thankful for

In light of the Thanksgiving spirit I thought I would post 25 things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. While some of them may seem cliché they are the absolute truth and without most of the things/people on this list I don’t know who I would be today. So, in no particular order….

1.   My faith. It has gotten me through the greatest and worst times of my life. God is always always there and has blessed me 100 times over when I have continually fallen short. I will serve him and strive to be a daily example of His love to others for the rest of my life.

2.   Jimmy. You are my everything, my soul mate, my very best friend, my encourager, my support, the love of my life. You make me smile every single day and my heart still skips a beat when you hold my hand or kiss me, I love you with everything I am.

3.   My family, both biological and in-laws. My parents are truly the greatest examples of earthly unconditional love there is. My siblings are my best friends and people I truly love spending time with. The Grover’s have welcomed me with wide open arms into their family and I love them as if they were mine by birth.

4.   Our baby. Although we haven’t met you yet we love you so much and absolutely cannot wait to meet you, bless our families with you, teach you, and watch you grow. We pray for you every single day and hope that you will be healthy, happy, and learn to love the Lord.

5.   John Deere. Jimmy and I (and a few other family members) have been blessed greatly by our jobs and the support of a great company.

6.   Springfield. We have made so many fun memories here together in Springfield. We have enjoyed time for just us but look forward to moving back closer to family.

7.   Our house. I have loved making a home that we can call “ours”. It feels like home after a long day or a weekend away and I love that it’s the place that Jimmy and I lived together in for the first time after our wedding.

8.   My nephews and niece. They are so much fun. I truly miss them when it’s been a while since I’ve seen them and love them with every bit of my heart. I can’t imagine our family without each of them in it.

9.   The beach. To me there is nothing more peaceful then laying in the sand with a good book, listening to the water crash against the shore and feel the sun shining on my body. I am thankful that God created them and that they bring me so much peace.

me laying out on our honeymoon

10.    Maternity clothes. What would we do without them? And thank goodness designers have hopped on the wagon and started making cute ones so that your style doesn’t have to go completely out the window for 9 months!

11.    Shampoo. Random I know but I love the feeling of clean hairJ

12.     Marriage. What a blessing this has been for me this year. The idea that someone else has picked me to spend the rest of their life with just makes me smile.

13. My friends. Being in another new town this year I was reminded often times of the importance of friends and strong relationships. While I don’t live close to most of my “good” friends anymore I often times have been convicted of needing to call and catch up or hop in the car for the weekend to visit. I am blessed to have friends that are willing and able to come visit us and admit that I need to do a better job at fostering my friendships while “away”.

14.   Target. I seriously love that store.

15.   Coach. I seriously love their bags. As I frequently tell my husband, “It’s all about the quality”J

16.    Orchard Hill Church. This is my home church back in IA that I am a member of. I have lived in several different places and have grown to love other churches but none quite as much as Orchard. I love how every leader and many members and attendees believe in the mission of the church. I just recently sent in my leadership board approval, budget approval, etc. and am continually just blown away by the churches generosity, candor, and way the conduct the business side of things as well.

17.    Freedom. Something that is all too often taken for granted but not forgotten.

18.    Date nights.

19.    A quiet house. I hear this will soon changeJ

20. Good food. Especially lately I just love to eat so I certainly am looking forward to the Thanksgiving meals this week!

21.  Black Friday. As much as I love to shop I love the memories I make with my sisters while doing this every year. Although I do dread the alarm clock wake up at 2:30am!

22.  My Ugg boots. I busted them out since I’ve been in IA and it just feels like a cozy bed for my cold toes.

23.  Our vehicles. Again, while being back in IA I’ve appreciated the blessing of hopping into a warm car when it’s cold out – unfortunately not everyone has a car, some that do don’t have heat, and lots of people don’t have 2 cars!

24. Clean water. As I was sending a Christmas gift to our Compassion child this last week I was reminded of the struggles Milly (our child) faces every day, one of which is water, something we don’t even think twice about.

25. Music. Jimmy LOVES music and I love that he has so much passion for something. Plus I love rockin out to a good song with him in the car and remembering all the times Jacinda and I jammed on our way to or from school in high schoolJ