Happy Thanksgiving

It has been a crazy fall, but Kendell has summed it up well for us-we just need to get used to it, life is just always going to be crazy!
So, I guess I will try to swallow hard, and take my daughter's advice-"Get used to it" Life goes by in whirlwind procession, and we just need to hang on and do the best we can with each hour of each day!!
Today we had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. It was very cold outside, but inside, yummy smells and hot ovens kept us toasty and completely full by the end of the day.
Aside from cooking a full turkey dinner, we also made time for some family photos-finally, in good clothes, something suitable for a photo card at Christmas-FINALLY!!
So, the next job will be a long-overdue letter to family and friends-I think I skipped last year, but we have so much to talk about this year, I probably won't get any awards for brevity.
The boys are doing very well, Isaac will surely be walking by his 2nd birthday. Isaiah is trying very hard to speak all the time-his want to is great, we just need to channel all the energy in the right direction now.

I am so not ready for cold weather, but I guess it is time-goodness, Christmas will be here in 4 weeks, and I haven't done anything about that either-I can really tell the difference between 3 kiddos and 5-wow, where do the days go?? The only hours I seem to have are after they are all in bed and Chuck is milking-he milks the night shift 3 nights a week-I don't like it, but it gives me some computer time, otherwise, there wouldn't be any during the day-Isaac just won't allow much time for anything but HIM!!!!

I still have some posts I want to do from the fall activities, but who knows-I also want to update the blog with a new look, since we aren't farming right now-but I don't know when that would happen-maybe that will be my New Year's resolution? Goodness, 2011 is just around the corner- I really feel like life is passing me by, but I am also loving it-

We are so blessed, life has been good, despite the changes, and the children are true gifts from God. As long as we have a roof over our heads, plenty of food in the freezer and pantry, and clothes to wear, what do we have to worry about?

Ok, time to head to bed, and no, I am not doing Black Friday shopping-I prefer internet-it's safer and cheaper-not so many impulse buys-when I get the time to do it!

Some of the things we listed on our gratitude list last night include:

-friends

-family

-Our Savior's Blood, shed for us

-God's Word, the Bible

-A home

-A job for Chuck

-A church family

-solid Biblical teaching we sit under each Sunday

2 boys with healed hearts (Nick and Isaac)

school is going very well this year

our farm and land

our co-op group and the time we spend together studying Astronomy

our health

food and clothes

Blessings

Chris and family

Thankful Thursday-abundant life

Today is Thankful Thursday, and my list of thankfuls begins with my dear husband. My trusted friend, my lover, my hard-working, yet playful partner for life. He is burdened with many thoughts and worries about the farm, feed prices, and milk production, yet he is trusting God and desiring to give his anxieties to the One who can bear them better than we can. May he turn his eyes upon Jesus, and keep them there, even when the cares of this world do become a huge weight on his shoulders.

My next blessing this week is for my youngest son. Tyler has only been a part of the family for 3 months, but he has become firmly entrenched in our hearts and lives. He padded out of his nigh-night earlier than ever this morning, gave me a sleep grin and a "Hi Mama", then proceeded to climp up on my lap, lay in my arms, and I was so blessed by our quiet time together this morning before the older children got up.
My next thankful is for my dear aunt and uncle-I spent the day yesterday traveling 5 hours round trip to spend the day with them at my Grandma's house-they are preparing to head back to Colorado via Mayo Clinic. My Auntie Marlie has had rheumatoid arthritis for most of her adult life, has become severely crippled with the arthritis, but is still a smiley, cheerful, loving woman who loves her family and her Lord. Last year on their Wis trip, they also stopped at Mayo Clinic, and she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. This year, they are hoping to determine how far it has progressed. Praying for it being at a standstill!!!!
I am also thankful for rainy days that encourage us to slow down a bit and find some quiet time to rest and refuel.

I am thankful for God's protection during last weekend's storms-no power for 15 hours, flash floods roaring through our area, dams giving out, yet no loss of life! Praise God!

I am also thankful for our employees-without them, I would not have been in the house this morning to enjoy the rare, quiet side of my littlest son, or be inside when the thunder awoke the sleeping 9 year olds 30 minutes later.

I am blessed by the opportunity to be a wife, mother, friend, daugther, and to have the choice every day to speak life and encouragement to many women who read my words here, or on the email groups.

This morning, my time in the Word was spent dwelling on Jesus' words in John 10 where He speaks of being our Good Shepherd-and how He has come so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. I had to pause for many minutes and meditate upon that phrase-abundant life. We live in the land of abundance, we have abundant food, entertainment, choices, job opportunities, homes, etc, and yet, that is not the abundant He is speaking of. But how easy it is to get caught up in thinking those abundants should make us happy.
I want to strive today to focus on the abundants that we have that are not tangible, that we can't hold in our hand-His peace, His love, His grace, His salvation. Also, family, their love, their support and encouragement. Also, His Word, and how it never fails to amaze me how whenever I read my Bible, I come away with a nugget of truth I can hold onto for the day.
Join others on this Thankful Thursday at Iris' blog. See what other women are thankful for, and enlarge your own world as you contemplate how Good God is, ALL THE TIME!!
Blessings in His Name
Chris

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Today is Thankful Thursday, another blog meme that I need to partake in, as it is just so what my heavy heart needs-more praise and thanksgiving.

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee,

All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."

1. Yesterday, we took Kendell to the dentist for THREE fillings-and my prayer for the last 3 weeks has been for her to have NO fear, no pain, no panic-and as I walked away from her in the dentist chair, praying, I had a sweet peace about the entire ordeal, as did she, as she never in the 3 weeks uttered one fear, one word of WHY?? and when I snuck back to peak at them about 20 minutes into the procedure, I could tell ALL was fine-and I had tears of thanks in my eyes at our Heavenly Father's unfailing provision, faithfulness and compassion on us, an unfaithful, forgetful, needy family.

2. I am so thankful that His love for us is not contingent upon our reciprocating that love, nor our time spent reading His Word, or our time worshipping. God just loves us, and as born-again believers, He desires for us to spend our days in communion with Him, and how disappointed He must be when we so easily are pulled away from our good intentions by the cares of this world.

3. I am thankful for the ability to communicate with other moms via the internet-even though it can become a time-waster if I am not diligent, it is a very wonderful way to communicate, to hold each other up, to bestow blessings of encouragement for those who need it, and to connect with others who GET IT about the daily issues we homeschooling moms face.

4. I am so thankful for the yahoo groups of adoptive moms that I am a part of. No one understands the ups and downs of mothering and loving adopted children like another adoptive mom, and my world would be much heavier without all the love and support we share there.

5. I am so thankful for warm weather-we seem to have a real problem this year coming to grips with the fact that it is no longer winter-we had such a long, cold, grueling, snowy winter for 6 long months, that I am continually blessed on our travels to see gardens and fields becoming lush with this year's new crops-seriously, I feel like my brain is stuck in February, and I have not really transitioned to June yet-

6. I am so thankful that God hears our prayers, He answers them in His timing, and according to His will. If we did not have the ability to connect with God, if we could not seek His face, and fall before Him inploring, interceeding for our/or others' causes, how could we possibly face the days' events? I KNOW God hears my prayers, I KNOW He loves me, and I KNOW I am a child of God. Those 3 things alone should be enough to help me overcome any and all obstacles the world and Satan have thrown at us.

Wow, nothing like a good dose of thanksgiving to give your morning a jumpstart, your heart and spirit a lift, and put a smile on your face.

Praying thanksgiving and praise follow me and my family throughout the day! Oh, the Power of Praise!

In Him

Chris