Thankful - Day 27

I'm thankful for this:

And for a night that reminds me why we serve - it's not about getting recognition, it's because we love God and we believe in the thing we're doing. Good reminder tonight.

Thankful - Day 26

I am thankful to live so close to the mountains. Today we were able to cut down our Christmas tree in the middle of a forest - instead of a tree farm, or even buying it from Home Depot. I'm thankful for that tradition and that my husband appreciates it as well!

I am also thankful to have spent the weekend with our great friends/siblings/in-laws. I am thankful for them and that even though they are moving away next year, it's for an awesome reason and we'll still be in each others' lives!

Thankful - Day 23, 24, & 25

Day 23

I am thankful for a husband who takes such good care of me. For half days at work and time to get things done with my best friend.

Day 24

I am thankful that we have family here in Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving with. For delicious food, fun games, and crazy dogs.

Day 25

I am thankful for my job - that when my tendency has become to stuff hard things inside or push them out of my mind, it teaches me to feel. To be able to cry and comfort, to be honest with our feelings. That I'm learning that I can't avoid loving them if I know they're just going to leave. To learn that I can and will love these kids with my whole heart until they are gone from me, and then I will ache. But I'm so thankful to be able to feel.

Thankful - Day 22

I am so thankful for my job. It is the best environment to work in. I love my coworkers and feel so lucky to share so much of life with them. The work relationship is a funny thing... Professionalism always factors in, but you also spend 40 hours of your life each week with them. I am so thankful that we are able to be so open with each other. I never could have imagined something so wonderful in a work environment.

I am also thankful for celebrations. For Thanksgiving dinners and laughter and being able to serve in a more tangible sense. I love those women and those children!

Thankful - Day 21

I am thankful for delicious food. We've had a lot of opportunities recently to eat really high quality, delicious food... And I'm thankful. I'm also thankful that I've recently been inspired to make good food - baked goods, bread, pasta dishes... Food is a good thing.

I'm also thankful that we don't worry about where our next meal is coming from. That we have the opportunity to go to the grocery store every week and fill our cart with produce and things that fuel our bodies in the right ways. I love experimenting with healthy things - and how to make things healthier - and I'm thankful that we have the means to do that.

Thankful - Day 20

I am so thankful for Bloom. For the way it helps me connect with God through music, for the people, for the passion with which the pastor(s) preach, for the food, for giving thanks, everything. I love it.

Thankful - Day 19

I am so thankful for our house church. We work so well together and feel so comfortable. I feel like I can be completely myself with them. We've been so blessed to do life with them.

Thankful - Day 18

I am thankful for lazy nights at home, where we put on our pajamas at 5:30. For crafting and watching shows and resting from the crazy week.

Thankful - Day 17

I am thankful for library cards don't expire until I'm 105 years old. So, library cards that outlive me - and maybe libraries! 2092, I wonder what you have in store for us.

Thankful - Day 16

I'm thankful for a job that allows me to be honest. That allows for growth and opportunities, for development and grace. That we can extend grace and love to those we work with, as God extends those things to us.

Thankful - Day 15

I am thankful for opportunities - big and small, significant and insignificant... all exciting. Things that make me excited about our future - tomorrow, next year, three years from now, and beyond.

Thankful - Day 14

Today I am thankful for simple pleasures like homemade bread (for the first time, and at high altitude!).

[ Recipe from here: http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2009/11/no-fail-quick-french-bread.html with the high altitude adjustments made. ]

Thankful - Day 13

Today, I'm thankful for a sermon that challenges. That makes me want to check out or even leave, but then I realize how important it is for me to hear. That I need to work past the fear and hear what God may be trying to tell me.

Thankful - Day 11 & 12

Day 11 -

I am thankful for friends/family that challenge and encourage us so much. We don't have enough of that in our lives, and I want to be that for more people. So thankful for those two.

Day 12 -

I am thankful for a hot cup of coffee, an unexpected early morning wake-up that inspires me to spend time doing something I should have been doing a long time ago. Thankful for this Saturday morning.

Thankful - Day 10

Today, I'm thankful for my mom. For our weekly phone conversations - the honesty and laughter and support. I'm so thankful to have such a great relationship with my mom! She's amazing.

Thankful - Day 9

I'm thankful for my sweet kids. They trust and love me, and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for the opportunity to love these kids so much for the months they are in my care daily. I'm thankful that their moms trust me with them, and they know how much I love them. I love getting to see milestones and to be a part of helping that happen. I love when they come to me for comfort.

Loving these kids makes me so excited to be a mom. I can't wait to love my own. (I can wait, don't worry. It'll be a little while yet).

Thankful - Day 8

I am thankful, today, for the fact that my husband and I are different. I feel like we balance each other out and we can speak truth to each other in amazing ways. I am so thankful for him.

I'm also thankful for the ways in which we are the same, which is another post altogether!

Thankful - Day 7

Today, I am thankful for candles, a husband who sure can cook, and a peaceful night at home.

Thankful - Day 6

I am thankful, today, for the incredible honor of serving communion to Bloom. It was so humbling and beautiful and I felt so blessed to get to do that. It made taking the bread and the wine even more meaningful.

Thankful - Day 5

I am thankful for laughter and a safe place to be ourselves. The gift of eating a meal with friends and talking about life is one I don't take for granted. I am also thankful for new friends who care about the things we care about and are passionate to see God's kingdom and healing come to those in our community.

Thankful - Day 4

Today, I am thankful for my brother. He is such an upstanding and great guy. We're six years apart in age, so we didn't get along for quite a while. However, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and my leaving (the country) for college helped our relationship a lot. He's in college now, and it's awesome. I have to remember that he's an adult now, not a little boy... That's hard to remember since I haven't lived with him since he was twelve! But just getting to talk to him on the phone and see him twice a year helps with that. I am so proud of the man he is and is becoming. I cannot wait to see where his life takes him!

Thankful - Day 3

Today, I remember how thankful I am for the season of life that we're in. We have so much time together (which we both need and love), and a lot of downtime. We're able to be so invested in the things that are important to us and although our jobs are often stressful, this is an amazing time in our lives. I'm so grateful for the relationships we're building, the experience we're gaining, and the amazing time we have together!

Thankful - Day 2

Today, I am thankful for seasons. I am so lucky to have grown up in California, a most beautiful and interesting place. However, I love living in a part of the country that actually experiences seasons! Granted, Colorado is a bit bipolar about the weather, but that just makes it more interesting! I love waking up to snow softly falling and coating on the trees. The world is a quiet and peaceful place when it snows. I love crunching through crispy white snow, even when I still have to get up and clean off my car and go to work. Right now I'm looking out the window at the tree outside that is coated in heavy white powder. Beautiful.

Thankful - Day 1

Maybe it's cheesy, but I saw something going around on facebook where everyone posts something that they're thankful for every day until Thanksgiving. I have so many things to be thankful for, so I thought I'd try that on this blog.

Today I am so thankful for our house church. We had a really small group tonight but it was peaceful and safe and lovely. I am so thankful for friends who serve so humbly - even just someone doing my dishes means so much to me and reminds me that I need to be better about serving others (even if it's just in the little things). I am so blessed to know these people and to get to live life intimately with them.