Thankful Thursdays Top Ten #13

1) 7 weeks left! :D  I cannot wait to meet this little girl!  Good Dr. appointment Tuesday so I'm pleased with that. 
2) Time with the family and friends.  Aaron and I went to the park with Grace this week and I got to have a few friends visit as well.
3) Babies!  2 friends who just gave birth to sons - both Levi's.  A friend pregnant with twins, a friend pregnant with baby #2 (they will be 14 or 15 months apart).  And those who are faithful to trust what God says with more kids or when He says not right now.
4) Bible study!  My girls asked some GREAT questions this past week!
5) Fourth of July!  This is seriously one of my favorite holidays.  I'm not super sure why although I do know that it was one of the first times Aaron hung out with my family and the day that he talked to my dad about marrying me!
6) Wisdom.  My husband is a smart guy.  I love that he is able to gently correct my way of thinking and help me to understand his heart as well.  He is an amazing man!
7) Peace.  I love that the Lord knows how to calm my heart.
8) Contentedness.  There are a lot of needs/wants out there but I'm thankful the Lord knows our true needs and supplies those.  The rest can wait!
9) Bibles!  We are $40 away from our goal to buy 500 Bibles for our teen center.  I am SO thankful we were able to raise this money fairly quickly!  www.harvestyouth.org/wheatsale.htm (as of this evening we have MET OUR GOAL!!!)
10) Music.  I feel like lately I have had songs stuck in my head.  Not always the best songs, but ones   that sum up how I feel.  I like that there seems to be a song track to my life constantly playing - helps me keep tabs on how I really feel :)

Are you thankful?  Write them down and link up!  Or just leave me some comments!

Content.

I love that picture.  I think my little girl is so funny.  I also love that she can bend completely over to color - I'd fall on my head.  I'm content when she is happy and enjoying life.  I need to be content when she is fussing and giving me a "hard time".  This too shall pass.

I love hanging out with my family.  There is something about watching Hubs and Grace interact that makes my heart happy.  I am content when we are able to spend time together and enjoy each other's company.  I need to be content even when it feels like we don't do this enough because of work, crazy schedules or tiredness.  Again, this time is going to pass quickly and while I want to make sure we are enjoying it, I want to make sure we are enjoying it without nagging or pushing. 

I have an amazing family.  My immediate family delights me.  My husband is loving, caring and provides for me and has taught me so much about love.  My daughter inspires me to be a better me...because even at almost 2 I am starting to see myself in her.  I love that God gave me this reflection to teach me about myself and about the way that He loves me.  I hope I am a reflection of Him.

Enjoy today.  Don't waste it being frustrated with what isn't, be content with what it is!

Update

I had a post written...in my head...on Sunday.  Yesterday I could not come up with anything worth typing.  Today is just a quick update on life then back to my regularly scheduled programming.

1) Baby
Baby is doing great.  We had a Dr appointment this morning.  Her heart rate is good, my blood pressure is good.  It sounds like she is still butt-down but hopefully by my 36 week appointment will flip over.  (And lets just pray for face down this time too!)

2) Work
Work is going well.  We're doing a $5 Wheat Sale in order to raise money to purchase Bibles.  We are able to get Bibles for $1 each that we can use as handouts for kids at our events or for Bible studies.  We have $155 left to raise!  I'm not sure what our next project will be but I'm super excited that we are almost at our goal on this one!  If you're interested in donating or learning more here is the link:
Harvest Youth Ministries $5 Wheat Sale

3) Grace
Grace continues to do great in her big girl bed!  She found some glass ornaments on Friday night and broke them.  Praise the Lord she was not cut or injured.  She did have some pieces in her mouth (which is bizarre because she normally wouldn't eat something like that) but apparently managed to crunch it up to tiny pieces so no cuts in her mouth and we're assuming (and monitoring for) no internal cuts.  And super thankful to my mom and friends who were able to give me wonderful advice, assure me that I was not the worst mother in the world, and point out what things I should be looking for to monitor her!

4) Hubs
Hubs is awesome :) He emptied the dishwasher for me and did the dishes, ain't he a keeper! :)

That is about it in my world these days.  Babies, work, life - keeps me busy and happy :)

Elizabeth

I'm having a BABY

I was telling a couple friends yesterday that it has finally occured to me that I am having a BABY.  I mean physically I'm preparing for a teeny-tiny...itty bitty clothes are in the closet, the mattress of the crib is raised, I am thinking about newbie and size 1 diapers all over again.  Mentally I think I had this image of the girls both being Grace's age, playing together and not really changing life all that much.

I'm glad I had this revelation before the baby arrived :)  Now I am gearing up for sleeplessness, midnight prayer times, help from family/friends to make sure Grace has the attention from me and others she needs, and on and on and on.

I'm glad they don't come out Grace's size (for the obvious reasons as well as the subtle ones).  I would hate to miss that teeny-tiny phase even though it isn't always super easy.  I can't wait to meet this little girl!

Elizabeth

My Family's Ministry

My family has been blessed with the opportunity to work with young people in the Dayton area.  Aaron and I are directly involved in everything from running events at our youth center to managing the thrift store as an extra source of income to running Bible studies during the week.  We are thankful to have been blessed with this opportunity to be missionaries in our own backyard. 

Aaron and I have recently set a goal to raise $2000 per month toward our family's ministry. All donations go through Harvest Youth Ministries and are tax deductible. We love working with teenagers and are thankful that we have this opportunity.  

If you or anyone you know has a heart for teens or missions, please share this information with them.  We are working toward raising 100% of our own support would love to be able to continue doing what we love and use the ministry's resources for more programs for the teens rather than to pay our salaries.

Our Family's Ministry Page

For more information or to share what the Lord is doing in your neighborhood, please send an email to Elizabeth@theatticclub.com


Elizabeth

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8