Thankful, 2011 Edition

I've been trying to talk to Gunnar this week about what Thanksgiving is all about (right now, he only knows that it has to do with turkeys, because one of our neighbors replaced their yard full of "scary stuff" with a huge blow-up turkey) and what all he has to be thankful for. So that has ME thinking about what I'm thankful for. Of course the obvious ones jump right out...the gift of salvation, my husband, my son. I certaintly don't want to undermine those....they don't just get an obligatory shout-out in my "Thankful" post...it's just that I'm constantly aware of how thankful I am for those things, year round. I wanted to start a tradition though of thinking through what I am SPECIFICALLY thankful for, for each SPECIFIC year. Maybe some "not-so-obvious" ones, but ones to be thankful for, none the less. So, in no particular order:

1) Our church, women's bible study, and Cindy Hawks: The Biblical Womanhood study, led by the maaaahvelous Cindy Hawks, has been (one of) the hugest blessing this year. I have learned SO much from the study, (much of which I am still processing through), and having the opportunity to lead a discussion group has been awesome as well. I've learned new things, met new people, grown in my relationship with God, AND discovered how totally cool, smart, and godly our pastor's wife really is. By the way, Part 2 starts up again in January, so if you want to jump in with us, go to this link, and check it out:



2) The adoption of Enock Box: : Seriously, this has been such a blessing, for SO many reasons. First of all, have you seen or met Enock? How could he not be a blessing?? He's precious. Secondly, his parents are amongst some of our very best friends in the entire universe, and getting to experience such an awesome, life-changing adventure with them has been one of the greatest things ever. Third, their story has been a huge inspiration/motivation to us, and I know so many other people. Its very convicting, and hard to ignore, when you hear the statistics on orphans, and become aware of how very many there are worldwide, all the while knowing that there just aren't a lot of good reasons why you SHOULDN'T provide a loving home for one of them. I'm thankful to the Box's for putting their belief into action, and setting an example for the rest of us.




3) Our friends: I really dislike the phrase "do life together"...I just hear it used A LOT, and any phrase that I hear used A LOT starts to get on my nerves after a while. However, I have to say, I can think of no better phrase to describe the relationship we have with our circle of best friends. Over the years, they have become more like family than friends to us. I love being there for them, and I love knowing that they are ALWAYS there for us. I love that we love their kids, and that they love ours, and that our kids love each other (well, I'm convinced they do at least, whether they act like it or not). I love that we have fun together, but that we're able and willing to experience the not-so-fun stuff together with them, too. I love that they encourage me, challenge me, make me laugh, and tell me the truth when I need to hear it. I just looooooove them so!

4) Troubles: Yep, I'm thankful for "troubles", and the lessons I learned from them. I could spend an entire page (or more) writing on this particular one, but because I know how easiliy I could let myself ramble on, and how boring it would most probably be to you, I'm going to intentionally make this one the very shortest paragraph of all. Suffice it to say, my biggest trouble in life is my "addiction" to worrying, and this summer was pretty rough, in terms of how much time I spent worrying myself into a tizzy over stupid things. However, the blessing that came out of it is...I'm done with worrying. Yup, I am. At least, I am in the process of being done with it. More on that later, in a different blog post.

5) Pinterest: Yeah, I'm serious. I just don't know what any of us ever did without Pinterest. It is a big time hobby/leisure/unwind activity for me, BUT I think it's totally a worthwhile use of time. Look at all the greatness that has come to our household, from Pinterst this year:







Not even to mention the fact that Gunnar is practically a genius by now, from all the educational activities I've gleaned from there. So I'm thankful for that, too :)

Thanks for Yet ANOTHER Great Idea, Pinterest!

Picture Dumping

Today, I was accused by Nason of being a "hoarder"...of pictures. This comment was preceded by an attempt on our part to snap a cute shot of Gunnar, using my phone, and not being able to, because there was no available memory. Nason is right...I am TOTALLY guilty of hoarding pictures. Here's the thing: I have this irrational fear...a fear most likely shared only by people 80 years old and up....that if I don't KEEP my pictures (preferably in an actual, old-school album, but if not that, then at least on my phone) that they won't be "safe"..like, maybe this "newfound, internet-thing" won't be around forever, and when it goes away, I'll no longer be able to access all the pictures I had safely saved (or so I thought) on Facebook, my blog, etc. Ok, I know that obviously that won't really happen, but it IS the method to my madness. Anyway, as I scrolled through ALL the pictures on my phone, I came across quite a few that apparently were never deemed "Facebook worthy", but also were just too cute and/or too sentimental to delete, which is why they are now availalble on here, for your (and my FUTURE) viewing pleasure....