In the hurried up life we lead no matter how much I try to slow it down, I am backtracking and writing down things I am thankful for several days after Thanksgiving. I guess that leads me to my first thought:
1. Grace: I am so thankful for grace in my life. I am thankful for the grace of my Lord and Savior, without whom I'd be in trouble. I'm thankful for the grace of my husband who is so good to me. How romantic to think that I have a man who loves me during my greatest moments as well as my darkest. He loves me not only despite my faults, he loves my faults because they are me! For anyone who thinks that life gets less romantic after marriage, to them I say it doesn't have to be. I pray our lives get only more romantic. Of course with that we must get a little more creative at times and of course its not the same as when it was just the two of us, but oh the joys we share now as our family grows! I am thankful for grace from my kids. Goodness knows I make mistakes and that their faces still light up with joy every time they see me is astounding! Grace, grace, grace. I love that I have family and friends that know me and still love me. I am one blessed woman!
2. My home: not just my physical home but my home--my family, our dog, our routines, neighborhood walks, and the memories we have made in our little house. I am getting antsy at times to get in a bigger house but the dreams that have come true in our little house on Amelia Island Street are the happiest of my life.
(This list is in random order, not in order of importance.)
3. My coffee pot: Last year I got one of those single cup coffee pots. That little coffee maker has helped me through some sleepless nights.
4. My family: This includes my immediate family, my parents, in-laws, siblings, grandparents, nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles. I feel so blessed to have been born into such a wonderful family and then to have married into another one!
5. A steady small business. When almost 3 years ago we opened The Children's Playroom (www.thechildrensplayroom.net) with our dear friends Matt and Tiffany Gowler, little did we know that the economy would tank soon after we opened our doors. We are steadily growing each month and are learning a lot as we go. I am most grateful for the moments when moms and dads tell us that they don't know what they would do without us, explaining to us how we have helped their family through some tough times...all while bringing joy to their children in the midst of it!
6. My Christmas tree that has ornaments on the top half of the tree. Wilson has used our ornaments for footballs and drumsticks since we put them on the tree. We now have a tree that makes me smile every time I look at it because it reminds me of the phase of life I am in right now and it is just so much fun!
7. Christmas lights. Lillian loves spotting the Christmas lights when we are out! Wilson jumps into with his token grunt and point! This year has been such a blast.
8. Having a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Lillian is so into everything. She loves to write, color, play pretend everything! Wilson loves to throw anything and everything he can get his hands on. They both love the drums. Both give amazing hugs and squeezes around the neck! And both of them love to dance! It's a party every day at our place. And even though the house gets turned upside down regularly, my heart is so full I don't know how I can contain it!
My list could go on for miles! Thanksgiving morning we sat with our kids at our table and talked about being thankful. Lillian took turns with us in sharing what we are grateful for. Wilson grunted out his thanks. We want to be people that are finding reasons to be thankful. If we're careful to look, we'll find no shortage of reasons.
(Here's a pic of our recent trip to Florida. We saw an alligator chillin' in the everglades. Don't mess with those guys. They're big!)
