Things That I Am Thankful For

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of the things that I am thankful for. I could never compile that list...there isn't enough time!

I am thankful for:

1. A loving God who has blessed me in innumerable ways (for a sampling of these blessings, see numbers 2 and following).
2. A husband who loves me so much more than I deserve, who is patient with me, and who cares for me so deeply.
3. My parents who raised me in the church and taught me what is right.
4. The time that I got to spend with my dad. I long for the day when I see him again. There are so many things about him that I miss and I wish that I had him for longer. If you still have your parents, don't take them for granted!
5. My mom who keeps me grounded by always reminding me to think ahead
6. My brothers, who have all taught me different things about love and life. Even though we don't always agree, I respect them so much and love them dearly.
7. My parents, who blessed me with 5 brothers to teach me strength.
8. My parents, who didn't give me any sisters so I wouldn't have to share any of my stuff :)
   
9. My oldest brother, Ray, who encouraged me to remain pure until I was married and was unafraid to talk to me about these things at a young age.
   
10. My brother, Jeremy, who is one of the reasons I am a faithful Christian today and a reason that I'm with my husband.
11. My brother, Jonathan, who is one of my best friends and who I can always talk to and be open with.
12. My brother, Patrick, who always challenges the way that I look at the Scriptures. I've grown so much out of conversations with him.
13. My brother, Tim, who helps me to remember that there is always someone watching you and that your example can affect others.
14. My nieces and nephews, who have taught me love and what true unconditional love is.
15. Ray and Ginger, who blessed my life with Alex, MacKensie, and Riley.
    
16. My nephew, Zach, who lights up my life everytime that I see him.
17. Jonathan and Dana, who blessed this world with a beautiful child like Zach.
18. Ray, Ginger, Jonathan, and Dana for giving me the nieces and nephews to remind me why I want to wait a LONG time to have kids :)
19. My MawMaw, who has been such a strong fighter these past two years.
20. My uncles, who have all proudly served in our military.
21. Two of my best friends, Erika and Ashley, who have each blessed my life in more ways than they will ever know.
22. My new job that I am so excited about!
23. My friends, Bethany, Robin, and Tiffany. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know if I'd have made it through college!
24. How everything ended in Jacksonville and that making it so much easier to move.
25. Our church family at Vestavia. They have taken us in and helped us to grow so much!
26. My two and three year old class, that teaches me patience and love.
27. The air that I breathe. Thank you so much, God!
28. Having the ability to go into my kitchen and drink clean water.
29. Living in a country where I can worship freely.
30. My job at Jo-Ann and how it has taught me patience and to learn that God knows what is best for me.
31. The Bible and it's ability to always teach me something new.
    
32. Jesus, for dying on the cross and giving His life for me.
    

Throwing Out 50 Things

So I've started reading a book Throw Out 50 Things and it is really motivating! I started in our bedroom (in the order that the book dictates) and, so far, I've gotten rid of about four boxes worth of stuff. I haven't been keeping count, but I am going to go back and make a list so I know exactly how many things I've gotten rid of. She says that helps you to really see how much you've let go of. The hard part, though, is that multiples only count as one item. For instance, if you throw out one magazine or sixty magazines, that still only counts as one item of your fifty. Either way, I am well on my way to fifty and I'm confident I will reach fifty before I go to bed tonight. I'll probably stay up a little late tonight because I slept about 13 hours last night/this morning. I've been a little sick and haven't felt very well at all, but I am starting to feel better and I have lots of energy since I haven't been able to do anything!

I am really excited about the holidays coming up! I've almost finished Christmas shopping, except for a few things for Alan and my mom. The hardest thing is that I've got to get Alan's birthday present also. I have an idea of what I want to get him, but it's going to be hard to find the time to go shopping for it, especially since next week has the most dreaded shopping day! I am very proud of myself for not procrastinating this year. I'm normally shopping right up until the last week before Christmas...but not this year!

I'm also really REALLY excited about my new job! This is the position right below my dream job and I will finally have health insurance! I start on December 1st and I can't wait! I am pretty nervous about it too, but I know that they are going to give me any training that I need. I'm also going to have all of Christmas break to look over my materials and get familiar with everything. I'm also going to have an OFFICE :) I don't know if that means a desk in a room with a bunch of other people, a cubicle, or an actual office, but I don't care! It's so exciting!

Just a quick thought

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting my hair cut again (8 inches). I had it cut back in June and donated 8 inches to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. It was a decision that I struggled with because my hair looked beautiful before I cut it (or at least I thought so). I had been growing it out since Alan and I started dating and had said that I was either going to cut it when I got a job (in my field) or when we moved to a new place. Well, the move came first, so I went through with the cut. Mainly, not even because of wanting to cut my hair. What motivated me was a little girl named Meghan Brittain, who fought for so long for her life, and a young man named Chris Turner, who had a short battle with cancer because of the severity of it when they discovered it. Chris was a patient of my mother's and it hurt me so much to see how badly it hurt my mom while he was in the hospital. The morning I was on my way to get it cut, my mom told me about Chris and how she had been crying on her way home from work each morning. That did it for me. I realized how much she had sacrificed for her patients and I knew that cutting my hair was a very small sacrifice in comparison to hers.

I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 3:30 on that day. Meghan died around 3:15, I think, and Chris died a few minutes before 4:00.

Well, another crossroads has hit me. I've been wanting to cut my hair again and it has grown out so quickly that it's almost long enough. And I have a job in my field now and, if I'm going to cut it, I want to before I start, so I've decided I'm going to get it cut the weekend before I start work!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^My hair before the cut ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Me at the salon^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^After the cut^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I GOT THE JOB!!!

I got a phone call today and I was offered the job with Extension!!! I am so excited! This has been a dream of mine for a long time and it's finally happening! I start December 1st and I can't wait! And, there are little added bonuses to getting a new job...I'll need a new wardrobe which means ShOpPiNg!!! Can't wait for that either! I'm hoping that I'll be able to catch some good sales with the holidays coming up. I'm not going to get too many outfits because I'm still trying to lose weight and don't want to have to alter too many garments. I am so excited that I can barely stand it! I am so thankful to God for giving me this wonderful blessing and I want to say thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me and praying for me these past few months! I am especially thankful to have Alan because he is such a wonderful husband who is so loving and kind and he has been so supportive of me and has encouraged me every step of the way. I can't believe how blessed I am!!!

Pray for Us!

I'm asking everyone to please say a little prayer for Alan and me over the next few weeks! Alan is taking the LSAT (for law school) four weeks from tomorrow! This score will affect how much (if any) scholarship money he is offered...and boy do we need that scholarship money! Also, pray for me with my job situation. It's been hinted that I might get a certain person's job where I'm at now. I also had an interview this morning with Cooperative Extension (dream job!) and I got a letter about setting up an interview in Montgomery for DHR. Hopefully, something will work out! I felt like the interview went really well this morning, but we'll have to wait and see :) We would both appreciate any prayers for us! Thanks!!!