Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It's a pretty close tie between this holiday and Christmas in my heart. Maybe it's just the time of year that I love so much. Or that they both insist on a pause in the hustle and bustle of life to really think about the blessings the Lord has poured out. But either way, I'm really happy tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

And I get to spend it with this guy:

How can you have anything to complain about when that face is around?

It kind of snuck up on me this year. Maybe it's because I've been so busy trying to figure out this whole being married thing, but I turned around and it was Thanksgiving week. And as I pack for us to travel down South to spend the day in the desert hills with Mr. Ford's parents, I realize how very much I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for a dog who loves nothing more than to snuggle up and just be close to you. He just wants to love me and be loved by me. He doesn't ask for much else.

I am thankful for friends who are so far away and yet we are still able to lean on each other when things get tough. I've been reminded yet again this week that my journey in life and in this world has brought some really incredible and faithful people into my story and I could not be more grateful for the role they play in my life and that I am allowed to play in theirs.

I am thankful for a husband whose priorities are in line and who works so hard to provide for me in every area of life...spiritual, mental, material, and physical...I am beyond blessed to have such a good provider. And it doesn't hurt that he's easy to look at. :)

I am thankful for a family that understands the reality of marriage and holidays...that they have to be shared...and that is okay with sharing us. And I'm grateful that we are able to spend as much time as we are, on a regular basis, since we live so close to them.

I am especially thankful for having married into a family that I am excited to spend the holidays with...that I don't have to feel like I'm missing out on too much not being with my side. I am so blessed with in-laws who are wonderful and celebrate holidays much like I'm used to...quietly, relaxed, and with lots of good food....grateful just to be together. I love nestling into Mom and Dad Ford's peaceful house in the hills, wrapped in a blanket and sweatpants with a good book and the love of a really beautiful family. It doesn't get much better than that.

I am grateful too, to be a part of a church that is never satisfied with what they have done to connect and show the love of Christ to it's community...a church that is always looking for something more to do and how to better reach a greater number of people. I am grateful that the Lord has blessed us in such a way that we are able to be a part of that and bless others through our church. Bayside Church is doing some really exciting things in the year to come and we are so thrilled to be a part of it.

But most of all, I'm grateful for a Father whose faithfulness and grace has seen fit to bless me with all of these other things. Life is so good.

Happy Thanksgiving!