So Very Thankful...

Well, Thanksgiving is over and now it's on to Christmas. Where does the time go?

We had such a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving in Lubbock, with our family. We were able to spend 4 days in Lubbock. We had Thanksgiving lunch with Bryan's parents and Mema and then Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, brother and his family.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be part of such an amazing family. My family has always been close and I always prayed that God would allow me to marry into a family that also shared this same kind of closeness. God answered that prayer when I married Bryan. My husband is the most wonderful husband in this world! He is gentle, kind, unselfish, funny, witty and the hottest pastor I know!!! He is an amazing son, husband, son-in-law, father, FRIEND. I am THANKFUL God brought him into my life. I am also THANKFUL for his family. I'm THANKFUL for the closeness we all share. My parents and my in-laws are such wonderful examples for Bryan and I and I only pray that we can be half the parents they have been to us.

I'm THANKFUL for my two precious boys.   Isaiah and Samuel bring so much joy into our lives.  Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.  I can't imagine my life without our two little guys.  They help us see things from a child's point of view and as an adult, living in this crazy world, that is a nice thing sometimes!!!  I remember when Isaiah was born and the few months thereafter when I wondered if those days would ever be behind us.  Isaiah was our firstborn and I won't lie, I had a tough time.  Don't get me wrong, I loved him but being a new and inexperienced parent was really hard.  I always thought to the future with Isaiah - when would he sleep, roll over, sit up, speak, eat REAL food, walk, etc.  Of course he did all of those things and more and eventually I felt capable of being his Mommy.  Then, fast forward 2 1/2 years and along comes Samuel.  I had a hard time right after Samuel's birth just because I was worried about how Isaiah was feeling.  I made myself think that he was sad that he wasn't getting all the attention now and that made me really sad.  But, Isaiah couldn't have cared less.  He loved his little brother and he was going on with his world.  Once I realized this, life was much, much easier.  With Samuel, all the milestones mentioned above went WAY TOO FAST.  I wanted to freeze time.  It seems like he was born and now here we are 2 1/2 years later and he is not our baby anymore!!!  I am THANKFUL to God for all those hard times but even more THANKFUL for the wonderful boys they are growing up to be.  I love them deeply and pray for them daily.

I am THANKFUL for my relationship with God because without Him NONE of the above would be possible.  We were all sitting around the table with my in-laws on Thanksgiving and my father-in-law told us he wanted us all to go around the table and say what we were thankful for.  Isaiah was thankful for "God," and Samuel was thankful for "Spaghetti!"  They had other things they were thankful for all throughout lunch!!!  When it got to me I said that I was thankful to God because although I don't deserve anything, He has given me everything I ever asked for in a husband, in-laws, and kids.  This is so very true.  When I think back on my past and what COULD be my life right now, I am so very THANKFUL that God had other plans.  Yes, I have SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR, not only at Thanksgiving but ALWAYS!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families.  I also wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas season.