Saturday, November 17, 2007

For All That You've Done I Will Thank You

Who else feels a little caught off guard that it's almost Thanksgiving? I wore a tank top out one day recently, so it still feels a little weird to be planning on turkey and dressing. I'm still excited, though. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite actual holiday. I love the Christmas season, but the actual day can be overwhelming and a little bit of a let down after all the hype. Thanksgiving, however, seems to be a purer holiday. Just bring over some food, watch some football, hang out. Well, the past few Thanksgivings have been that way. I just have a really hard time with the word "no" but two years ago, sweet Kyle put his foot down and said that from then on we would reduce our Thanksgiving obligations from 4 to just one. It has been so nice. It is really hard to feel like you're letting someone down, but it has been worth it. Our first several Thanksgivings as a married couple we ran around so much that we ended up missing most of the actual dinners and ended up at Whataburger at nine o'clock at night starving. In honor of the holiday, here are ten things that I am SO Thankful for...

1) My Precious Husband. I am so thankful for the man of God that he is and the way he really applies that to everything that he does - at work, as a husband, father, friend. He is one man who really walks the walk.

2) My Marriage. I am so thankful that her we are, seven years into it, and our marriage seems better than ever. So, while I listed above that I am thankful for Kyle, I am also thankful for the relationship that we have and how it opens my eyes to the way that Christ loves me. In no other relationship do you feel such total and unconditional love and acceptance - the freedom to truly be yourself all the time - good and bad.

3) My Maelie. Good grief, that is an understatement! She is so precious. And such a surprise! She amazes me with her humor, her bravery, her wildness. These are things that are so not me, but I love to watch grow in her! I think being a mom to someone like Maelie brings those qualities out in me a little, too. She is also so sweet and girly. She has several times lately put her arms around my neck to pull me into a hug and then just patted my back with her sweet little hands.

4) My Family. That is one thing I love about this time of year - that it really makes you stop and prioritize just how important your extended family is to you. I love having everyone together - we have a really big family so it is not often that we are all under one roof! It brings back so many good memories of my childhood. This Thanksgiving could also be the last one for a few years that we have all of my smaller family unit here, so I am especially thankful for that.

5) My Friends. I am so blessed to have so many sweet friends in my life. I really feel like we have such a rich life, and I know that is in large part because we are blessed with such rich friendships with people in various stages of life. Some friends have older kids to learn from, some have no kids to remind me what Emilylife is about instead of just Mommylife, and some have kids exactly the same age as ours to help share in the joys and journeys of Mommyhood. I feel like each one is a different glimpse of Christ to me.

6) My Job. This year I am especially thankful for my job. It gives me such an outlet to use the gifts and talents that the Lord has given me in a way that, hopefully, reaches out to others and brings Him glory, to plant seeds in tiny hearts about just how much Jesus loves them. It also puts me in contact with some pretty amazing women, again, from all different paths, who share a common love and a common goal. They bless my life just as much as all the kiddos do!

7) Kyle's Job. Even though Kyle occasionally has to work some pretty crazy hours, I am so thankful for his job. It really seems like he has found his niche. He likes what he does, and most days comes home in a pretty good mood. He also works for great people who we love, and that makes such a huge difference. It just makes all those hours that he is away working and sacrificing for our family go by a little quicker to know that he feels successful and fulfilled.

8) My Church. I try not to give out a lot of personal information on this blog, but I will tell you that I go to Richland Hills Church of Christ and I love that place. It is the first church that I've gone to that I've really felt like was my church family instead of a bunch of people I go to church with. Kyle was nervous when I first started working there that seeing the inner-workings my tarnish my idealistic views of church and in essence, hurt my feelings. However, I feel like quite the opposite has happened. Getting to know the people that work there, how things are done, sometimes why things are done has really made me love it even more. I feel like, while no earthly leadership is perfect, the hearts of the people at this church are really about serving God, bringing him glory, and spreading the Gospel of Christ to as many people as possible and it is really exciting to be working, worshiping and raising a daughter in that atmosphere.

9) My Hope. Is it not amazing that you can look back at all the things that you are thankful for, knowing how so very many things did not make the Top Ten, and know in your heart that it is only the tip of the iceberg? To know that even the things that you aren't necessarily thankful for - like the hurt in your heart for the people you love that are away from Christ - can turn into a thanksgiving because you are so thankful that God knows your hurt and has a love for these people and a desire to call them His that you cannot imagine. Above all, to know that one day you will leave it all to be with Him - I am so thankful for my hope and my future!

10) My God. Now, you know that this one could go on and on, but I will sum up my thankfulness for God by saying that I am so thankful that He is my God, and that I am His. I know that none of the other things would be possible without Him. Even if I had Kyle in my life without Him, I would not be able to fully appreciate all the things that Kyle is without seeing him through the Father's eyes. I would not have a marriage that was meaningful if both of us weren't striving for the same goal - to live a life that brings Him glory, and to take our children and as many others to heaven with us. None of it would matter - the joys would only be a glimpse of joy and the sorrows would swallow me whole without the love and sacrifice of my Father.

Friday, November 09, 2007

I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You...

Well, I know that historically all my blogs have centered around Maelie, but I just couldn't help share this picture of Kyle. Sometimes I think about who he was and who I was way back when we got married, and it is amazing to see how far we've come as a couple and as individuals. I feel like we have grown up together in away, and when I stop to think about the man he has become it astounds me. He is the most precious Daddy to Maelie. I always knew that he would be a phenomenal dad, but watching him actually do it blows my mind. It was part of what made me fall in love with him to begin with, and it's part of what makes me fall more in love with him each day. He is also an amazing husband. I have felt so bad for the past several weeks, and he has so taken care of our family. He has done the cleaning, the laundry, given extra care and attention to Maelie and taken such good care of me. I have been a little frustrated by my lack of energy and the doctors inability to figure out what exactly is going on, and he has just loved on me and assured me that things will get better, I'm not useless, etc. All of this on top of the work he normally does and some extra help he's given friends lately. The most amazing area of growth I've seen in Kyle is spiritual, though. He has really stepped up and become the leader of our household with such grace, wisdom and faith. I think that's why I love this picture so much. When I first started teaching Bible class, Kyle was not that interested. He would help me set up, clean up, anything like that but I think he was a little intimidated by the kids. Over the last few years, he has become more and more involved and he is so good at it. He is great at getting kiddos that don't want to come in the door and involved in class. He is always ready to make towers for the boys to knock down and those little girls have him wrapped around their fingers. It just warms my heart to see him put himself so fully into serving our God by serving these precious little ones that He thinks are so important.


"Mr. Kyle" at work!












I think Maelie is so lucky to have such a fun Daddy!