Thankful #2

1.  I am thankful for family members that live close by.  I had my mom and her sisters over this afternoon for lunch and it just made my heart happy to see them and laugh with them.
2.  I am thankful for my wonderful sister-in-laws, all three of them.  I love them all so much.  They are not only family, but some of the best friends I have. We have made some great memories and I look forward to many, many more to come.  I am so blessed to call them my sisters.
3.  I am thankful for the girl I have called my best friend since I was 4 years old.  I was listening to my favorite radio station yesterday (KLOVE) and Nichole Nordeman and Amy Grant's new song came on.  It's called "I'm With You".  Listen to it if you have a minute...beautiful.


Anyways, I started to cry as it made me think about Lindsey and how much she and our friendship mean to me.  She has been there with me through it all: hiding under tables in preschool so we didn't have to leave each other to staying up late at night talking about our love interests to holding each other when those love interests weren't so interested anymore.  And there are millions of stories in-between - 21 years of friendship.

We've been through the good and the bad.  As long as I live, I will never forget the day I called her and cried to her that my previous engagement had ended abruptly.  She lived in Italy at the time and had 2 babies.  She was on a plane to the U.S. in less than a week.  She dropped EVERYTHING for me.  She traveled halfway across the world to help her friend pick up the broken pieces of her life and move on.  She helped me move into my little apartment and start my life on my own.  I had no idea what I was doing, but she helped me hold it together when I really wanted to fall apart.  And she was the one that, after I started putting the pieces back together, told me that that guy she had just met (Jared - my husband) looked at me different - like he really cared about what I had to say.  I thought she was crazy.  A year and a half later, she flew back across the world to be my Matron of Honor at my wedding.  No words can ever express how thankful I am for her.
4.  I am thankful to live in a free country where I have the resources to do what I want to do.  I can go to church because I am allowed that choice.  I can read as many books as I want because I was provided an education. 
5.  I am thankful for the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to fight for our freedom.  How do you put into words the gratitude that you feel towards our service men and women?
6.  I am thankful for my wonderful friends.  They have stuck with me through the ups and downs.  We've shared many laughs along with cries.  I love each and every one of them.  I would not be the person I am today without their love and support in my life.  Whether I've known them since elementary, middle, high school, college, or after - their friendship makes my days brighter.
7.  I mentioned I was thankful for my husband in my last post, but I want to elaborate.  I am not just thankful for a husband.  I am thankful for the man I call my husband: For his passion, his unwavering love for me, his commitment to me, his trustworthy character, his ability to make me belly laugh, his way of really caring what I have to say, his patience with my low self esteem and working so hard to build my confidence.  I could go on and on.  This man has my whole heart for my whole life.  I was terrified to say yes to our first date.  It was the best date I have ever experienced.  I was terrified to say yes when he asked me if I'd be his girlfriend, so scared of being hurt.  But he was the man I prayed for.  And I had absolutely no doubt.  I had all the faith in the world that God knew exactly what He was doing.  It was not until I completely surrendered myself to God that I began to see just how much He was working in my life. 

 Us at the Ole Miss/Arkansas game in 2009

This crazy man sitting next to me on the couch right now yelling and jumping around cheering for his Arkansas Razorbacks is nothing short of a miracle in my life.  Just the WAY it all played out - how he came to live here, how I stayed here, how he got the job at the law firm, how I got the job at the law firm (that I never even applied for), how everything worked out all had divine intervention.  This is my favorite verse.  I made sure it was on our wedding programs.

Source: inloveandwar.net via Carrie on Pinterest

8.  I am thankful that my mom and dad defied all odds.  People said they'd never make it.  Thirty years and going strong.  Thank God for them.
9.  I am thankful for my siblings.  I could say so much right here about the laughs, fights, and all we've been through.  But I feel that simply saying that I love them to death is enough.
10. I am thankful for my precious little niece.  She was the most unexpected surprise.  She has brought so much joy into our lives, it's unreal.
11. I am thankful for my grandparents.  I never got to meet my dad's parents.  They had died before I was born, but I'm thankful to have known my mom's parents.  Over the past few years since my grandma has passed, I've grown closer to my grandpa and I will forever treasure that.  I also had/have two very important people in my life that may not have been my biological grandparents, but they might as well have been - my Meemaw and Pawpaw.  My Pawpaw passed away 10 years ago, but I still have my Meemaw here.  They mean the world to me and have made such an impression on my life.

I was only going to do 10 items here, but I got going and couldn't stop.  Hope you're enjoying your 3 day weekend like I am.  I'm off to go take food out of the oven - cooking for our Sunday School lunch tomorrow.  Goodnight and be blessed! XOXO