A Blooming Surprise

 

Surprises are wonderful.

After a kind of stressful afternoon on Sunday, I received a message from one of my sisters that she left a Mother's Day gift for me at my apartment.

It was actually sweet looking forward to going home!

As the car drove in front of my humble abode, I spotted an absolutely gorgeous hanging plant on the ground near the front door.

Deep pink flowers could be seen from a distance.

There are actually three flowers in the pot----begonias, impatiens, and a tiny blossomed white plant.

It's truly beautiful and I am so immensely grateful to my sister for thinking of me in such a cherished way.

Loving Lambie

A couple of years ago, while shopping for a gift, the wooden block of art shown in today's post came to my attention.

One of my sisters loves sheep so this turned out to be a perfect mini-gift for her.

I loved it so much that the decision was made to buy one for me, too!

It's a comforting image.  

The bigger animal is a symbol of love and security for the little lamb.

It definitely made me think of the Heavenly Father with one of His "little lambs" down here on the earth.

He protects. He loves profoundly. He cares for every sheep and lamb in the flock, especially the lost and lonely.

The art piece currently sits on the end of a bedroom dresser where it reminds me every day where to go for peace and protection

What Am I?

There is a plant that belongs to one of my sisters that she grew from a leaf.

She soaked the leaf in water until roots grew and then planted it into potting soil.

Every time I see that plant when visiting,  it has grown bigger and spread out more.

There are no flowers on it.

It sits in front of a window and seems to be looking out into the light and sun.

A dear friend looked up the plant from photos taken of it and said it is a "minor begonia."

Now that was a big surprise since the plant does not look like any other begonia ever seen.

It is currently in a season where it has no flowers, I guess.

It sure it a beautiful plant.

 My sister offered to give me a leaf of my own to put into water at my next visit to see her.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MINOR BEGONIA?

Gratitude Is Always Welcome

Practicing gratitude is a real life-changer.

Several years ago, I wrote daily entries in my very first gratitude journal. 

Even the smallest of things landed in the journal, like seeing a favorite bird in the yard or receiving an unexpected phone call.

Before the journal's pages were completely filled, a new journal had already been found and was ready to use.

Since that humble beginning, many, many more journals have been filled from cover to cover.

Finding gratitude in thousands of ways has had a huge life impact.

One realizes how tremendously blessed one's life is, even on the bad days.

Also, when one is thanking, one is not complaining and that makes a huge difference in one's life.

The card shown at the top of this post is so colorful and spring-like. 

It came in yesterday's mail from an aunt whose 98th birthday our family just celebrated.

While on the topic of gratitude, I'd like to add how grateful I am for each of you, beloved followers and others randomly reading this post.

You mean so much to me.  

You are kind to read these humble posts and yes, I am grateful that you do.

So thank you !

Indonesian Basket Comes Home to Roost

 

Looking through magazines, it's always fun to see how others decorate their homes.

Our tastes are different and that's okay.  

In one photo, I saw a palm tree inside a basket.  

It looked so darling.  

So while buying a birthday gift at Homegoods, I scooted over to the basket clearance section.  

Sure enough, I found a favorite and it was from Indonesia

The tree looks so pretty and I love moving it around by its handles.

I am very grateful for the Indonesian basket, the palm tree, and every little gift life brings.