Give Thanks.

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

It's simple. I'm thankful and this season has encouraged me to reflect on His goodness, grace and undeserved mercies. In this season, I am learning to be thankful for the simple things and taking the time to enjoy them.

1. I'm thankful for my sight and hearing. Sounds crazy, but I have given this a lot of thought recently. What an incredible, taken for granted gift. Every day, I have the opportunity to see my children play, cry, smile and laugh. Simple joys. I see my loving husband's face light up every evening as he walks through the door and our jubilant Holland running to meet him. I hear the words "I love you" more than once a day from the people I love the most.

2. I'm thankful to be a homemaker. It is the most rewarding and challenging job I have ever had. I am witness to every milestone, confrontation and new discovery of our precious little ones. I am learning to let some things go and to not be such a "Martha" with her to-do list. Life is bigger than a list and goes by way too quickly.

3. I'm thankful for my husband. In all my life, I have never known a more self-sacrificing, loving, forgiving and humble man. The way that he loves me and our family is overpowering. I'm thankful he asked me to be his "bride" and for being my partner in life. He is the sweetest, most gentle person I know and he adores our crazy life as much as I do!

4. I'm thankful for the blessing of children. Holland Grace is our energetic, question-asking, tender hearted first born. She brings light into every room she enters and offers a new perspective in every situation. God has great plans for her busy hands and feet! Jackson Hughes is our "sveet" boy. He has the most gentle spirit much like David. From his crooked little grin and floor stomping legs to the way he grabs hold of my hand and leans in for a slobbery kiss, he has melted my heart from the moment our eyes met. Maelynn Thomas is our unborn baby girl. Already, she has challenged us spiritually and emotionally thus bringing us closer to our Maker and to one another. I can't imagine life without any one of them.

5. I'm thankful for our Maker. I'm thankful that He has written the book of life and I am not responsible to writing my own script. I'm thankful for the life He has given me and the path He has paved before me.

Unspeakable Joy

Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of bringing David to his first doctor's appointment with this pregnancy. He opened the door for me, took a deep breath, smiled nervously and said, "Here we go. For the final time." We were moments away from seeing our precious child for the first time together on the ultrasound screen. I confess that as the doppler was put on my stomach for this final time, my eyes were fixed on David and not the screen. I longed to see the joy in his eyes as he laid eyes on our third child for the first time. It was there I saw unspeakable joy and like twice before, he exclaimed, "Unbelievable."

Our little bundle of joy showed itself to be very active, modest, and stubborn. It took almost 30 minutes for the technician to get our baby to move into position so we could find out the gender. With Holland and Jackson, we were able to see within moments so it seemed like an eternity! Not to our surprise, the technician told us that we would be having a beautiful, healthy baby GIRL!

Our sweet little girl displayed some of favorite activities in utero (which is nice because I am always wondering what they are doing in there!): she is a thumb sucker, a talker (she'll fit right in!) and enjoys putting her hands on top of her hand. Our hearts overflow once again with unspeakable joy and thanksgiving for a beautiful, healthy baby. All praise be to Him!