Filled with Thankfulness

The end of November has flown by and there were so many more posts floating around in my head. I'm going to let them go and finish off the Thankfulness blog posts. But, I won't forget to be thankful. I know that I'm blessed in so many ways! God is so good to me!

In this season of my life, I am mostly thankful for this time I have with my family. Being able to spend time together is something I'm so grateful for. Especially as I see other families watch their children leave the nest.

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Thankfulness for Carie

I have so many reasons to be thankful for my wonderful friend Carie! The reason that she gets a special post is because she is always so faithful to make sweet comments on my blog...and it means so much to me.

I met her when I moved overseas in 2006. I've got so many memories with her! Most of my memories include being really dorky and laughing together. Sometimes we can get serious, though, and talk about deep things! I really appreciate how well she listens and gives honest feedback.

This picture of us was taken when we took a trip to Jordan together in April, 2007. So much has happened in both of our lives since then! That was before she had teenagers and before I had kids.

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Thankfulness for symbolism

I just read The Legend of the Three Trees to Joseph and Faith. I'm thankful that so many things point to Christ! I love this story about how 3 trees were used in Christ's life in different ways!

As we prepare to put up our Christmas tree I was touched especially by how the pine tree dreamed of pointing people to God. In the end this tree was used to make the cross that Jesus died on. The cross is an amazing symbol of God's great love in sacrificing His son to die in our place.

During the Christmas season we celebrate Christ's birth and His life. But, ultimately, he came to die to pay for our sins and be raised again to make us right with God. (Rom 4:25)

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Thankfulness that my kids love books

This morning just before leaving for church I peeked into my kids' room and I saw them looking at their books. I love this scene! I'm thankful that that they love books!

When I fist started teaching elementary school I fell in love with teaching reading! I think it's awesome to watch kids make connections and become independent readers! Once they can read, a whole new world is open to them for learning all kids of things.

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Thankfulness for an Ethiopian Salon

A couple days ago Faith and I went to get her hair braided. As we were walking in, I realized how thankful I am to have an Ethiopian salon! What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to have Ethiopian ladies braid Faith's hair!

Every time we walk in Faith greets them with the one Ethiopian greeting that we remember. The ladies have known her since she was 10 months old and they always comment about how much she has grown!



They call Faith by the same nickname the nannies in Ethiopia called her: "Baity." It's short for Betelehem (which is translated Bethlehem). This is her Ethiopian name that we've kept as her middle name. We call her Faith Bethlehem a lot!

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Thankfulness for my kids

I love kids! I always have! When I was 13 I started babysitting and I loved it. As soon as I turned 16 I got a job working at a preschool and worked there until I graduated from college. (I worked there when I was home for the summers.) During college I worked at a preschool and a daycare. After college I taught for 6 years in elementary school. I haven't been able to stay away from kids!

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Thankfulness for my husband

It's not easy to put into words how much Tim means to me. I couldn't have dreamed up a better husband. I often sit back and marvel at how well we go together! Though we're different in so many ways, his strengths fill my weaknesses! He's such a good listener and helps me to process things that happen. He helps me to see things from a different perspective.

I love to laugh with Tim! He accepts me for who I am and I can be totally silly around him. I love to see him having fun with Joseph and Faith too! He's not afraid to wrestle with Joseph and be rough. Faith is his princess and she loves it when her daddy says, "You're a pretty girl!"

It's been such a blessing to watch him grow spiritually over the years! He's definitely the spiritual leader in our family and it's not hard for me to submit to him. His meekness and his fierce commitment to God are inspiring. He never hesitates to obey God and do exactly what He feels like God is leading him to do, even when it's not easy.

There are times when I feel down and he's quick to come alongside me and encourage me. He's so good at telling me just what I need to hear. It means so much to me when he says things like "I'm so glad that you're my wife." or "You're so beautiful!"

He's incredibly good to me. The way that he takes care of me when I'm in pain is amazing! He's so selfless and goes above and beyond what I would expect him to do.

I love walking through life with Tim! It's awesome to be able to look back and see our history together. It's also exciting to look ahead and think about our future together. I couldn't have chosen a better one to grow old with!

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Thankfulness for my history with God

This morning when I woke up, I felt like God was reminding me of His faithfulness in my life. I love it when He does this! When I look back and see how God has been so faithful to me through the years, it helps me to know that He will be faithful today and in the future. I can trust Him for today because I have trusted him in the past!

I became a Christian when I was 13 years old. (In this picture of me, I'm a little younger than 13.) My dad had become a Christian a few years before that and I watched him change.

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Thankfulness for church

I've had a lot of thoughts about this topic today and I'm not quite sure where to start. First of all, I want to say how thankful I am that through church I learned about Jesus and about following him.

I'm thankful that church is so much bigger than a building. Growing up my dad used to say, "You can't go to church, because the church is you!" He got that line from a song by Acapella Vocal Band. I found a youtube of it here.

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Thankfulness for discipline

This morning I woke up in pain with another headache. I have to admit that my first response is frustration, not a humble submission to God's sovereignty in my life. There's something humiliating about having chronic headaches. I end up being so dependent on Tim to take care of me and the kids. I like to be independent and I love taking care of my kids. Laying on the couch, flat on my back, isn't the way that I want to spend my day. 

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Thankfulness for the time when my kids were little

Tonight we were looking at pictures and videos of our kids when they were little. We are so glad to have videos and pictures to help us remember how sweet that time was. It's been such a joy to be able to watch them go from crawling to walking to running! It's so sweet to hear their giggles in the videos! The memories of Joseph and Faith learning to say their first words are so precious. I am so thankful that we have had these precious kids from such a young age!

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Thankfulness for Adoption

I really love the fact that November is National Adoption Month! For me, adoption and thankfulness go hand in hand. I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunities that Tim and I have had to be able to adopt Joseph and Faith!

This picture is our first picture as a family of four...every time I see it, I'm filled with gratefulness for the perfect way that God has built our family!

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Thankfulness for Eid

I'm thankful to be able to participate in the Eid celebrations in our village! There are two main holidays that our Muslim friends celebrate. One is right after Ramadan. Which took place in August. I blogged about it here.

The other is right after Hajj. Both Eids include getting dressed up and enjoying special food, much like we do for our holidays! There's lots of visiting going on during this time!

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Thankfulness for our home

We have passed a full year of living in our home and it feels SO good! We don't have plans of moving. God has even confirmed to us in several ways that He wants us to become more deeply rooted in this community. Having our kids go to the local preschool has already allowed us to deepen some friendships. Our kids are making friends and that makes us so happy for them.

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Filled with Thankfulness

“My heart is filled with thankfulness” that's going to be the theme of my thankful blogs this November. I did this last year. Only this time I am not setting the goal of writing a blog each day during November. I'll just do as many as I can. It's so good for me to reflect on God's goodness to me. And, maybe, it can bless you too!

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