ebb and flow

This week has been one that I'll politely say feels like part of a growing season. In all reality, it's been a bit rough.
My heart has hurt for a family dealing with a great loss.  In grieving for them I can't help but be overwhelmed.  There's little like death to make you take stock of what you have and what you're doing with your life.
We are in the process of trying to grow our business with a pretty big corporate account.  It's exciting and scary all at the same time!
Parenting has got to be the most difficult and simultaneously rewarding thing on the planet.  The last couple of weeks have been pretty trying at our house.  Knowing that God put our family together specifically is amazing, but the weight of wondering if you're doing it right is kinda huge.  

The ebb and flow of everyday life is like that of the tides.  You can know for sure that there will be ups and downs; ins and outs.  Sometimes it seems like things couldn't be any better, any smoother...when it's easy to remember that our steps are ordered.  Other times it feels as though that little black rain cloud is with you step for step.   
I get that without the more difficult seasons, you wouldn't know the good ones are so good.  In easy seasons or in those really difficult ones, I can still find my answers in the same place.  This week I have prayed a lot.  I have sought guidance the only place I really know to get it.  
Here's what I'm resting in tonight:

Philippians 4:5b-7

The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Thanksgiving Post

Because "thank you" is such a regular part of our vocabulary, it's almost difficult to convey just how thankful I feel.  I don't want to let the value of those words or that feeling be diminished.
I know that I am blessed beyond measure.  I know that am surrounded by and completely immersed in gifts that could only have come from God.  The places I've been, the conveniences I am afforded, the friends I have, the family that has been very carefully chosen to be exactly what I need...well, I'm not sure how I can be anything other than grateful.
Today I remember that our days are not promised.
I pray that I will choose to be present in each moment.

Thankful, round 2

I thought I had escaped the creeping crud that has been making its way around my house.  I'm afraid not.  It started Monday with a sore throat and (as sore throats often do in my body) progressed into me sounding like my dad by Thursday night.  Friday I had no voice at all and today I'm back to sounding like a dude.  Not very cool.  Hopefully it'll make its way on down the road sooner rather than later!
With no further ado, here are some more things I'm thankful for:

*I am thankful for coffee and creamer.  I'm not sure how people do without it!

*I am thankful for delicious holiday season food...not that you couldn't make all this stuff year round, but thank goodness we don't or I'd be the size of a house!  That being said, I'm looking forward to dressing, broccoli casserole, and cornflake candy just to name a few.

*I am thankful for my sister.  Word on the street is that I thought she was my baby as soon as they brought her home from the hospital.  That never really went away. :)  I started bossing her around as soon as I was able and honed my bickering skills with her, but I have also felt such a fierce need to protect her for as long as I can remember.  The older we get, the more we look alike...or so we're told anyway.  The friendship I have with her is one not to be taken lightly, but to be treasured.  I love you sis.

 

*I am thankful for new relationships.  Although I've had a few close friends outside my family, there have not been many.  This is my own fault.  I have a stank face that can be very off-putting (at least I know, right?).  On some level I guess I thought that since I had so many close friends inside the family that those others were not necessary.  Not worth really investing myself.  I was wrong.  I was missing out.  In the last six months or so I have made quite a few new friends.

Even though I'm an in-charge kind of gal, when Chris tells me he thinks we need to do something (after I make nasty faces and snotty comments) we just go on and do whatever it is.  The latest example is that he felt we needed to be hosting a small group in our home.  I said I didn't want to, but since he is in fact the leader of our home we started up a small group.  I am SO thankful that we did.  The friendships we've started and cultivated just during the last few months mean a lot to me.  This whole process has helped me grow in my faith...and hopefully is helping me not to be as socially awkward as I can be.

*I am thankful for modern technology!  Can I get an amen?!  The advancements that have been made in medicine alone are astounding, but more regularly acknowledged and appreciated by me would be things like DVR, laptops, and iPhones!  They make our lives pretty amazing!

Are you totally pumped about Thanksgiving next week?  I know I am. :)  We'll be celebrating with family and getting out the rest of the Christmas decorations!  Sing it with me now, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Even if you're not playing along with the 30 days of FB posts, tell me something you're thankful for today.  It'll make you happy (and me too). 

Thankful, round 1

This weather makes me happy.  There's just no two ways about it.  I have had my doors open everyday for the last week so that crisp fall breeze can come on in and stay awhile.  Even the rain we've had yesterday and today didn't put a damper on it.  I'll always take a cool rain over a warm, sticky one.  At least this way you can bundle up before you head out in it.
The cooler weather, the changing colors of the leaves, the cardigans and boots and the pumpkin flavored everything signals the beginning of my favorite time of year.  I'm always ready for the change of the seasons and with it the perks that each season brings, but this is for sure my pick.
I am a very thankful person.  Maybe not super nice, maybe not overtly compassionate...but totally aware and thankful of what makes my life mine.

All the 30-days-of-thankful posts on Facebook inspired me to want to share some of the things I'm thankful for...but I'm not so good at staying on top of posting something everyday. This works better for me.  Here are just a few things I'm thankful for today.


*I am thankful that I get to be a Mama to what I think to be two of the most amazing little people on the planet.

Getting to be a stay-at-home mom while they are small is one of the greatest joys of my life!  Although I never thought I'd want to, I love being home with them. 


*I am thankful that I came from a big, tight-knit extended family.  I know how important that support system has been to me.  The members of that team have changed and shifted over the years, but the idea remains.  Ya need your peeps, ya know?


*I am thankful for the gifts and talents that God has given me; thankful that I was told early on the importance of using those gifts so they're not taken away.  


*I am thankful for my husband.  We are very different, but seemingly made to make life sweeter for the other.  He is a man of God, a kind soul, an amazing father, a true friend.  He has shown me what a gift marriage can be.  Believe me when I say I do not take this for granted.

2008

 2008

I love that guy.
 

2011

2012

*I am thankful to have a relationship with Jesus.  This is not a flip "thank you, Jesus" and go on with your day.  I have enough perspective to understand (if only to a minute degree in the grand scheme of things) that without Him there is nothing.  I firmly believe all that I have was given to me.  I deserve nothing good and yet am blessed beyond measure.


More thankfulness coming soon. 

Be thankful.  Tell someone.  It feels good to say it and to hear it.

First Day- November

 
Click on the first day button and check out some other fun blogs!

 

We're down from our candy high. :)  The Halloween decor is down...this only means Christmas stuff is coming soon!  I hope your November 1st was awesome.