A Heart full of Thanks and other stuff.

There are so many many things for which to be thankful, I am truly blessed. This post will be an eclectic update of the past few weeks and an expression of my heart of thankfulness.

1. Recital.
Josiah’s first recital of the year was at the end of October. Every year there are 4 recitals. Two solo and two group, this was a “solo recital”. Josiah played Twinkle Variation 2 (for those Suzuki people out there). All the children did so well. Recitals are a time of encouragement for everyone. It is so nice to hear beautiful music from the older students, it helps the younger ones and their parents realize that all the hard work and diligence will one day pay off.

2. Youth Challenge.
So nice to be with dear friends again. It was also nice to sing with Brent and Jani again too. Obviously, we don’t sound like we used to when we practiced hours on end. However, it just feels so good to join our voices together. I still think that the special blending we feel has more to do with our history and love for each other than the quality of our voices.

3. Creation Museum.
So cool. We had such a nice time. I would heartily suggest visiting on a week day though. Check out Tara’s blog archives for a really great review of the museum

4. Party.
Matt and Dan (a dear friend) are the “babies” of our church. Among all the adults in our church, Matt and Dan are the youngest, (aside from our dear Miss Jo) and this fall they both will or have turned 30! So Carma and I, being the “older women” in their lives had a little party for them. We surprised Dan and Matt with a Roller Palace party, complete with Sam’s CD, Roller Skates, Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes, and noise makers. The real children of the church really enjoyed the party too. What fun!

5. Thanksgiving Week
Well, we’ve made a turkey, a thankful wreath and Cyclops. I know Cyclops doesn’t seem to fit, but we studied the Ancient Greeks last week and Cyclops was quite fascinating to Josiah. We also stole Kayla’s idea and read the Pumpkin Patch Parable book and carved pumpkins. I know it’s kind of late, but if you wait until after Halloween the pumpkins are really cheap. The truth be told, I carved the pumpkins though. Go figure, our boys will play in the mud and hold snakes, but nothing doing when it comes to pulling out the slimy stickiness of a pumpkin. And they say women are a mystery.

It’s been a good week and I’ve done some perspective evaluating too. Here is a short list of things for which I am thankful.

• My relationship with Jesus. How truly blessed I am to know Him and be known by Him.
  
• My family. What a joy to have such a wonderful husband and two healthy happy boys. Not to mention, extended family that we enjoy and love.
  
• My Church Family. I am so blessed to have such a beautiful unified church family. We pursue His truth together as we learn more of what it means to be members of the Family of God.


• My Friends. I am so thankful for all of my dear friends who have known me in my yuckier times and still love me. So thankful for your consistent faithful friendship.
  
• My possessions. I’ve lived long enough to realize that no matter what our annual income may be here in the USA we are rich compared to most people in the world.
• The opportunity I have to stay home with and educate our boys. Sometimes I can feel so overwhelmed with my daily task. I can be so focused on how far we have to go in training and educating that I forget to see how much is being accomplished. I am so blessed to have been entrusted with these precious little souls. While it is scary, it is a privilege. I am so blessed to be the one who gets to see their eyes light up when they read or watch them glow when they add numbers correctly. I get to be the one who explains the history of the world and see them begin to understand the tragedy of a life lived without God. What a bonding experience to learn and grow together. I realize that not everyone has this privilege and I am so thankful that I do.