This is going up early today. I hope you all have better things to do tonight than read my blog. Have a great Dad’s Day!

Gratitude #1 – Mr. Hot Stuff is a great dad.

He’s carted our family half-way around the world, in order to give them experiences to bless their lives. He’s played with them, run races with them, and done some really silly things with them. I found a fun video about the kind of dad he has been. You should go see it HERE on a post that went up earlier today.

Gratitude #2 – I was raised by a Dad who taught me to work hard.

He “let” us paint fences, work on piano guts, and taught us about true love while we painted the family room. His best teaching was done while he worked alongside us. Check out this post I put up this morning.

Gratitude #3 – Tall Trees Trimmed.

Not long ago we had our front trees cleaned up and “lifted”. This is just tree-speak for trimmed at the bottom so you don’t hit your head when you mow. Having this done has made it so that our lawn gets a lot more light, and now the trees seem a lot taller as well. I look up at our maple tree and it stretches much higher than I realized. The walnut tree also embraces the sky. I’m not sure why this makes me feel so good. I only know that now when I stand in my front yard, my world feels bigger than it did before.

Gratitude #4 – Boy Scout Leadership Camps

These camps have gone by various names: Timberline National Youth Leadership Training, Varsity All-Stars High-Adventure Youth Leadership Training, and others. Mr. Hot Stuff and my sons have been involved as participants and leaders in these excellent leadership courses, and I have seen them grow as men because of them. Also, this summer, the camp coincides with a big writers conference I’m attending, so I won’t have to try to ignore them while I do my conference homework in the evenings. 😉

Gratitude #5 – Julie’s Organic Frozen Treats

This is cool heaven on a stick. Try them if you can find them at a store near you. Thank you Harmon’s, and Costco, and Good Earth Natural Foods.

Gratitude #6 – Beautiful Photos from Italy

For. Real. It’s hard to imagine that people in these places live ordinary lives, but they do, and for a little while Meigi gets to be one of them. Casi, I need some from Germany, however mundane they may seem to you. I don’t want to have to swipe them from your mom’s Facebook page.  😉

Gratitude #7 – Family Reunions

This weekend was the John Merl and Zina Rachel Landon Williams family reunion. Mr. Hot Stuff and I were in charge of games, which means he did all the work and I was backup. It was a cold day (seriously? It’s June! We went from 80 degrees one day, to 62 degrees the next) so we couldn’t do any of the fantastic water games we had, but we still had a good time. We were asked to do three games, plus the candy bar game, and when the third one was over, the kids still wanted to do more, so that was great. Come back next year, we’ll do it again! Also, I’ll bring a VERY special prize for every kid under 18 who can convince an adult to play. We do plan games for any ability, but if we don’t have enough participation, we don’t pull them out. Mr. Hot Stuff and I have had a lot of practice with these games over the years from doing them at the Beck/Clark family 4th of July Reunions every year for as long as I can remember. There is nothing like the kind of fun you can have at a reunion when you can get the Lofty Generations (code for older) playing too.