30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 22}

I am thankful...

For snuggling on the couch with my 2 wonderful kids, watching the Macy's Day Parade!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 21}

I am thankful...

For health!  I say this with some irony, because I actually do have a pretty yucky cold, but overall, our whole family is blessed with health!  And sometimes when we are not feeling 100% is when we appreciate the fact that we are generally very healthy all the more!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 20}

I am thankful...

For our church family!  We are so blessed to be part of Grace Community Church.  Although, I wasn't much help with 2 kids in tow, tonight our church put together 30 Thanksgiving dinners for families in the community who need a little extra help for the holidays.

Our church's dedication to "being the church" is inspiring and something I am proud to be a part of!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 19}

I am thankful...

 For friendships!

"Make new friends, but keep the old.  Some are silver and the others gold."

Anyone else remember that little ditty?

Well, tonight Eli and I got to have Karen & Adam Hartley over for dinner.  Karen and I met in 8th Grade and have been friends ever since!  She was my maid of honor at our wedding too!   Had a great time catching up with them!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 18}

I am thankful...

FOR EVERYTHING!  I AM SO THANKFUL!

I'll let the video speak for itself...

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 17}

I am thankful...

For Christmas lights. Honesty, I think this time of the year when it gets so dark so early would be awfully depressing without those glorious little lights! :-)

Eli and my wonderful father-in-law hung up our lights today, and it makes me so happy!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 16}

I am thankful...

For family gatherings.  Tonight our family got together to celebrate Eli's birthday (which is actually the 18th, but he has to work Sunday).  We ate a delicious meal that Eli prepared (yes, he cooked almost all of his own birthday dinner - and yes, I am thankful for his superior cooking skills too!) and brownies (that I made!) and just had a fun time hanging out with family!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 15}

I am thankful...

For technology!  Yes, it can be an addictive time drain, but it also a beautiful way to keep in touch with friends who are far away.  I can see pictures of their newborn babies and share in their joys and in their sorrows.  And also, it enables me to do soooo much of my work from home!  It really is a wonderful thing!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 14}

I am thankful...

For the Nathan Project!  We just passed the 2 year anniversary of the passing of a wonderful young man, Nathan Stiles, who suffered a concussion while playing on the Spring Hill football team.  Although far too short, his life has blessed so many!  He truly lived for Jesus, and evidence of that happens all over the world now in the many Bible studies going on in his name.

I am privileged to be part of one on Wednesdays at Grace Community Church for junior and senior high school kids.  In the last 2 years, we have studied through Luke (Nathan's personal favorite), and then Acts, and then Romans.  Tonight we celebrated our completion of the Book of Romans!  And after Thanksgiving, I am excited that we will be starting Jonah!

So thankful for Nathan, his parents, all the volunteers that distribute the Nathan Project Bibles, all my fellow Bible Study leaders, and of course, all the awesome youth that gather together to study God's Word!

If you would like to help bring Bibles to those in need and in correctional facilities, please visit http://www.nathanproject.com/ to make a donation!  To get connected with a study, check out the list at http://www.nathanproject.com/project-groups/

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 13)

I am thankful...

For Eli's job.  Yes, he is working a 24 hour shift today, but tomorrow he goes on 4 day.  9 days a month I don't see him at all, but it is a great schedule for our family.  Plus, I am so thankful that he has been so blessed and honored there - God has given him favor with a recent promotion and wonderful coworkers.  I am so proud of him!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 12}

I am thankful...

For uncles & aunts!  Micah is at this awesome stage where he wants to know where everyone is at all times. Lately, he had been asking for "Un Nick & Aunt Caitlin" so we got to go to dinner with them tonight!  And we enjoyed a fun and delicious time at Oklahoma Joe's and then Orange Leaf for dessert!  Lucky Micah got his fill of jumping with Uncle Nick and flirting with Aunt Caitlin.  All is good :-)

And we can't wait to see Uncle Caleb (Un Caber) when he is home on Christmas break!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 11}

I am thankful...

For our great nation and all the men & women, past & present, who have served in the military to protect it and us!  Happy Veteran's Day!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 10}

I am thankful...

For our Grow Group! Every Thursday we get to hang out with the most amazing people and sometimes we get together even more than the usual Sunday-Wednesday-Thursday. Tonight some of us got together to celebrate Aaron's birthday at Cinzetti's and we had fun and laughed together and probably ate too much, and I think God smiled because that is true communion.

Eli and I had a great small group in St. Louis, but when we first moved back to Kansas, we went about a year without one. So I know what life is like with and without a community of fellow believers, and let me just say, it's soooooooooo much better together!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 9}

I am thankful..

For my guard dogs! Lol

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 8}

I am thankful...

For everyone I work with!  Today, I had a meeting at the Louisburg office with some of our Crown Realty leadership, so I was reminded how blessed I am to work with such wonderful people!  Many of the agents, brokers, and staff at Crown Realty I have known since I was born, and some of have only been with us a little while, but everyone contributes to the excellent family atmosphere and fun environment we have at Crown, and I am so thankful!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 7}

I am thankful...

For the awesome ladies that work in our church nursery on Wednesdays and Sundays! I think there has been maybe 3 times in Micah's 2 years that he has protested the nursery, and it's because he loves those ladies! When we pull into church he is always excited... What a great first exposure and testament to what God's family should look like!

Plus their loving service allows me to study the Bible with our youth group girls on Wednesdays and actually listen to sermons on Sunday!

Love you ladies and occasional guys that love our kids for an hour or 2 every week!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 6}

I am thankful...

For the right to vote!  I know this is probably on everyone's list today, but seriously it is something we should never stop being thankful for.  What an amazing country we live in!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 5}

I am thankful...

For grandparents!  I grew up with my 2 grandmothers living nearby and was so blessed by them!

Now, I am so thankful that Micah & McKenzie have all their grandparents close too!  We spent the evening at his Grammy & Pappy's house (Eli's parents) enjoying a bonfire, hotdogs, s'mores, 4-wheeler rides, and of course playing with all the toys they have there.  Micah is one spoiled little boy, and soon Kenzie will be too!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 4}

I am thankful...

For ROAD TRIPS!  2 weekends ago, we got to go to Branson and Silver Dollar City with some of our grow group, and this weekend, the kids and I go to go to Nickerson, KS with my mom.

Sometimes the best part really is the journey, and on our way back to Spring Hill today, we had lots of fun with little pit stops.  Micah really got the hang of the road trip spirit and kept saying "see another thing, see another thing, see another thing"  LOL!

Here is one of the cool things we saw!  A stone arch bridge build in 1886 in Clements, KS.

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 3}

I am thankful...

For God's sense of humor!  WOW, does he have one!

Micah, Kenzie, and I are in Nickerson, KS with my mom and Auntie Ainka & Auntie Jae visiting Hedricks Exotic Animal Farm and Bed & Breakfast.  Such a cool place with such amazing animals that reflect our very amazing God!

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 2}

I am thankful...

For Micah & McKenzie.  It's Friday, but I spent the night building towers, having "tummy time," reading stories, and watching "Thomas the Train" - and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Halloween 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 1}

I am thankful...

For the best husband and dad our little family could ever have.

At just 3 months, little. Kenzie just lights up when she sees her daddy. And Micah has serious hero images of his daddy. He asks me where daddy is and when I tell him "at work" he asks "driving ambulance?" He is so proud of his daddy already!

And as for me, I am so blessed to have married my best friend! :-)