Blessings of grace and unwavering faith, full of heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness.
Some of these photos are older and have been used before….my main computer and back up drive are at the doctor’s office right now…my back up drive has all my newer photography:( I will be taking new images this next week to share with all of you…in mean the time…I hope your turkey day was perfect:)
The Thanksgiving holiday is when we stop our busy lives to enjoy our families, our heritage and our traditions…food prepared with love and old family recipes by the many hands who made it special, the way that Grandma did. I love traditional holidays with all the wonderful trimmings.
Having gone through various hard things in life I began to understand that everyday we have is a day of gratitude and thankfulness…my life is full of many blessings that I do not take for granted. I thank God each day for seeing the sunrise and the sunset…for living here in America…for our heritage and history…for our business and for our ranch…for my husband and for my adopted sister, her family and also our families on both sides as well as our neighbors, and all our forever life friends.
I am thankful for Minnie Mouse, who is the Queenie of My House:)
And for our horses Melody, Annie and Buck:)
And for our protective dogs…we have three wonderful, loving Aussie’s.
I thank God for my parents and for the incredible life we lived together…for our relationship and memories.
To be the little girl who grew up into the daughter and woman they raised me to be.
I am thankful for our long talks in the middle of the night and the silly fun times we had with goofing off…those are the tender memories that hold me now when I wish I could go next door for a good cup of coffee and visit with Mom…or riding out of cow camp with Dad, just as the sunlight barely broke over the mountains on early summer mornings, heading out for the day to move and check cattle…cherished memories of the soul and nourishment for the heart…I will carry them forever.
Wild Bill and I have so much to be thankful for…36 years of marriage and our health…most of all our faith and depth of relationship with each other…we have lived through lots of life…floods, cancer, the death of my parents and of WB’s Dad…sad times, mad times and good times..and we keep on a going and love each other more today that when we married.
“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” By W.T. Purkiser
That is the truth of our lives…being real with our life and being an example of God’s blessings in our life, as an act of our faith and gratitude. It seems that every good thing or our tough times can help others with encouragement that they too will make it through life.
Caring about our fellow-man, ready to help with our presence, as that is what life is about…as they are on the path of their lives that brought them into your life…and being loved with a big hug is the very best that we can give to others as we have much to be thankful for:)
Happy Thanksgiving from Hot Rod Cowgirl and Wild Bill!
Hot Rod Cowgirl 
Dec 07, 2012 @ 06:14:38
I’m so glad I’ve found your beautiful blog! It’s a true delight looking into your world, Thanks for sharing!
Best regards
Dina
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Dec 07, 2012 @ 08:22:28
:):):)
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Nov 28, 2012 @ 12:43:10
I finally got to read this HRCG. I just love it and the sentiment behind it. My family is not much on any traditions, but I love them just the same and made a point to be with them for the holiday. My dear grandma will be 102 in February! And, not knowing when the last holiday will arrive, I want to be sure to capture these moments while I have them. My daughter was with her dad this year, and it never gets easy being away from her for any amount of time. So, all in all, it was a bittersweet Thanksgiving, but nonetheless, just like you, I was counting my blessings. They are abundant! And, a wonderful horse ride the day AFTER Thanksgiving set my heart at ease. I had a friend come up and join me, his first time having a horse lesson, and he loved it. When we were done, we walked our horses around together, the sun so warm, and a the whole arena to ourselves. We both agreed that a nice open pasture to ride into the sunset is the ultimate goal, and I’ve promised my daughter as much…some day. 🙂 Blessings upon blessings to you as we now move into the Christmas season. Yay! XOXO-Kasey
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Nov 28, 2012 @ 20:34:39
Hey Howdy Hi Kasey:)
Wow your Grandma is almost 102!That is so very cool as she has seen so very much of life…ask and see if she will record her memories into a microphone for you so that you have a tape of her words…my hubby’s Dad did that and then my sister in law typed up his stories and words into a biography of sorts for the family to read and the younger ones to know his stories and heritage, history. I do understand how painful holidays can be without our kids too…stinks! But being able to ride your horse now is a blessing as today we had freezing rain and bitter cold…yuck weather…can not imagine California and would love living in such a awesome place…so glad you are seeking new life too:) Blessing n Prayers n Hugs to you Kasey:)
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Nov 28, 2012 @ 05:40:55
Lovely post. I’ve had the hardest time getting back to you on here. So I’m catching up. :).
I keep trying to get my parents to realize how important they are to me, and how much I long to spend time with them. For some strange reason they don’t get it. They keep living like they have 50 more years of tomorrows. I know why, but still ….
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Nov 28, 2012 @ 12:05:06
Parents can be hard to communicate with as they still us as the child and they are the parent…I had to keep at it with my folks as they were mid 30’s when they had me so I was always the little girl…when they began to get ill one of the home health nurses that came out told me “Ok MJ, it is time to put on your big girl panties and you will have to be in charge now as your parents need you to make decisions etc. I gulped hard as I was about 40….and still scared in a respectful way of them. Dad was getting sicker then and Mom insisted on not having help…she was late 70’s…so I had to march over next door and tell her that I was hiring a caregiver and she would take care of Dad and you and also will clean your house etc. Oh boy she was mad at me for a while but then she decided it was ok:) One day though I caught her making lunch for the caregiver:) Mom was like that as she wanted to take care of everyone:) I had to gently tell her that I was not paying the caregiver so that Mom could cook for her! It was a blessing to have a caregiver when things got bad as we knew we were going to keep both Mom and Dad at home so they would not have to go into a nursing home….it was so worth doing it that way. How old are your folks? Just keep telling them that you love them and want to help them in anyway that you can:) You may have to say it 20 times a day for a while until they understand:) I am so glad that you caught up with me Shonnie:) You made my day!
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Dec 01, 2012 @ 16:22:43
My folks are 71 and 69. They are in pretty good shape. Mom is super healthy, Dad has been battling cancer–winning, but it keeps him scared. They just don’t get we want to spend time with them. While they are functional. They want to “pretend” to be busy with stuff around the house–everything is an emergency–so they can’t come hang where I can hang with them.
I know it makes my dad feel “worthy,” “productive,” and like he once was, “the Problem Solver” for everyone. I try to understand, but I know we are counting the days we have to spend together. We should make the most of them, but he can’t do it. Maddens me.
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Nov 27, 2012 @ 05:37:01
This is beautiful!
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Nov 27, 2012 @ 10:52:13
Thank you for stopping by my blog and for joining:) I just hopped over to look at your blog and have also joined you….i am on the run right now but from briefly reading a couple of your posts I can tell I will truly enjoy your blog:) Have a great day!!!
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 20:33:04
All your photos are beautiful…I especially love the ones of your horses!
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 21:52:59
Thank you so much:) All our horses have such personalities and are so very human:)
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 14:47:48
Beautiful photos Marcy; nice and sharp. Colorful too. Love the 2 horses ; – )
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 15:31:24
Thank you so much:) Animals have such a pure heart and so much personality…they think and feel just like us:) Thanks for stopping in , always god to hear from you:)
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 16:17:18
I’m glad to hear you say that they think and feel just like us. I think so too. Somebody should tell the scientists who are studying animal behavior about this because they seem to be in the dark about it!
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 17:30:11
They do and they have emotions…Minnie my kitty gets upset when I leave and Melody one of our horses who is very much attached to me, gets her feeling hurt if I move her into a different pasture and put another one of our horses in her pasture…she will pout and look sad…so I keep her in her pasture which is the closest one to our house and she can sort of watch me:) Animals feel and remember things and they truly love us:)
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 18:25:27
That is so sweet : – )
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 18:37:06
🙂
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 08:03:06
Your photos and words fill my heart with hope and gratitude. Thank you for that, HRCG! I’m thankful for YOU!
MJ
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 09:56:19
Thank you MJ you make my heart feel good:) We do have so much to be thankful for but often life gets overwhelming and we only see the hard times but if we look deep and take a few minutes we will find the good stuff and our faith grows deeper and our hearts do fill with hope:) I truly am thankful for you too MJ and for your thoughts, friendship and for sharing your life:) Big hugs and have a wonderful weekend:)
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 05:58:51
This was truly an inspirational post. We should all take the time to reflect on our personal reasons for giving thanks.
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 09:52:08
Thank you:) Life comes at us so quickly and time flies by faster and faster, but if we can find a minute to stop and take a deep breath we will be amazed at all the blessings we have been given:) Such as Jack:) He is so cute and so full of personality! Minnie, our kitty, does not play as often now but she was very much like Jack and has always had a huge personality. I do have my days when it is hard to find the blessings but I know if I keep going I will see with a thankful heart:)
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 03:54:49
Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and WB! Your words are so true; we are truly blessed!
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Nov 24, 2012 @ 09:46:53
Thank you so much Dianna, both WB and I wish you Happy Thanksgiving too even though belated…I hope your day was filled with lots of good memories, good conversation, lots of love and yummy food:) I have missed keeping up with you and the blogs…days pass so quickly that I do not know where they went:) Blessings to you and MM on your weekend and kitty hugs to Sundae:)
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Nov 23, 2012 @ 20:20:51
Beautiful post!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Purrs
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Nov 23, 2012 @ 20:40:42
Thank you:) Hope you had a good one too:) Minnie says big kitty hugs and purrrrrs. We are on the old PC and the keyboard is awful…I type and misspell my words and etc. Sorry…such huge pain:(
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Nov 23, 2012 @ 17:43:38
It was so n ice to see your post again! I missed seeing them. I don’t have the time to search out post as much as I did a couple months back.
I hope you all had a really nice Thanksgiving! JW
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Nov 23, 2012 @ 18:10:03
Thank you so much:) I have been wanting to update and keep with it with the photos and of course always my many words…I have missed checking in and posting comments on posts…the last few months life has been super sonic fast…I am seeking to see how you publish a book…I will keep you posted as you definitely need to publish your books and stories:) You are a good writer with God given talent:)
I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed too:) Ours was quiet but we were very blessed and loved.
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