being . . . T H A N K F U L L

As I prepared for Thanksgiving this year I was reminded of what’s important in our lives. Our world has been turned upside down with a pandemic, politics, rioting . . . hateful negativity in general. I’m happy to let you know that there is SO MUCH MORE to focus on than all of the bad. There’s still a lot of good in our world, we need to take the time and see what’s right in front of us. If we begin to fill our minds with positive thinking, focusing on the little things in our lives will become more important.

“Whatever is worthy of respect, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8

Our whole family was home for Thanksgiving this year. This makes my heart so happy but, it can also cause some anxiety. I have high expectations for these times. In my mind I want everything to be as nice as possible however, when 3 preschoolers, 4 dogs, 6 adults, plus all the paraphernalia that is packed for an extended trip, chaos usually follows.

I have been working on recognizing things that God has gifted us. This is a list that I have compiled from this weekend.

4 year olds with a new/used Barbie dream house

relaxing morning coffee chats with the girls!

early morning hunts for the guys.

mother/daughter laugh till you cry turkey prepping

small towns

granddaughters helping make pumpkin pie

lovely Elsa duet concert – into the unknown anyone?!

successful turkey bake

dishes . . . dishes . . . and . . . more dishes!

huge brussel sprouts

cousins dragging a tunnel outside

outside play time

family working together in the kitchen

birthday girls

watching my big little boy shooting hoops again

swinging

4th generation on the steps at Longfellow

courageous little girls

finding treasures

yummy hot chocolate

whipped cream

messy counters & clean counters

fun hat finds

birthday presents

pots & pots of coffee

big girls who like the little girls presents

daddy’s shoulders

sisters

parades

christmas lights

black friday shopping

quiet early mornings

puppy snuggles

trail of socks everywhere

road trip to the farm with grandpa and dad

driveway full of cars

When I see this lengthy list it makes me smile. God has been so good to me . . . to all of us! The blessings in our lives are gifts from the Lord. When we recognize them in this way the little things in life begin to be the big things. As we move into the advent season let’s continue to be searching for all the gifts God has given us, especially the gift of his son Jesus.

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Author: 2faithfulsisters

My name is Barb Ninemire. I live in Hill City, Kansas, it’s a small town in the NW part of the state. I’ve been married to my husband Lon for 40 years. We have two children. Our daughter Krysten is married to Braden and she has a beautiful daughter, Klara and a rambunctious 2 year old Elliot. Our son, Lewen and his wife Ashley have two sweet little girls Isabelle and Lillian. Being grandparents has brought so much joy to our lives! I grew up in Indiana and am the youngest from a family of two children. My sister Janet was 14 months older than me. I never new life without her. We were the best of friends! You may have noticed that I am referencing her in the past tense. Six years ago we were right in the middle of preparing her for a bone marrow transplant. I was blessed to be a 100% match for her so I was able to be her donor. She lived in Virginia and I live in Kansas. That meant a lot of flying back and forth for me. I didn’t care at all, it was actually fun because I was able to spend so much extra time with my favorite person! The transplant was in June. She did amazing, and all of her numbers were looking great. I flew back to Kansas a week after the transplant. Soon after I was home things weren’t going as well as they had been. She had graft vs host which is basically her body rejecting the donors bone marrow. She lived just a few short weeks after that. I had never watched someone die before. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. I wasn’t emotionally ready for anything this devastating. I began to journal my experiences through my grief. My hope is that I can share some of what I went through and how I dealt with this great loss in my life. Life is good - but sometimes its hard. I depend on the Lord and His word for my strength during those times.

One thought on “being . . . T H A N K F U L L”

  1. Beautiful my friend. I love your positive thoughts and all the little things that we sometimes miss in the whole scheme of things. Thank you for sharing your family and the love you all share!

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