Another year older...

Does not necessarily mean another year wiser I've discovered. My birthday was actually yesterday and after all the well-wishes from so many people and a drop in visit from another far-off friend on Wednesday, I realized more than ever how much I have to be thankful for. I post a lot of times on things I see that I want or think are pretty. But, in reality, I have a lot to be grateful and thankful for already. So, in honor of my 28 years, here are 28 things (or people) I'm thankful for. Please note that these are in no particular order!

1. God. Or rather, the fact that not only did He love me enough to send his son to die for me and my sins that one time, but he constantly pursues a relationship with me and works in my life. The greatest joy and adventure I can ever think of has been my relationship with God.

2. My husband. He loves me, leads me, thinks I'm beautiful without makup on and in a sweatshirt, puts up with me and brings a lot of humor, joy, and information into my life. I can't imagine life without him!

3. My Daddy. They say we all get our view of God based on our fathers. He has always been there to love me, guide me and correct me and consequently I expect the same things from God. I am confident I would not be the person I am today without his leadership in life. I also can not remember a day in my life that I did not see my father sit down and read his bible. He was the fifth grade sunday school teacher who had us memorize the books of the bible. (He still does that by the way.)

4. My Mama. Words can't ever really begin to describe how daughters feel about mothers, but I'll try. She is the most serving, creative, loving, kind, smart, beautiful woman I know. We always have a good time together. I learned so much from her over the years. Not just how to sew and cook, but how to be submissive to your husband and serve your family, and to just get in there and try something sometimes! There also hasn't been a day of my life I didn't see her sit down to read her Bible. That says a lot!

5. My Granny. I'm really thankful for all of the kind, loving and smart grandparents I was blessed with. But my Granny is the one I've still got the pleasure of enjoying this side of heaven. She's a hoot, loves me more and thinks more of me than I really deserve (that's what grandparents are for right?) and has spoiled me exceedingly in my 28 years. Life would not be the same without her. I love, love, love laughing with her, talking with her and just spending time with her. And, sixty years down the road, if I'm doing as well as she is I will count myself VERY blessed.

6. My father-in-law, Dan. I would not have my husband without his parents, nor would he be as wonderful as he is if his parents were not the wonderful people they are. I'm so grateful that he had Dan as his guide and example in life. He is a godly, kind, loving, brilliant man who has always put his family first. And, he has always made me feel like one of the family.

7. My mother-in-law, Claire. While I would never dare to compare my mother to my mother-in-law, because they are two very different women and each wonderful in their own right, my mother-in-law is the same in all the essentials if you ask me. She is also godly, loving, understanding, creative, and serving. She has made me feel welcomed into her family. She also gets credit for making my husband into the wonderful man he is today. I always enjoy spending time with her!

8. My wonderful siblings (natural born and in-laws:) John, Jennifer, Kirsten and Mike. You are all great people that I enjoy being around. Not everyone can say that!

9. My adorable and fun nieces and nephew. They just bring so much joy to life and keep us adults from becoming sticks in the mud!

10. The friends I've accumulated thorough out life that have somehow managed to remain my friends! Aaron and I have been blessed to maintain friendships from states away, move to another state and still manage to find more people who love us, accept us and care for us. They have been there for me through weddings, moving, being away from family, and moving again. They pray for us and encourage us. Spending time with them and talking with them is often just what we need to regain a little perspective on life and give us the boost we need to face the challenges ahead.

11. In addition to that, I have to say, I'm thankful for the internet!! It makes it so easy to keep up with people! Information is so easy to find, and it can also, if used correctly, help you reduce clutter! Think about it, encyclopedia sets are now almost obsolete, you can store movies and pictures online...it's amazing! Plus, there is the added benefit of online shopping. I love the fact that I can sit in the quiet and comfort of my own home and, with a little pre-planning, have just about whatever I need delivered to my doorstep. It beats fighting crowds and driving to stores any day of the week!

12. The priviledge of leading bible studies. I really enjoy doing it and getting to walk alongside other women as we take on the great adventure that is the Christian life. I am always pleased and surprised at who I get to know and how they teach me and bless my life. It's amazing!

13. My education. This has just hit me recently, because I've seen what life can be like without it. I'm not just talking about college (which, I'm VERY grateful for) but even basic high school education that a lot of people lack.

14. Books. For all my talk about reducing clutter, I'm having a hard time switching to a "kindle" or similar thing just because, well, I think I need an actual book to hold! But beyond that I am very fond of the written word, and it's power to take us places, teach us things and connect us to people and provide us experiences we would never be able to have otherwise.

15. My granny's farm and the fact that I got to spend all summer every summer of my childhood there, playing, reading, walking in the woods, swimming in the creek, helping take care of the cows and being the carefree child sometimes it seems like you can only be on a farm. To have that uniterrupted time to spend with my Granny and Papa was also a wonderful blessing. It is still a refuge to me. I wish I could find the time to get there for an uninterrupted week and try and recapture some of that carefree childhood!

16. My job. Well, both my jobs. In this economy, who isn't thankful for their jobs? But I'm doubly blessed to have two, that I also happen to enjoy (for the most part).

17. My kitty cats! They are so much company and entertainment, and they make home feel that much more like home.

18. My home. Not only is it shelter, but it is comfortable and happy. I agree with the Ikea commercial it's "the most important place in the world". God really blessed us with this house.

19. My iPhone. I have digressed to some shallower thanks, but cut me some slack folks! There are 28 things on this list! In all seriousness, I was running the other day, after dusk (mom, my neighborhood is safe and it gets dark at 5:00 for crying out loud!) and I had, in one small piece of equipment, my music, my phone, and a flashlight. Really people! It is probably the best piece of technology we have ever bought. It even has a kindle app to ease me into the digital reader world without having to pay $300 for an actual Kindle! If you have one or get one, you'll know what I mean.

20. The Bible. God's LIVING word to us. You can read the same verse a million times and God can still use it to teach you something different. You can spend your whole life studying it and never plumb all it's depths. It's the greatest love story ever told. Need I say more?

21. All the amazing people growing up who took the time to teach me about the Bible, and how to study it for myself. Sunday school teachers, Jeff, Malea, my parents, thank you!

22. Coke zero. Again, superficial I know, but definately worth mentioning. Tastes almost like the real coke minus the 180 calories per can. Nothing will ever top a real coke, but Coke zero is a blessing for those of us who are "calorie minded".

23. The fact that I live in America. Regardless of how you feel about the current politicians in office, we still live in a free society, where we feel safe saying what we feel, doing what we want, working towards whatever job we so desire, and practicing the religion we believe in. Not only that, but even amid our current economic state, we are still the most prosperous nation on earth. Few people around the world are able to say even half of those things.

24. I guess I should say my health? I mean, I'm still ONLY 28, but aside from allergies, I really have no health problems. I have all my limbs and faculties about me. Those are all very very important things we take for granted on a daily basis.

25. I'm very grateful for the time I had in Texas. I learned so much there. The job I had gave me so much experience, and the time away from family really "knit" Aaron and I together as a young married couple. God really used that time to prepare us for other things and teach us some important things about himself that we probably would have been to distracted to realize had we not been that far away from the familiar. The friendships we have from there are also a blessing. But, I've already talked some about that... :)

26. The trip to the beach we got to take this summer with my parents and Aaron's parents. It was so nice to just relax and get to spend an entire week with them uninterrupted and with no one worrying about the house or demands of everyday life. I fully realize how rare it is to have parents on opposite sides of the family who get along, much less are willing to spend a week with each other in a condo! I heard my dad tell some stories I never heard before! It's one of those trips you'll always look back on with fond memories.

27. The invention of the DVR. Again, another superficial thing, but to be able to record TV shows (like idol, Glee, Smallville, and various other shows) and watch them or re-watch them whenever I feel like it practically commercial free is a wonderful wonderful thing. Aaron and I are to the point now that we wait to start watching a show we've recorded until it's almost over just so we can fast-forward through the commercials.

28. That I have so much to be thankful for! I've had so many great memories and experiences and met so many great people in my humble 28 years. It makes me look forward to what future years will bring! I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. He has a plan to prosper me! One of my favorite verses: I am still confident of this, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for the Lord. Ps 27:13-14

Whiteport

I discovered this little gem of a store today. An entire store based on a white color palette...when do I move in?? J/k! But seriously, I am adding one of these to my wish list. You know the one...the one where you put all the things you would get if you had a million dollars? But since you don't, and probably won't ever, you resign yourself to being happy that you know those things just exist in the universe somewhere. I keep a running one over at anthropologie as well. Are you generous and have around $900.00 to spare? If so, my birthday is this week. I'd love to meet you! Please, and Thank You. Just in case you were wondering, it's called a "vintage bus scroll" and would look lovely in just about any room of your home!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We managed to squeeze in decorating this past week. It makes me happy to see the house all festive! Next on the list...the smell of christmas cookies baking. Yumm.... I hope things are nice and "Christmasy" at your house as well!

Quote

This quote from the song "flesh and bone" by Matt Maher has been running through my head since I heard it earlier today. I had a conversation with a co-worker yesterday. It came up that I am a "pastors wife". She asked me if I felt a lot of pressure to be "perfect". My answer was that I certainly feel like I'm held to a higher standard, and I'm conscious of that. But, shouldn't all Christians be? I also try very hard to simply be myself and let others know that God has to work on and in me as well. Matt seemed to sum it up pretty well.

"I'm dying to believe, I'm trying just to show, that we're less than perfect, more than flesh and bone."

new...

So, Aaron and I never watched American Idol for like the first four or five seasons. Then, one year I was home sick while they were doing all the auditions. To kill time, we watched all the auditions, then, well, we were hooked. The first season we really got into was the David's battle. Archie vs. Cook. This past year, we were really pulling for Kris Allen. I liked him from about halfway through the season. Every week his talent surprised me. Now, I'm not knocking Adam Lambert's talent in any way. The boy can sing. But, his style was very not me. Plus, Kris was something of an underdog. I always felt like he didn't get enough credit, so I was super glad when he won. Not to mention, I had a tiny crush on him. :) What can I say. I like the dark haired, guitar playing type. Especially this guy...

Anyway, the one thing I don't always like so much about idol is that you have to wait what seems like forever for the winners to release their albums. Today Kris's album was released! Yeah! New music to listen to while driving for the holidays! Pretty good. It even helped make cleaning the bathroom today a little less dismal.

Into the woods...

Okay, so I've been checking my "fall list" off one by one. This past weekend Aaron and I finally got to go camping. We went for the first time back in college with a great, albeit varied, group of friends.

Aaron has been back several times since then, but I haven't been able to. This weekend we braved the cold...and it was a COLD Friday night, for a beautiful saturday in the woods. We could not have asked for better weather on Saturday, and the break from the day to day grind and time away was something we both desperately needed. There is something about nature that just points my soul back to God and reminds me of everything truly worth something in life. Here are some pictures from our weekend...

As you can tell, there were some steep climbs. But the ending views were totally worth it.

It took yours truly a little while to warm up!

We went home happier, refreshed and ready to face the week!

Wonderful Weekend

It has been a wonderful weekend! We started off with a quiet Friday night, and the new Smallville episode was quite good. Saturday, we had friends over for Halloween. I don't know about you, but to me, Halloween is one of those holidays that is just no fun without kids. Our neighborhood is just what I always imagined trick-or-treating would be. Tons of kids, running house to house, people having parties, there was even a golf cart pulling a trailer full of hay bales with kids jumping on and off at different houses. So, using that as a lure, we invited our friends April and Doug and their kids and my our friends Michelle and Kenny. Michelle brought her daughter Julie along too. We had a great time carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and generally hanging out. There were plans to roast marshmallows and make s'mores, but sadly the generally damp weather literally put a wet blanket on those plans!

Carving pumpkins.

Pumpkin carnage.

The finished products.

My little guy is on the left. Funny, I cleaned out three large pumpkins, but only ended up getting to carve one of the little guys. Oh well!

Aaron's masterpiece. He had to go show everyone up!

Julie and little Gabe.

Gabe keeping an eye on the grilling outside for us. Poor Doug grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in the drizzle while Aaron finished his masterpiece of a pumpkin. Thanks Doug!

My homemade pretzels. They are yummy! I just discovered this little goody a few weeks ago. For the recipe, go here.

We have here Annie, Woody (minus his hat) and Buzz from the lovely Toy Story. Preparing for the great trick-or-treating or as Grant (Buzz) thought, "going to get halloween".

To further emphasize my point that we get tons of trick-or-treaters, this is what we started with. I bought the big tootsie roll mix bag and the hershey's mix bag with reeses, kitkat, hershey bars and whoppers. I always buy candy I really like because in my experience, there is always a lot left...usually. Not here ladies and gents. We were out of this before 8:00pm. I went trick-or-treating with Doug, April and the kids. Aaron stayed home and passed out candy with Kenny and Michelle. There was apparently one little guy who did not have the appropriate trick-or-treating etiquette for Aaron. The kid banged and banged on the door, then didn't even say "trick-or-treat" or anything just stuck his bag up in the air. Then he saw a Reeses cup in the bowl and said "Oohh, Reeses! And went to grab it." Aaron pulled the bowl back and said, "Excuse me, but I give you the candy." To his credit he gave him two Reeses, but followed it up with "See, that's what happens when you ask." Life lessons from trick-or-treating at the Hill house. Just trying to make the world a better place folks...

April and me. Horrible picture of me.

Our crew at a house. We had to coach Grant on his trick-or-treating etiquette. At first he was banging on the door until it opened, and then he wanted to go in the house. After telling him to just knock once, wait for the door to open, and then say "trick-or-treat!" he did really good though.

Gabe wasn't too sure what it was all about. He knew one thing though, he wasn't going to let go of his bucket of candy!

Grant did really well, but got tired after a little while. April and I rotated between who would carry him for the last two blocks. He wanted his "cup". Poor worn out Buzz...

Me and my buddy Grant at the end of the night. I think I was more worn out than he was!

So, Halloween was a hit. Today was great as well. We got an "extra" hour of sleep, and I really enjoyed Sunday School and church this morning. I got a good nap this afternoon. The sun came out today and finally dried things off a bit, and with it getting dark earlier, Aaron and I decided to put the fire pit to good use. So, we ended the day roasting marshmallows, and talking over the fire outside. Here's hoping this is the start of an equally great week!