Blessings in Simple Places

I have been thinking the past week or so about how blessed Andrew and I are by our families. I guess what I mean to say is how we get along with each other's families.

From the time we started dating, both of our families took the other person in...no questions...just acceptance and love. While each of us and both of our families have their fair share of quirks, we are able to take them in stride and adjust or deal with them.

I get along great with Andrew's family. I think they are awesome--especially since so many of them read my blog! :) We have a lot of fun together, whether it be making dinner, laughing at Andrew, or playing our new Nintendo Wii. They have been there for me a lot this past year and I am so thankful!

Likewise, Andrew gets a long great with my family. He has been great with my nieces and nephews from the start. It is so cool that when my brother comes into town, Andrew often stays up visiting with him long after I go to bed.

On top of all of that, our families get along great with each other! We don't have to worry about special occasions, because they all can just come together for them.

I have seen too many examples of people who do not get along with their in-laws. I have seen the kind of stress such relationships can place on a person individually and a marriage as a whole. I am reminded that it is important to take time to be thankful for this blessing of family that has been given to us.

Thank You!

I can not say enough to thank everyone for the kind words, cards, acts, and gifts that were given to us over the past week! It meant so much to us to know that other people were thinking about Sydney besides us. While it was a difficult week, we made it through. We tried to focus on celebrating Sydney's short life instead of focusing on how sad we are that she is gone (even though we miss her terribly!). This week was definitely a reminder of what amazing friends we have- both in the blogging world and those we know personally. Thank you so much!

Sunday Seven

1. Really cold days- today it was 8 degrees when we got up. But, as we were driving in to church, you could see forever! The sky was so clear.

2. The Parkers- A family from church opened their home up last night for an evening of fellowship, food, and singing. It was a wonder time of praise and growth as a church family.

3. Sam's Club- We buy Kleenex in bulk at Sam's and we went through at least a couple of boxes of them last week!

4. Soup- there is nothing better on a cold day (especially when you are sick) than a nice hot bowl of soup!

5. Fuzzy socks- I have a collection of fuzzy socks that keep my feet warm when it is cold out. I hate for my feet to be cold!

6. Good messages at church- I feel like God has been using our minister to speak directly to me the past few weeks. He just has an amazing way with words! To hear his sermons on podcast, go here.

7. Reminders- I am thankful for the little things that God puts in our paths to remind us of where we need to be headed!

Sunday Seven

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted a Sunday Seven. Finally, things are getting back to "normal" around here. So, without further adieu, here are my Seven things I am thankful for right now...

• Cameron's safe arrival. (My nephew who was born last Monday)
• Spending time with friends- we spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with friends and we had a blast!
• Good Christian examples- need I say more?
• The Bible- we really are blessed that God saw fit to give us guidance and a way to know him through the Bible. I take that for granted too much.
• My parents- they brought Andrew and I both soup yesterday as we were both feeling sick.
• Laughter- It just feels good to laugh, doesn't it?
• A good cry- God knew what He was doing when he gave us tears. I can tell when I have not had a good cry in a while. It always (after a while) makes me feel better. There is just something therapeutic about the tears running down my cheeks and dripping off my chin. It is comforting to imagine God catching each tear in His hands and adding them to His own.

You can find the Sunday Seven meme here.

By the way, this is my 99th post! Stay tuned for my 100th post with 100 things about me. I am so excited!

Sunday Seven

I have come across a blog that hosts the Sunday Seven Meme. Basically, you are supposed to tell seven things you are thankful for. We did this in our ladies Bible study this fall and it is amazing how it changed the way I thought about things. At 9 am, it can be hard to come up with things that you are thankful for that day already unless you start looking for them. It takes a change in your way of thinking. I am really excited about participating in this meme. To learn more about it, go here. Here are my 7 things for this week:

1. Snow- I love looking out over a fresh snow that has been left undisturbed. It is so beautiful! Plus, snow means it is not ice. I know, there could be ice, too. But, if there is a lot of snow, it is probably too cold for ice. Snow means sledding and snowmen and hot chocolate with a good book!

2. Blogs- I have really been enjoying reading blogs and writing on this blog. It has been very uplifting!

3. Our Cats- We spent a good bit of time playing with our two cats last night. They are really fluffy right now since it is cold and they look really cute when they are chasing the strings we play with.

4. My new bedroom furniture- I have been sleeping so much better since we got our new furniture. And to think, we almost did not get a new mattress!

5. We are having church today- We did not get to have church last Sunday because of the bad weather and I have missed being there.

6. The safe arrival of Holly Grauf- Julie and the new baby are doing well!

7. Andrew- He has been such a blessing in my life and I could not ask for a better husband!


These are in no particular order and are in no way meant to be exhaustive. I just wrote as they popped into my mind, so some of them may seem kind of trite. Click on the picture above for more people's Sunday Sevens.