One Week

We have one week left to inhabit our little home before movers come and load up our stuff. I'm really nostalgic. Instead of lamenting this move and all the good things we're leaving behind I'm reminded by scripture to "Rejoice always" and "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

I'm thankful:

• That a decade ago God guided our house-hunting search to this "perfect" fixer-upper
• That my late father-in-law spent countless hours helping us (and teaching us!) to tear apart, rebuild, and construct different parts of this house
• That renovating this house garnered the skills we'll need to build a house from scratch (if we're ever crazy enough to try that!)
• That both our sisters were able to live with us as they finished school
• That God blessed us with amazing neighbors 
• That God gave us two new family members while living here. One of them experienced all her baby "firsts" in this house (first smile, first words, first steps, etc) and managed to stay alive amid the chaos :)
• That God connected us to two Gospel-centered church families (RCC and CCE)
• That we got to leave this house to go live in France... three times! And then we got to come home again :)
• That God provided for our every need when we were financial strapped as Rocky completed graduate school.
• That we've been able to celebrate oodles of birthdays, un-birthdays and anniversaries here
• That just this past week my infant son began sleeping through the night! This makes for a much more productive momma during the daylight hours!

Oh, there are so many things I'm thankful for. I just might have to extend this into a second post!

Sweetness captured by carrie.anderson.photo

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name. (Psalm 100:4)