why I'm thankful, day 12

"...and God began making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had asked."
1 Samuel 1:19 MSG

I'm thankful for this scripture, which I came across and really read for the first time last week. It's been on my heart ever since.

why I'm thankful, day 11

Veterans Day. Today I'm so thankful for our veterans. May God bless them, as well as all the soldiers currently fighting for our country.

why I'm thankful, day 10

I'm thankful for my sister, who is not only my sister but also my best friend. I heard all my life that we would grow up to be the best of friends in spite of our differences, and I'm so glad everyone was right! Our friendship was a long time coming, but well worth the wait.

She really is the best sister ever. Here are a few reasons why:

*She lets me use all of her coupons.
*I can always count on her to accompany me to the grocery store.
*She keeps my kids for free when I need a sitter.
*She doesn't laugh at me when I want to watch old reruns of Gem and the Holograms or Hey Dude.
*She has seen me through multiple emotional breakdowns and still agrees to hang out with me.
*Only the two of us can completely understand our mother.
*She introduced me to Twilight.
*She loves my kids, faults and all.
*She held my hand during my traumatic amniocentesis before Jordan's birth.
*Only she could make cleaning an office building be a fun time.
*She has beautiful babies.
*She usually laughs at all of my jokes.
*She's an excellent judge of character.
*She's the first to tell me that maybe I need a medication adjustment.
*She's a "messy", just like me.
*She lets me borrow her stuff.
*She does a mean Scuttle impression. (Scuttle = the sea gull from The Little Mermaid)
*She always lets me cry on her shoulder.
*She's a constant source of encouragement.
*She's my friend.
*She's my sister.

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~ Isadora James

why I'm thankful, day 9

I gave Shaun a writing assignment today. A standard creative writing exercise that required him to brainstorm some topics, pick the one he wanted to write about, and then create an "idea web" so that tomorrow he'll be ready to write a paper.

I wanted him to do this by himself. He wasn't happy about that. Like most boys, Shaun doesn't like to do anything that requires him to sit still and think- but I made him do it anyway. His brainstorming list included pirates, XBox, God, and... something else. Star Wars, I think.

He chose to write about God. Heaving a huge sigh, he wrote GOD in big capitol letters and then started listing the main points for his idea web. He sat at the dining room table while he did so, while I got lunch ready in the kitchen. As usual, I walked by to check to make sure he was staying on track. He asked if I wanted to see what he'd come up with so far, and of course I said yes.

I looked at his paper and felt like shouting... his first main point about God was simply: He Wins.

Oh, how true this is. And how encouraging to know that my kid knows that God wins.

You see, I've been a little panicked lately. Lots of things are happening in our family. How many of you know that I don't do change well? And to top it off, I can practically feel Satan trying to beat down our door. I really hate it when he does that.

But, at the end of the day... GOD WINS. He's got this. As we sang in church tonight, "He holds it all together". How thankful I am for this truth, and that my Lord used Shaun to remind me.

why I'm thankful, day 8

Tonight I'm thankful The Crockin' Girls. I love cooking in the Crock Pot...throwing a meal in after breakfast and then smelling it cook all day. Even better, coming back home after we've been gone all day and being assaulted by the amazing smell of crock pot chili as soon as we've walked in the door.

I never knew exactly how much one could make in a crock pot until I found these girls and their web site.

I absolutely love to have dinner waiting on us at the end of the day, whether we've been home or not. Evenings around here tend to be a little hectic and there's not always time for cooking, ya know? Yesterday I even had two crock pots going at the same time: pork tenderloin in the small one and black beans in the large. Tonight the family and I enjoyed Crock Pot Ravioli. Yum yum. And so easy.

Next on the list is Crock Pot Corn Bread.

why I'm thankful, day 7

Tonight I'm thankful that we were able to get Jordan out of this punching bag thingy.


You see, instead of going to sleep tonight my youngest "monster" thought it would be fun to wedge himself inside this punching bad cover... or whatever it's called. I actually thought he was asleep and then I heard both boys calling me. I walked into their room and saw Shaun pointing to the floor with a horrified look on his face. When I looked where he pointed I saw Jordan laying inside this thing, face down on the carpet.

He was stuck.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. And then I went and woke Chris up so he could see this for himself. Then, finally, I tried to pull Jordan out... to no avail. I thought maybe my strength was being compromised by my fits of laughter until I realized that the poor guy was stuck in there with his knees bent. He wasn't going anywhere!

We pulled and pushed until finally Chris decided we should just cut some of the padding out from the inside of the bag. And now all is well.

Yes sir, it's never boring around here.

why I'm thankful, day 6

I'm thankful for my pastor


and my church.


It may be a little different from the church I grew up in


but it's home.