Thankfulness

Some more thankfulness...

#4...I am thankful for our house.  We bought our house four months after we got married and I am so thankful we did!  We probably wouldn't qualify now for it because I am not working but yet the Lord has provided our mortgage payment every single month since we bought it.  This house is old, but it is a blessing.  This house has a lot of things we want to change, update, and improve, but this house is cozy, the right size for our family at this moment, and the place we first found out we would be starting our family and the place we have raised our kids since the day of their birth.  We love this house, we love our neighbors, and we are so thankful that we have the blessing of owning our own house.  I do not want to every complain about my house because it is a blessing we even have one.

#5...I am thankful for a God who loves me and forgives me every time I mess up.  In the business of life right now and the phase of parenting we are in, I often put my relationship with my God in the back of my mind while I focus on everything else.  I hate this about myself.  However, I am so thankful that He still loves me even when I put Him out of the front of my mind sometimes.  I hope to make Him my first priority daily. 

#6...I am thankful for the screams that I hear through the baby monitor from Madelynn's room right now as I type this.  These are not happy screams.  In fact, they are very angry and sad screams from a sweet little girl with a stuffy nose who DOES NOT want to take a nap right now.  As frustrating as it can be when one of my kids does not want to nap, I am incredibly thankful that I have that little lady in their who has the ability to communicate with me and who really loves her mama and just wants to snuggle.  Those screams from the crib should always remind me that I am unbelievably blessed with two precious, happy, healthy, sweet kids.  I didn't deserve to be so blessed but God is full of grace and mercy.  I have dreamed of being a mom since I was a kid.  I have watched friends struggle with infertility and have even known wonderful women who have lost their precious babies.  This world is unfair but our God is bigger than that.  As hard as it is to know that so many people struggle to live their dream of being parents, I am beyond thankful for the ability to be a mom. 

#7...I am thankful for Christmas.  Today is November 7th which means that in just two to three weeks we will be pulling out the Christmas decorations and we will begin the month of Christmas joy that I look forward to throughout the entire rest of the year.  There is something very special about Christmas.  It is of course the month that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  There is no other birthday more special than that birthday and because of it we have the hope of a Savior.  I am also so thankful for the joy that Christmas brings.  There is something special about the music, the lights, family time, the warmth of the season.  I love Christmas and it seems to bring me happiness each November and December.  I am ready to decorate and get a tree today but I am holding off a little longer ;)  I love Christmas even more now that we have kids.  I love seeing their faces when they see Christmas lights and help us cut down our tree.  I love reading Christmas stories and watching Christmas movies as a family.  And I love seeing my kids eyes light up when they open their presents.  I want to work so hard to make sure my kids know what Christmas is really about and that it is NOT about the presents.  However, giving is a wonderful gift and I love giving gifts to my kids.  We just have to keep everything in perspective. 

I am so thankful that I really do have so much to be thankful for.  So much more running around in my brain!