Thankful for Favorite Moments

 

I don't have any pictures today...

just words.

I'm thankful for so many things today.

Because God is good, even in the midst of struggle... He is good.

And, the things that I'm thankful for are my favorite things right now. They are the things that matter most.

Thankful for favorite moments...

I'm thankful for laughter during a difficult day.

I'm thankful to be living the dream. Thankful that the dream doesn't have to be perfect. Thankful that life itself is precious.

I'm thankful for Valentine's crafts from the girls that say, "I love Mommy and Daddy!"

I'm thankful for praying friends. For the family of God that is lifting us up, consistently, fervently, patiently and lovingly. Thankful that God speaks words of direction, peace and love through those who pray. Feeling blessed and undeserving of their gift of time. Knowing God is using this to bring His people together.

I'm thankful for opportunities to preach the word. Thankful that the presence of God remains strong even when I am physically very weak. Thankful that I can stand on the promises of the very Word God has called me to proclaim.

I'm thankful for a husband who supports and encourages me to keep going even when I feel like staying home. Thankful to hear him say, "You can do it... God will get the glory." I'm thankful for the reminder that everything we do is for Him and He can work through a willing heart.

I'm thankful for a husband who sent a sweet early Valentine's Day card to me in the mail. on a day I really needed it.

so many favorite moments, things to be thankful for...

Feeling blessed and loved.

A Tennessee Thankful Post

 

Sometimes words just aren't enough to express how thankful I truly am...

God has been so good to us.

And, we have promises in His Word that He will continue to be good.

In fact, He promises to work ALL things for good when we are walking according to His purposes.

Even the rough stuff. Even the hard days. Even the difficult circumstances.

We can be thankful knowing that God has it all in the palm of His hand.

His hand is working for our good.

Amazing...

And since I can't even begin to list all the incredible things and people that I am thankful for... I thought I'd simplify and join Rachel in the ABCs of Thanks.

A - Abby

B - Book Reviews

C - Chocolate and Computers (both had to be listed)

D - My Dad

E - Elayna

F - Friends

G - Gluten Free bread mixes

H - Holidays

I - Ice Cream

J - Jeremy

K -Kcups

L - Little Lisi

M - My Mom

N - Neighbors

O - Old Movies

P - Pizza Nights

Q - Quilts

R - Restful moments with a book

S - Sisters

T - Trees for swinging and playing

U - United States

V - Vacation

W - Webkinz

X - Xercise (*wink) on our Schwinn Bikes!

Y - Youtube

Z - My Zune

I loved making this list... It forced me to get creative with my Thankfulness!

Oh, and one more...

Thank you all for praying for my health this week. I have felt the prayers and I have had some good days.

We are having a great time on our Tennessee vacation. Our cabin isn't exactly what I expected but it is working out just fine. We went to the Dixie Stampede yesterday and had the most wonderful experience. I can't wait to share pictures with you soon!

Jeremy stayed up all night last night to shop Black Friday deals. He hadn't even opened a newspaper ad and he had already found all the things we were looking for and stayed way within budget.

Gotta love the internet!

Today, we are venturing into the Smokey Mountains and then finding somewhere to have our Thanksgiving dinner. There are too many good places to choose from and the guys haven't decided yet. Yes, this is how the Goodwin's do Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow?

It just might involved a big zip line.

Watch twitter because I'll let you know if I brave it or not!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Leafy Day

 

My girls love the leaves.

They can't wait for them to fall.

Leaves in the backyard mean hours and hours of play

The leaves made houses and forts and campsites and piles.

This Mom is thankful for something free creating so much imaginative and creative play

A sunny, fun, leafy day

And, you can find me blogging about True Joy over at Seeds of Faith today!

Our Thankful Tree

A simple craft.

A new tradition.

A Thankful Tree

Thankful for so many things...

1} Family members like Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, church friends and of course... toys.

2} Our Bibles

3} God's Goodness

4} and God's blessings in our lives

5} our new bikes

and Schwinn for choosing us to be their Joy Agents this year

6} for Heaven and God's Love and Life

7} for our amazing neighbors

8} Our house

9} Homeschooling, animals, air, food and beds

10} for little hands to teach and guide and love each day

that is our thankful tree.

What does your thankful tree say?

*linking up with Amanda for Top Ten Tuesday

Gorgeous Fall Fun

I love sunny fall days.

I am so thankful for these days...

Bright blue skies and cool temperatures warmed by the warm sunshine.

 They are perfect days to play outside and enjoy the weather before winter comes.

Our neighbors, who sadly will be moving in March due to his job in the Air Force, have a wonderful tree house and trampoline. Our kids all love to play in their backyard!

(and when I say sadly, I mean very sadly...)

Time outside with friends...

Imagining, playing, pretending, singing, climbing and jumping

 Enjoying these gorgeous fall days...

Thankful for friends and good times!

Thankful Thursday

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Thank you to everyone who has linked up with the Just Because Blog Party! You are all welcome to be a part of the party. So many incredible blogs linked up already. I hope you join in and take a few minutes to visit a few new places! The link up is open until tomorrow when I draw a winner for our one fun prize.

Happy Fall!

Thankful

I am thankful for my husband and our beautiful marriage. Even through the rough spots (I was in a not so good mood the other day and wasn't as nice as I should have been to my newly returned hunting husband), I am thankful to God for a man who loves Him and who is the strength of our family.

I am thankful for 3 little girls who make me smile every day.

I am thankful for my family...

For Jeremy's family... (Sheila, we need a new family picture of everyone!)

I am thankful for sisters...

And, thankful for cousins... can you tell Abby was DONE taking pictures that day?

I am thankful for friends who challenge me spiritually and help me to grow.

I am thankful that through it all, God is my rock and His Word is unchanging and He has brought us to a place of abundance.

Thankful Thursday...

Last year, I did Thankful Thursday's through some of October and was planning to do them through Thanksgiving. I did end up writing a thankful post each Thursday but it ended up being so different than I expected. When my brother-in-law passed away, I found I was thankful for things that I might not have posted about otherwise.

I think I'm going to do Thankful Thursday's again through the month of November...

• I am thankful for my crock pot. I am thankful that I can cook a meal for my family while I am out and busy all day doing other things. I love how yummy my house smells when we have roast for dinner.
• I am thankful for winning free memberships to Premier Fitness. I love the outlet that working out has been during this busy season and I am thankful that Jeremy is doing so well and enjoying getting healthy!
• I am thankful for friends - IRL and here in "bloggy world" - who pray and hug you through a difficult weekend.
• I am thankful for my healthy, happy girls who I have the priviledge to stay home with everyday.
• I am thankful for my growing, never-dull marriage to a man who loves the Lord.
• I am thankful for the window that blogging has opened to minister and grow with women I've never even met.

So, will you join me in blogging or commenting what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving season?

Thankful Thursday...

For the very first time, the Goodwin's are having their own Thanksgiving meal. The family decided to stay home and spend time together this year instead of the usualy Thanksgiving week trip. We traveled to Iowa and are staying at Tanya's house.

For those of you who don't know, my brother-in-law, Jason, was killed in a car accident on November 1st.

So, this morning, the girls came running down stairs to say that there were 2 bucks outside by the pond. As we gathered around the windows, we watched as these 2 deer walked around the pond and ate apples by the tree. This was a sight that Jason would have loved.

Today, my Thankful Thursday is for this moment.

A moment that God gave us to remember Jason.

Thankful Thursday...

We are one week from Thanksgiving. One week from a holiday designed to remind us to be thankful. Elayna has been learning about the first Thanksgiving in school. The girls have made turkey crafts, colored pictures of pilgrims and made a placemat with Elayna's hand that says "Thank you God for everything!" My "craft" has been blogging about what I'm thankful for. The little things... the things we don't always mention. So, today I am thankful for...

• a kind pediatrician who will see more than one of us at one time
• Curious George because it allows me to get a shower each morning by entertaining the little ones
• Cheerios
• fleece blankets
• Casting Crowns - I love the lyrics to their songs
• ooVoo because we can spend time with family and friends everyday without traveling!

I want to add a big thankful thing. (I say "thankful thing" because this is something I do with the girls each night. They have to pick one "thankful thing" from the day. This has helped them to be more thankful for the fun things we do each day and not complain about the things we did not do. works wonders, parents, give it a try!) I am thankful for Jeremy. I am thankful for his honesty and insight. He is a great man of God and I am so thankful to have him in my life.

Thankful Thursday...

What am I thankful for today...

Sunshine

Warmth

Family

Homemade Chili

Abby's kisses

Annalise's dances

Elayna's stories

Jeremy's hugs

God's peace

...for those I am very thankful.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Thankful Thursday...

Today is Thursday and so I will post a few more things that I am thankful for. Remember, these are small things... things I don't always acknowledge.

• Stickers - they keep my girls busy long enough to put groceries away or change over the laundry
• Digital Thermometers - mine broke this week so we had to use the good-old fashioned under arm thermometer - it takes forever!
• Crocs - so, we don't have REAL crocs, but I love that style shoe because the girls can get the crocs on by themselves
• Carmex - I have worn carmex for 12 years... yeah... I know... I love the stuff. It is the best chapstick ever. Now, it doesn't taste the greatest, but it works. :)

What a crazy list of things to be thankful for but I honestly am.

On a side note, my younger sister, Holly, just got engaged. Check out her engagement blog at www.justinandhollyphillips.blogspot.com

Be sure to leave her a note to let her know you stopped by her site!