Thanksgiving Blessings

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:4-5 

I love the holiday season and all that it represents.  Thanksgiving is such a great way to kick it off, too.  A day devoted to thankfulness!!  I was convicted last night as I laid down in bed though.  I was thanking God for the many blessings in my life and was reminded that I need to do that more often because every good thing comes from the Lord.  I want to be a wife, mom, friend, sister, and daughter who has an attitude of thankfulness each and every day!  I want to create a home in which my daughter grows up to learn that we are so blessed by God's goodness.  I want to cultivate relationships with those around me that just makes thankfulness contagious.  I'm praying that I can stay focused on the true meaning of the holiday season.  It's so easy to become distracted by worldly things.  And no, I'm not saying it's bad to enjoy the things God has blessed us with, but I am saying that I want to be content with what I have and not be filled with the "I need/want more" attitude.  I know Adalyn is far too young to understand the meaning of Thanksgiving or Christmas this year, but I am praying about how Greg and I can raise her to have a giving and selfless heart.  I know it's not an easy task today, and never was for that matter, but it's our job and it starts with us as parents.  I pray that we can set a great example of selflessness and that she will grow up to be a generous, content, and loving little girl.  Did I mention how thankful I am for this little peanut and her daddy?

What are you especially thankful for this year?

Adalyn - 6 months, some snow, and much more

Wow, where has the time gone?  I'm pretty sure I say that every month.  I've done a bad job of keeping up with this blog and really my goal was to only blog at least once a month...that's 12x a year...not that difficult, Amanda.  The issue is, so many other things just tend to take priority over blogging these days.  But I haven't given up completely.  Maybe in the dead of winter I'll be more focused on blogging, but for now my free time is spent outside when the weather is nice, like it was today.  Mid 60s in mid-November.  Can't complain about that.  Speaking of weather...before we talk about Miss Adalyn's 6 month birthday, I must show you a picture or two from the last weekend of October.  Check these out.

 

Looking out our kitchen door on 10/28/11

And here is the same shot the next day, 10/29/11

What?!?!  Snow in October?  I have to admit...I didn't think the weather forecast was correct and I didn't believe it until I saw it on Saturday.  So I didn't prepare (notice all of the leaves on the ground that I chose to neglect and not rake on Friday!).  And I know you are all dying to see a picture of sweet Adalyn all bundled up...

Adalyn and Daddy

Our little bundle of joy

It seems like some crazy weather event always happens on or around Adalyn's monthly birthday.  The day she was born there were tornado warnings, throughout the summer it was either a hurricane, a flood, or an earthquake AND now snow.  I really need to write these things down in her baby book so we don't forget!  Check out the 6 month pictures.  

Isn't she just a doll?  She was a champ this weekend -- Greg and I have been planning for over a month now to go to PSU with my siblings.  When we planned it, we never would have guessed that JoePa wouldn't be coaching.  What a week and what a tragedy.  Rather than talking about it too much, I've just been trying to pray instead, but I have to admit, it's hard not to get sucked into the news, facebook posts, blogs, etc... My heart goes out to all the victims and their families, not just at Penn State but all across the world, as such sin is everywhere.  This is again a reminder that we all need Jesus.  Greg and I have such great memories of our years at Penn State and this somehow seemed to taint them, but our weekend at Penn State was great and it was a good reminder that God is in control.  Adalyn and I didn't go to the game, but Greg said that he just felt God moving through the stadium.  How awesome was the prayer in the beginning of the game?  I pray that many come to know the Lord through this horrific situation.  On a lighter note, here are a few pictures from the weekend.  

 Adalyn wearing Aunt Bec's hat

Our tailgate - did I mention we forgot the pans to cook our eggs in?  Oops!

Our Penn State family

Until next time, my friends!