

I know it sounds sort of trivial, but over then next 6 weeks we are going to be doing a lot of travel. And wheeling full suitcases around is so much easier than carrying them through busy streets, bus and train stations, airports and customs lines. As we pack for this weekends trip I am thankful not to have to lug/drag this bag around; instead we can simply glide it along as we go.

Well after we get it down the first flight of stairs that is. ...

Day 23 - Thankful for Quiet Time

Over the past year I have had way more alone time than I had planned; but alone time is not necessarily quiet time. Quiet time is when you can get away, read the good book, reflect on your goals, talk with God, think about where you have come and where you are headed.

Alan has a Guys Night out this evening and he is headed to the movies. This leaves me to fend for myself for the evening. I don’t mind this at all! I plan to unpack and hang up my winter clothes (it did snow yesterday) and put away my summer clothes. Afterwards I am going to settle in for some quiet time.

I could start packing for our weekend travels. Or perhaps even do some laundry or dust and vacuum ...there are a number of things that I could do. However I want this to be a quiet evening no TV/DVD, no phones calls, no Slingobx but maybe some Christmas music playing quietly in the background. My goal is Quiet Time, no chores, no busy work.....

Just me enjoying my quiet time~

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Day 22 - Thankful for Friends

Today we had a Thanksgiving Dinner at work. I have formed a bond with these new friends and enjoy spending time both at work and after hours with them. This past year they have supported me through loss and crisis. We have celebrated birthdays and birth of grandchildren. We have helped each other with car problems, German translations, shopping suggestions and travel locations. Together we have laughed, cried and played. We take our jobs seriously and look out for each other like family (our family away from home). Yes I am thankful for this new set of friends.

Through technology I have been able to reconnect with many childhood friends and am enjoying staying current with them as we celebrate birthdays, anniversary, weddings of our children, births of grandchildren. Without this new technology some of these childhood friends would have just been fond memories. Now they are daily contacts!

I have many friends that are keeping up with my travels through out Europe. I appreciate their encouragement and comments on my pictures and posts. It helps me feel close to home while I am away. They have prayed for me and my family over the past year and offered to help with things back home as needed. Many are counting the months until I come home too. When I do finally come home I hope to reunite with them in person.

Yes, I am thankful for my friends~

Day 21 - thankful for my brothers

I have 3 brothers! They are all so special. It is hard to put to words just how much they mean to me.

Yes I love my brothers dearly and am thankful for the relationships I have with them.

My older brother, Pat has always looked after me and I up to him.

We are 2 years apart and I think we have a special bond being the older set of kids in a family of 4 siblings. As a small child I remember us sharing treats. I would often gulp mine down so fast and he would feel sorry for me and share his with me. I would say, "Pat I’ll share that with you" and he would graciously share even though we had the same amount to begin with. We got to share special times with grandparents and aunts/uncles that were young and full of life because early on we were the only grandchildren on one side of the family and the among the youngest on the other side. He looked after me through our school years; I was often a tag along and sometimes unwanted and often annoying but he always looked out for me. He actually introduced me to the boy that would one day be my husband! Together we paved the way for our younger set of brothers. Today I look up to him and value his judgement and friendship even though right now we are thousands of miles away from each other.

Six years after I was born along came Phil.

I was in kindergarten when he was born. I was very much into baby dolls and to have real live baby of my very own (well not really my own but I thought he was) was unbelievable. But I was a little too young to really get to hold and care for him without assistance from an adult. He was so sweet and I loved him dearly. He was into everything and quickly gained the nick-name Phil the Pill (lovingly of course). As he grew older he started to take things apart. He loved old cameras, gadgets and anything mechanical. He would take these apart and put them back together often “fixing” what might have been wrong. It was like working a puzzle to him. And to this day he continues to like to take things apart and put them back together making them better.

Then along came Perry, I was 8 when he was born.

By now I was a pro at being a big sister and in caring for babies! And here was a new one to love and cuddle. Mom and Dad put his baby bed in my room but this didn’t last very long as I would get him out of the crib to play with him, disrupting naps and quite time for everyone. Perry has always had a fondness for animals and as a small child we had a poodle that he just loved. That poodle would sleep in my bedroom at night but during the day it was Perry that he would hang out with. We shared many hours rocking and as he got older playing dress up (he probably didn’t enjoy this as much as I did).

By the time Pat was starting to work, I was “employed" at home. Well sort of I was helping out by babysitting my younger brothers 1/2 days during the sumer. I loved being their big sister and tried to fill in when Mother was away or busy. It seems hard to believe that Phil was 12 and Perry was only 10 when I moved away to college and I haven’t really live under the same roof since but even so there is a bond between me and the younger two brothers as I cared for them at such a young age. I wont go as far to say that I was a 2nd mother to them but I surely was a care giver and I loved it!

All 3 of my brother have been good Uncles to my children.



They were there for family birthdays and holidays setting the bar high as uncle role models. They were active parts of my young children's lives, they would play games with them and spend special time with them . For instance, Pat had them over for sleepovers, Phil tweaked their sound systems, Perry even took care of them in our home while Alan and I worked some night shifts. Now as adult children they look up to their Uncles and know they can call on them for help if need be and have.

Our lives have lead us all down different paths. We all have very different careers that keep us busy and going in different directions. But we manage to remain close and love doing some of the same things...

I loved having my brothers over for family time and have missed them terribly while being in Germany. But we manage to stay in touch emailing, chatting and skypeing.

This is one of the few pictures I have with me here in Germany of all 4 of us together! WE are with our Aunt Wanda Sue. Yes, I love having brothers and missed them so much but am thankful for the relationships we have forged over the years and grateful that as adults we are all not just siblings, we are FRIENDS!!

Day 20 - Thankful for Warm Rays of Sunshine

With Daylight Savings time over and the clocks rolled backwards I am not seeing much sunshine. It is dark on the drive to work in the mornings and dark again on the drive back home. Plus it has been rainy this week so there hasn’t been much sunshine during the day. But there is sunshine today and I am fortunate to get to be out in it. Weekends in the sunshine totally make up for rainy week days

Day 19 - Thankful for My Landlords

We have the best landlords.

I am told that some landlords over here can be very hard to deal with but not ours. They are so very sweet and have helped us out in so many ways. They continue to make improvements to the property and have asked us each time what we think about the changes.

We have a newly remodeled kitchen, and we have closets in our upstairs rooms (not a common feature in German bedrooms). Since we have moved in they have put in venetian blinds across the front balcony, an adjustable thermostat, a new garage door opener, privacy blinds for the back balcony, new solar shades on the upstairs windows. They are putting the rent money back into the house making it better for us while we are here. We have some friends who report their landlords won’t even come show them how to work the heating system. Our landlord has prepared a book on all the appliances with instructions for use (in German and English) and helped us understand how to use the radiator heating (which is so very different from what we are used to).

He is 80 years old but do not let that fool you. This evening when we got home from work (at dusk) he had a ladder out and was cleaning leaves out of the gutters. He manages the lawn and gardens in a pretty large yard for this part of town and in the winter he shovels the snow and then goes cross country skiing in the forest across from the house. She is younger but is also very active. She plays tennis and swims almost daily in the summer and enjoys cross country skiing in the winter too. They are very active and I do believe it has kept them young.

They speak some English and have taught us some German. I think he likes to practice his English with us. When we are planning trips he always wishes us "the best of travels" and usually has a note on the door when we get back welcoming us back to town. When they travel I always get a post card from them and frequently get a small gift from where they have been (chocolates, candles and special matches). They have daughters that are about my age but they don’t visit very often so I think they like having us around because the similarity in ages to their children.

They keep asking if we have family coming over to visit and have even offered the use of their extra bedrooms if we need extra rooms... I think they are truly excited about meeting my Mother this May.

Yes, I am thankful for my landlords, they have made transitioning from Oklahoma to Stuttgart so much easier.

Day 18 - Thankful for My In Laws

I have such great in-laws. They took me into their family and love me as one of their own.

A few months before our marriage Dad Mitchell took me around looking for houses in the Midwest City area. Alan was working so he went with me to make sure I didn’t get lost. It was just the two of us that day and he was so sweet. He told me.... this part of town might not be so safe...this school is a good one... this one is closer to church and grocery shopping. I had my very own tour guide of the Mid-Del area and it was interesting to hear the stories behind the different neighborhoods we toured. It was during this drive around town that he suggested I should take the OPM test for a possible job on base (I now have 26+ years of civil service under my belt because of this sage advice). Dad M was the best at comforting a baby with colic. Our youngest son had what I thought was a bad case of colic and I was at my wits end, so I took both boys over to Mom and Dad M’s house. Dad took the baby and a warm - hot water bottle and held him and rocked him and soothed him. And gave me a much needed break! Years later we spent many a summer weekend at the lake and Dad was always so patient with the boys as they learned to water ski or build a fire. He helped Alan work on cars when we needed to watch our budget, offered to hang the mini blinds in our new house because he wanted to help out, he was always eager to go watch our boys play sports and so very patient with them when they were rough housing around in their back yard.

Mom Mitchell is really special too. She has shared treasured family recipes with me, taught me to cook many of Alan’s favorites. She always tries to get just the perfect gift for special occasions and holidays for our children. She made special quilts for both our boys. She set a good Christian example in their early years and she took them to church on Wednesday evening activities (I was working Swing Shift and Alan was working and going to school). She too was always interested in the boys activities and with schedule in hand would be at every game possible from grade school through high school for two boys that between them played football, basketball and baseball... that is a whole lot of sporting events!! She shared family pictures with me and helped me with many a project over the years. She has stepped in and helped out when I was sick helping to care for my family. Most of all she has treated me like a daughter even though she already had 3 of her own.

Over the years we have moved in with Mom and Dad M a couple of times. The first time was just before moving into married student housing. Our place sold and we couldn’t move in to housing until the beginning of the semester. The 4 of us moved into Alan’s childhood bedroom for 2 months and shared a bathroom with 2 sisters still at home. Mom did everything possible to help make this an easy time for us. Then many years later our house sold before we had found a replacement so once again we moved in to the home on Glenvalley. Our boys were older and Mom and Dad were empty nesters by this time so it was nice for the boys to have that one on one attention/time with their grandparents. Then in the spring of 2009 we moved in with them again.... this time I was at my wits end with the house we were living in and once again we were welcomed with open arms. Looking back all 4 of the Mitchell siblings have moved their families back into the Mitchell home for short periods of time. I think Mom might enjoy some of her privacy back but I know she also gets sad when it comes time for each of us to move on...kind of like going through the empty nest feeling all over again.

This is just a glimpse into some of the reasons I treasure my in-laws. I am so blessed to have them and am thankful for their love, kindness, assistance over the years and for their friendship!

Day 17 - I am Thankful for a Wonderful Father

I am so thankful for the time I had with him, he was the one I called when things needed fixed, I was Daddy’s little girl and proud to be. I needed him and he needed me. I am grateful that I carry on some of my fathers best qualities. This man was never late, he was very organized, he loved wood working and he love his family. Yes I miss my Dad. But I go on...getting there on time, being organized, loving wooden boxes, toys and trinkets and loving my family...

I miss my Dad! Today is his birthday and he is celebrating with family in heaven. He was always willing to help out last minute...he was great last minute stand in for Santa at my office Christmas party! He loved doing things with me and my granddaughter. And he was a very special Grandfather...photos below show him with both of my sons on their wedding day. For their 50th wedding anniversary they didn’t want a party they wanted to spend time with family...so we all joined them for a weekend in Arkansas to celebrate. Three of the things he loved, family time, the lake and grandchildren all rolled into one afternoon (the picture of him with the kids in his lap was taken at my brother Phil’s place at Lake Carl Blackwell). He fathered 3 sons and 1 daughter. He loved to play games and even taught his great granddaughter to play Dominos. He loved my Mother dearly...right down to her green shoes! He used to tease her about all the shoes she has. He loved to travel but it didn’t have to be any where fancy. For instance he took us to Magazine Mountain and I remember this favorite spot; a natural bridge crossing the creek up on Magazine Mountain near where his mother was born (I got a picture of them together walking across the rocks). You could count on Gramps to be there....graduations, birthdays and weddings you name it he was there. He loved Christmas time, each year he would video us after we had opened presents. Our family tradition was for each to tell what what we received and who it was from. My dad started our bi-monthly family gatherings known as White Sunday with each family hosting; we took these gatherings to the lake, the bowling alley, family homes, Arkansas, it was all about family time. Daddy served in the Navy on the USS Cocopa during the Korean Conflict. We grew up hearing stories of his Navy years and a few years ago he captured many of these memories and provided each of us with his stories; not published but definitely cherished.

I am so thankful for the time I had with him, he was the one I called when things needed fixed, I was Daddy’s little girl and proud to be. I needed him and he needed me. I am grateful that I carry on some of my fathers best qualities. This man was never late, he was very organized, he loved wood working and he love his family. Yes I miss my Dad. But I go on...getting there on time, being organized, loving wooden boxes, toys and trinkets and loving my family...

Day 16 - Thankful for Warm PJ’s and a mug of Tea

Yes, I am thankful for my flannel PJ pants! Not so much to sleep in but to lounge around the house.

Nothing is better after a long day at work than to come home and pull on a soft pair of flannel pj pants and a warm sweatshirt!

Then settle in with a big mug of Candy Cane Lane Tea or Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. Ahhh....

Day 15 - Thankful for English Translations on Menus

We went to a Thai restaurant near our house. Here we were 2 Americans, ordering Thai food from a menu in Germany! Thankfully they had 3 versions of each menu item, 1 in Thai, one in German and one in English!

From Thai, to German to English would have been a tricky translation and who knows what we would have ended up with for dinner. But the wait staff and the hostess were quick to pick up that we were not German (once we started talking) and they quickly switched to English.

Thankfully most of the restaurants around here have English translations 0n their menus; as there are 4 American posts in the area. So it is not likely that we will end up with Spleen (or Kidney I am not sure which) like my Father-In-Law did 20 years ago while visiting in Germany. We usually know what we are ordering and we don’t have to go away hungry. Plus we are even picking up some German from the menu translations.

I have been learning some German, but without the English translations on the menus I would still be lost. However, during dinner our Thai dinner I finally got to work in what I thought would be a useless phrase. One that I learned very early from my German Rosetta Stone courses: der Mann ist essen Reis

Day 14 - Thankful for Expressions of Love

While visiting the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber we saw this car drive by a few times. At first we didn’t think about what was going on or who might be inside the car....

Then it pulled up and parked right in front of us and the man in the suit got out and went around and opened the door for the Bride (obviously his daughter).

Next this young man man came running out from inside the church and gave her a BIG hug and kiss. From the looks of it he was her brother. Look at how closely the ring bearer is watching them.

With his daughter on his arm they get last minutes guidance from the priest. The priest talked with them for a few minutes before they went inside. The Groom is getting his jacket on in the background with the brother helping him (the tree is in the way so you can’t see this very well). And by now they have completely lost the ring bearer’s attention.

It was about this time that the church bells started ringing, we looked at our watches and it was not straight up on the hour or even close to a 15 minute mark...These bells were announcing the arrival of the Bride and the start of the wedding!

As we continued our walk through the town I started watching for expressions of love. And you know if you look close enough (or are in the right frame of mind) these can be seem everywhere. We saw Herr and Frau (men and women) strolling arm in arm through the plaza, parents lovingly tending to children, teens flirting their way through the park, elderly couples holding hands while having Koffee at the outdoor cafes, hearts decorating the stone and iron works over front doors, Christ and his disciples carved in the stone blocks of the church steeple.

Along the City wall we also found expressions of love. Citizens of the town and visitors who have donated to help maintain the wall have plaques worked into the masonry along the city walls honoring their loved ones.

We even captured our own special expression of love during the few minutes of sunshine near the end of the day.

Yes there are many different expressions of love, some large, some small and some almost unnoticeable but if you watch closely you will find them everywhere.

Day 13 - Thankful for my Mother

I am thankful for knowledge, skills and abilities handed down to me from my Mother.

She passed on the love of creating things. She used to paint and I have a few of her pieces and I have dabbled in this area. And she taught me to sew although I must admit I don’t have the level of talent she does.

She gave me the opportunity to take piano lessons, although this did not take, her love of music did.

She passed along her talent and love of flowers. We used to go to Will Rogers Park in the spring and walk through the Rose Gardens, we helped maintain a community flower bed with the Hoe and Hope club and she taught me how to arrange flowers (real and silk). Plus many of her paintings were of nature and flowers.

She passed along her passion for reading. She was a member and officer of the Friends of the Library Club. I had a Library card at a very young age and I got to go to reading club a few afternoons a week in the summer. Give me a good book and a free afternoon and I am set.

She gave me early an exposure to Jesus my Lord and Savior, she made sure I was in Sunday school at a very early age. She taught me Bible versus and Worship songs and passed along her desire to know Him.

She loved to travel and made sure we made our way to the Capitol State steps for a picture. And of course if you know me at all you know I love to travel and have a passion for capturing my travels in pictures.

She is a great cook and she was a good teacher. I was an eager learner and had 3 brothers to sample my wares. From her I learned the love of cooking and entertaining.

She was an involved parent, she was a Bible school teacher, a Girl Scout Leader, Home Room Mother. I was exposed to art, literature, music, camping, cooking, travel, serving the community, I developed a love of faith, family and friends all from observing her and the traits she passed down.

Yes, I am thankful for my Mother!

This is a recent picture...she is a pretty good Grandmother and Great-Grandmother too~