{30 Days of Thanks} Day 4 - My Wife

It is always good to have a good, ol' fashion fight to help you go off and reflect on what is truly important.  This is the conclusion I came to...

My wife has...

...a beautiful smile that melts my heart
...an embrace that makes the troubles of this world pass away.
...a great sense of humor and can make me laugh.
...a gentle spirit.
...a huge heart for the oppressed.
...allowed me to pursue my dreams, no matter how crazy.
...patience and willingness to let me try and fail, and try again.
...the incredible ability to never say, "I told you so."
...loved me through MANY trials.
...grace to let me grow into a better man and father.
...listened to my endless ramblings about theological wrestlings and even believed all of it with me.
...an amazing ability to love me unconditionally.
...taught me so much about love and how I don't have to earn it.
...a generous heart that encourages me to give.
...always been there and always been my teammate.

My wife has been Jesus to me!

{30 Days of Thanks} Day 3- lazy Sundays

Today I am thankful for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Just hanging out as a family-- nowhere to go, nothing that has to get done.  Snuggling under warm blankets, eating good food, some of us watching football, others playing together nicely.  

I am so thankful for the beautiful blessing of a much needed restful day with my treasures, big and small.

{30 days of thanks} Day 2 - Friends

Today I am thankful for friends.

Last night we went grocery shopping with another couple at Costco, went clothes shopping together, then capped off the night with a late night dinner.  It doesn't sound like much, but it was the highlight of the week.  It was fun to see what the other couple, representing a family of nine, had in their carts while they checked out what was in ours.  We could be stalker-ish without the awkwardness of being stalker-ish.  It was fun.

The fact that we are friends with another couple that have 7 kids is incredible.  We are so thankful.  The fact that we have friends - we are thankful!

See, I know "friends" is an easy one, but this journey of life has lead us through some seasons of extreme loneliness.  We've known loneliness at times I thought only Jesus could understand.  We are learning to take things in stride and enjoy life. 

{30 Days of Thanks} Day 1 -- laughter

"The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter."

--Mark Twain

The old saying "if you don't laugh, you'll cry" is among the truest phrases ever spoken.  Today Tom and I were laughing, cracking ourselves up, actually, about something that only he and I would find funny. Anyone overhearing our conversation would have thought we were the two biggest nerds.  But that man can always make me laugh, and there have been many times over the past few years where I really, really needed to laugh or I was going to be a puddle of tears on the floor.

On this first day of November, a month many set aside to reflect on those things in their lives that they are most thankful for, I am thankful for laughter-- for the weapon it has been in my life, but most importantly that my husband, my dearest friend in the world, continues to make me laugh every day. 

And So It Begins

So we decided to start a blog.  Nine livers and an onion.  Don't ask.  It made us laugh for a long time - 9 of us living loved, and loving living.

We're kicking it off by doing 30 days of thankfulness for November.  Jenn and I will alternate contributing our thanksgiving.  It's an easy month for everyone to reflect on Thanksgiving - it is my birthday at the end of the month.  There is some other holiday in there that people tend to give some time and attention to with over-eating, midnight shopping plans and football, but nothing eclipses my birthday...except maybe the birth of Jesus.

After this month, we will continue to chronicle life's onions and how we deal with them.  Sometimes we'll ramble on about life.  Other times I'm sure I'll put on the teacher hat and go on and on about some deep, obscure theological issue that will bore people to tears.  We have a heart for Africa and Ethiopia - I'm sure that will also come up a time or two.  We're learning to live life loved, loving as Him, and enjoying the journey!