We're a Thankful Family

Thanksgiving is here, and the older I get the more I recognize the importance of gratitude.  I fully recognize that I cannot do life by myself and that if it weren't for the LORD and the people with whom He's surrounded me, I'd be in sad shape.  Along this line, I've really been trying to take seriously the idea of itemizing the things for which I'm thankful so that I can see all the big and the small ways that I've been blessed.  I don't want to take anything for granted.  With this in mind, the following list, except for the first entry, comes from both of us.  It's been composed over a length of time and I've put it together by recalling our recent prayers together.  Here goes:

• I'm grateful to the LORD for providing such a beautiful wife for me.  Not just physically (though I'm soooo thankful for having such a hot wife!), but for the beautiful person that she is, the beautiful mother that she is to Lincoln, the way that she's fit like a hand in a glove with my family, the beautiful and wonderful mind that she has, the multiple ways that she takes care of me... I'm not sure how I ended up with such an amazing wife, but wow... I'm thankful.

We're thankful for...

• Family - From Mom and Dad's helping hands and wisdom to Mom & Dave's generosity, we're blessed to have a family that is a positive influence in our lives.
  
• Lincoln - He's growing into a good little boy and he's a complete joy for us.  I can't imagine life without him in our lives.
  
• Jobs - Many folks don't have jobs that they enjoy, and still others don't have jobs. We are thankful that we have jobs that we enjoy and that are stable.
  
• Provisions - From food to transportation to a warm home, we do not take for granted all of the small ways that the LORD has provided for our needs.
  
• Friends - We've got a couple of circles of friends and we appreciate the companionship and insight that they provide.
  
• Bridget & Betty - There's never a dull moment with these two.
  
• Extras - There are so many benefits that we've been given that we simply don't need, but have been given to us to enjoy: the John Deere tractor, our fun camera, fancy cooking tools, the workbench, satellite television, the MacBook, our expanding library, nice furniture, our wardrobes, etc. Why have we been blessed with all of these things? There are a variety of answers, but regardless of the reasons, Jenn and I do not take these blessings lightly, and are thankful to the LORD for taking care of us.

The list above is by no means exhaustive, but we wanted to communicate our thanks to those who ought to hear it.

Wednesday is our big travel day. Sometime between Noon and 1:00pm we'll be heading south to Uncle Jeremy & Auntie Em's house in Franklin, TN, for Thanksgiving dinner and get-togethers. It'll be a great time with the Gates-Gates-Hopwood families. We're trying to coordinate our travel with Lincoln's sleeping schedule (hence the return trip overnight on Sat/Sun), so we'll see how that goes.

We pray you'll enjoy your Thanksgiving family time, wherever you spend it.  And thank you for spending some time on our blog.