After a long, long, (long) winter…I really do think spring is here. 

I love being able to walk outside and breathe in the air (and not gasp because the air is so cold that it hurts)!

The grass has been yellow and asleep. After a few rains…I’m seeing more and more green grass all the time! It is as if God is painting it green with His rain!

There are blossoms on the trees!

And yesterday, Justus found two lavendar wild flowers in our yard (and picked them and brought them to me with a kiss!)!

It won’t be long now until I can get my hands into the soil and start planting my seeds!

Spring is refreshing, exciting and energizing!

I’m so grateful for the changing of seasons so that we can again be reminded (in case we have forgotten) of God’s mighty hand over nature.

(And just in case it snows again before summer…and it probably will…because I live in Nebraska…I will try to continue to be grateful!)  :)

What are you grateful for?! What’s God been doing in your life? 

Share with us here….or blog about it yourself and come back and leave a comment to let us know to come and read your Gratituesday post!

Happy Springtime!

Last week for Gratituesday, I featured my in-laws…

This week, I thought I’d talk a bit about what’s going on with my side of the family…as they also deserve to be appreciated!

In 2004, I lost my mom to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Such a painful loss…but God is good. Some day I’ll write more about that time in my life.

Today though, I want to tell you about how things are going with my family currently.

Last winter, my dad announced to us (all nervous and giddy-like) that he was going on a date…his first one since Mom died. 

Well, talk about mixed emotions for me… Happy for him…wanting him to have someone in his life…not sure what to think about it…feeling freaked out that my Dad was going on a date…knowing this was normal and good…

Several months later, I was standing up with him at his wedding. (Another day of mixed emotions!)

So, let me tell you about my dad’s wife, Tacy. 

What a wonderful lady.

Tacy lost her husband to cancer just about a year before my mom died. She and my dad share the understanding of what it’s like to lose a spouse.

She has two adult children…who are also wonderful. Really wonderful.

Tacy loves the Lord, loves my dad, loves my children, loves me.

I’ve heard of some crazy situations when a parent gets re-married. You know, the stories of how, “Dad’s new wife spends all his money…never lets him come see his kids and grandkids…tears the family apart…”

I am so thankful that Tacy is just Tacy. She’s sweet and giving. She treats my boys like her very own grandkids. She’s happy to hear my voice and see me when we visit. She encourages my dad to be the great man that he is. Tacy is an answer to prayer.

I’ll always miss my mom. We all will. But God gave us a blessing when he put Tacy and her family into our lives.

And for that, I am grateful.

Please join me this Gratituesday and share with all of us what you are grateful for! Leave a comment here…or grab the Gratituesday graphic and share today on your blog. Be sure to leave a comment here with your blog address so that we know to come read about what you’re thankful for at your site!

Give thanks to the Lord…for He is good! His love endures forever! Psalm 136:1

I know…How about that? 

I’m thankful for my in-laws. 

All of ’em. Even ‘ol Uncle Whatsisname…(Just kidding, I know your name, Uncle um Bob Bill er, Joel.) :)

Really…now that I’m married, I have the sisters that I always wanted…and a mother-in-law and a father-in-law that love me…and cool brothers-in-law…and tons of wonderful aunts and uncles and grandparents that all make me feel welcome and loved and appreciated. 

Sometimes, my father-in-law will call…and he and I will talk for an hour about what’s going on with the kids and school and whatever…and then I’ll finally realize that maybe he’d also like to talk to his own son while he’s on the line.

My mother-in-law is awesome about sending beautiful homemade cards to the boys (and to us!) for all kinds of special occasions….and I really have loved emailing back and forth with her. Love it.

And my sisters-in-law? Well, let’s just say that we have now made it a tradition to meet in CA once every two years for a short but sweet get-away…that has now affectionately been dubbed our, “Sister Symposium” in which we shop a lot, stamp a bunch, and sleep very little. It is always a time of refreshment and encouragement as we share our lives and cry and laugh and pray together. 

And while I’m on the subject of sisters-in-law…I HAVE to mention my brother’s wife…who is my Kansas sister-in-law. I am SO thankful for her. How awesome is it that my brother would marry someone who became such a good friend to me?!

So there you have it. I recognize that not everyone can talk like I can about their wonderful in-laws (and really mean it!). I often take them for granted…until I hear someone else tell me about their family strife and icky in-law stuff.

I’m grateful for all the wonderful people God put in my life when I married my husband.

So what are you grateful for? 

Please leave a comment, sharing something that you appreciate…. 

Or swipe the Gratituesday graphic and put it on your own blog today and blog about what you’re grateful for. Be sure to leave a comment back here, letting us all know the link to your blog so that we can come read and be encouraged by your post!

Let’s all spread the Gratituesday spirit…God is Good!!

When people are cleaning out their stuff….and they come across toys and such that little boys would like….who do you think they often think of to give it to?

Yep…our family is often the first to come to mind when folks think of little boys.

We have been the blessed recipients of many wonderful toys…and even more wonderful clothes! It’s always fun to be handed a box or a bag to go through.

Recently however…I feel like I have stuff coming out of the woodwork…bulging out of the cabinets….overflowing the drawers…rising like bread dough out of the toybox(es).

And the overflow has made it’s way onto my kitchen floor for me to trip over and kick when I’m trying to cook…and onto the living room furniture when I’m trying to read Geography to the boys….and onto my computer desk when I’m trying to blog!! Now that’s where I have to draw the line!

So last weekend we started to clean out stuff…keeping only the toys and books that we truly love and play with often. (And by “we” I’m talking about the “we” who play with light sabers and legos and action figures and balls every single moment that is available.)

Thankfully, the boys kind of got excited about this project and got into “clean out mode” like Mama was! 

And clean out we did! I carted box after box to our basement for our next yard sale. 

After box…after box…

Shew! It felt so good! 

So this Gratituesday….

I’m very thankful to have more stuff cleared out of our lives so that we can more easily keep our house clean.

I’m thankful to be so blessed that we rarely have to buy a toy or piece of clothing because others are generous enough to share with us.

And I’m very thankful to be so blessed that I actually have to teach my boys to “pick and choose” their favorite toys to keep. 

We truly live a life of abundance.

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday?

Today…I am SO thankful for bits of sunshine we’ve been having lately!

So thankful!

It has been so nice to be able to send the kids outside for some fresh air and running around time.

It has been so nice not to have to put on 23 layers of clothes just to go get the mail.

It has been so nice to walk outside and not have an instant ice cycle hanging from our noses.

It’s been so nice not to be walking around inside the house with an ice cycle hanging from our noses.

Winter has some wonderful, cozy blessings that I really am grateful for too…

But today, I’m thankful for the sunshine and the hope of spring.

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday?