Gratitude Friday List...

Another day off from school because of the big snow storm! Christmas break has officially started here. Hmm, what to do, what to do? First, grab one of my Christmas Village mugs out of the cupboard and fill it up with Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee. I think there's creamer in the fridge (sorry, no Reddi Whip yet!) ....and then you can sit down to read my Gratitude List. Please add your own Gratitude list to mine~ after all, it's Company Girl Coffee time!

1. Laughter! You should see the puppies run as fast as they can through the house and then belly slide under the couch. Stay out of their way -- they're quick. You have to see them in their snow maze, too. Mr. York and I created a maze for them in the backyard. They don't like the snow but they love running through the maze and snow flying everywhere.

2. The US Postal Service! I LOVE getting snail mail, anytime of the year. But yesterday was a sad day because the mail didn't get delivered because of the snow. Those poor people! I think I'm going to make some brownies in a little bit to give to my wonderful mailman when he arrives around 3 pm, 4 pm or maybe even 5 pm today. (Hmm, no mail at all!)

3. My kids! They're coming home for the holidays~ one from a teaching job five hours away from us and the other one hopefully flying in from college in CA. We haven't been together for Christmas for three years. Mr. York and I were in Germany for the last two Christmases.

4. Friends who truly know what the little things mean to me-- papertowels and Starbucks delivery to me today!! I still can't get out of my drive way nor have I tried. I've had enough exercise of shoveling snow to last me for a bit. So I was very thankful for the delivery~ I know, how'd they get here?

5. And...my last gratitude item ends on a bittersweet note: Today would have been our friend Uwe's 45th b'day. He and his beautiful wife Veronika lived next door to us in Germany -- they were our family and we spent so many fun moments with them over the two years!! He passed away unexpectedly in October and I know that he is very much missed today. Would you please remember Veronika and the boys in prayer? We love them tons and wish we could be with them in Germany during this holiday season.

Goodbye, dear friend!

Today David and I received the tragic news that our good friend Uwe died in Germany this past week. Uwe and his sweet family (Veronika, Christian and Fabian) lived across the culdesac from David in Putt. They opened their arms and house to David when he arrived and they quickly became his family. Not very many days went by without a visit to their house or to David's house. The boys knew where David kept the graham crackers and Uwe welcomed David's great coffee anytime! Many, many happy memories were made throughout those short 22 months of David living in Putt. I loved spending time with all of them when I would go to visit. Our absolute favorite memory is the New Year's Eve party at their house, where we would watch "Dinner For One " and celebrate with champagne and fireworks outside with the neighbors!

David is going to try to fly to Germany within the next few weeks, esp. since it's Christian's birthday the end of the month and they always had a Halloween party for the last two years with David's help. If you would remember the Schmitz family in your prayers, I know that they would appreciate them bunches. "Uwe, we love you!"