47/52 - Purple

These kids are too cute! Oh... and it didn't hurt that their Christmas pictures were done in Purple this year, either!

Z is for a Zillion Other Things

This alphabet of Thankfulness has been kinda fun! It's made me sit down and actually take the time to think of  specific things I'm thankful for that I may have otherwise not thought of.  I know there are Zillions of things I'm thankful for that I didn't mention, but since today is Thanksgiving, here are just a few (some of which I may have already mentioned)...

• Family
• Friends
• Family who are Friends
• Friends who are Family
• Salvation & A Relationship with the Redeemer
• A New Adventure on the horizon called Independent Living
• Parents who are chipping in BIG time helping me prepare for said Adventure
• Skype (to talk to my oh-so-far-away sister)
• Two nieces and a nephew to love on
• Living in a country wherein War and/or Acts of War are few and far between
• Freedom to attend a Bible believing church
• Getting, for the first time in 5 years, a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend
• An Adventure to the Bahamas 11 months ago
• A Warm, Dry, HAPPY place to live
• A Christian boss

I could probably sit here all night and list things for which I am thankful!

Y is for Yummy Pie

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is "Prayer, Praise, & Pie Night." As long as I can remember, our church has done this on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  During the service, we sing songs and take turns telling things we're thankful for and how God has blessed us throughout the past year.  Then we take time to pray in small groups.  Then... we eat pie!

I'm thankful for the yummy pies (and other baked goods), but most of all I'm thankful for the "yummy" fellowship we get to enjoy while we eat our pie!

X is for X-tra Help

I know. That's a little bit cheating. But there just aren't many words that start with X. So today, I'm thankful for all the extra help my mom and littlest sister have given me in painting my apartment (and doing some cleaning along the way, I think)! I don't move in until January, but the owners of the building have been amazing to work with, and they're letting us paint way ahead, which is awesome because my mom and sister have the whole week off for Thanksgiving break. They've made great progress so far, and after a minor situation with the initial paint color, I think we're all super happy with the results.

I'm also thankful for all the eXtra help my parents have provided in outfitting this new space, as I've never really been completely on my own before. I kind of assumed I'd be going with a "minimalistic" theme for the first several months, which is just a cute way of saying little to no furniture until I came up with the extra cash to furnish it. But... My parents graciously offered to help out in that area, and I am SO BLESSED!!

So, thanks mom and dad! And thanks Slappy! I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for all you've done and are doing for me!

W is for Wisdom

I'm so thankful for the wisdom God gives.  It seems that this last year has been full of asking God for wisdom and direction, and I'm so glad that He provides! There have been some a few changes or potentials for change this year, and I'm glad that God gave me the wisdom to know when to say no and when to {finally} say yes!

I'm also thankful that I grew up to be, what I consider, a wise {for the most part} individual.  I'm thankful for parents who taught me how to think through decisions and to be responsible, and who taught me to generally use good common sense. There is definitely a lack of this in our society, and I'm thankful that God blessed me by putting me in a home where I was taught to be wise AND to know Who the true source of wisdom is.