What I am thankful for this week

519. Noel losing his first tooth.

520. impromptu trips to the ice cream shop with my brother and his family.

521. getting to take care of my grandpa's dog, Babe.

522. six years of serving with Russ Smith as our youth minister.

523. getting to know and love his wife and daughters.

524. getting to play guitar with the worship band, even if everything was kind of a train wreck!

525. hot weather (we will miss it in February)

526. all of Noel's warts going away.

527. Elise deciding that she likes school now.

528. patience.  I need more of it.  But I am thankful God is patient with me.

529. my transition to the high school Bridges program (BTC) is going well.

530. a friend to vent to who understands me.

531. new shoes.

532. new socks.

533. seeing some of the Crossing students learn how to make jam.

534. a great run at the park.

535. a new children's minister at our church.

536. tomatoes.  and more tomatoes.  and more tomatoes.

What are you thankful for?

Today, I give thanks!

516. I am thankful that there was a 2-hour delay, so I could have a little one-on-one time with Noel.

517. beautiful, warm weather.

518. a weekend with no plans.

What are you thankful for?

Today, I am thankful. . .

513. for a new haircut (first one in over a year).

514. that my mom's recovery from her knee replacement is going well.

515. for reading stories to Elise in the afternoon.

What are you thankful for?

Today, I am thankful for. . .

510. lime sherbet from The Cone Palace.

511. a new running path.

512. green beans and more green beans and more green beans!!

What are you thankful for?

Still Thankful

Yep, still thankful.

Thankful for. . .

498. the fact that we now have internet service that actually works now.

499.  Noel starting first grade. So far, he has been loving it.

500.  a new place to workout in Russiaville.

501. the amazing harvest we have had from the garden this summer.

502. band aids.

503. school supplies.

504. giggles.

505. getting to watch my grandpa's dog, Babe, for now.  The kids have fallen in love with her.

506. our trip to Michigan.

507. 9 years of marriage.

508. time to see old friends this summer.

509. change.

(Sigh)

I'm not going to lie, this summer was hard.  It was filled with so many fun things that I am so very thankful for (vacations, time with friends and family, tons of sunshine and playing together, ice cream, campfires, etc.).  But it was also filled with change.  After three years, I am moving from working at the middle school Bridges program to the high school program. Two of the head teachers at The Crossing left.  Our youth minister and children's minister at our church left. My grandfather has been put in a nursing home, and it very upset about it (to put it lightly).  Noel is now in public school.  all day.

Lots of change.

And I am not always good with change.

But I have also seen that most of these changes have brought about lots and lots of good things.  I have seen God move in ways I would not have seen had these changes not happened.

And I am confident that God is working in me, around me, and through me.  So I continue to be thankful.

Where to Begin?

It has been a month since I got on this blog.

Oops.

For those 3 of you who still read this, I apologize.  My goal of hitting 1000 reasons to be thankful has fallen behind terribly.  It's been a month of ups and downs.  Amazing vacation moments and tragic, heartbreaking moments.  But through it all God is constant.  He never leaves.  He never forgets.  He never stops loving us. 

In short, I am still thankful. 

Thankful for. . .

472. safe car rides.

473. traveling DVD players.

474. memorable pit stops.

475. meeting Robbie.

476. seeing a family that had once been torn apart put back together, only by God's grace and a lot of forgiveness.

477. swimming pools.

478. life jackets.

479. sunsets.

480. bug spray.

481. go-carts.

482. dolphins.

483. air-conditioning.

484. throwed rolls!

485. ice cream coolers at gas stations.

486. campground church services.

487. the ocean.

488. sandcastles.

489. our garden.

490. pickles.  and more pickles.  and then some more (you guessed it) pickles!

491. Noel's first time doing 4-H.

492. summer storms.

493. new friends.

494. old friends.

495. the knowledge that we are never alone, even when it seems like it.

496. change.

497. ten years with my sweetheart.

What are you thankful for?

Summer Fun

Summer has started off with a bang, as you can tell from my absence on the blog.  I'll try and keep this as concise as possible, but I have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

433. summer reading program

434. the kids finding joy in little things, like rolling down hills

435. hearing Noel read to me

436. slushies

437. our new playset

438. our garden

439. the rain

440. swim lessons for Noel

441. swim lessons for Elise

442. plans are coming together for Noel's 1st grade class

443. camping trips

444. bike rides

445. our friend Bob's tent

446. catching bugs to inspect

447. our new hobby:  geocaching

448. bubbles

449. coloring time

450. a good week of camp for Bridges students

451.sleeping in

452. stars

453. sunsets

454. s'mores

455. Elise swimming in the Mississenewa with all her clothes on!

456. making memories

457. the discomfort of change that forces me to rely on God

458. sidewalk chalk

459. air conditioning

460. bug spray

461. Coyote Kids running program

462. getting to run a 5K with my nephew and my friend Cecile.

463. opportunities to show God's love in different ways.

464. afternoon date with David to downtown Indy.

465. picnics

466. parks

467. strawberry shortcake

468. our friends who we got to camp with this past weekend

469. plans to see family from far away soon

470. our niece is back from Austrailia

471. healthy children

What are you thankful for?