Thankful

I realized tonight that I’ve barely posted here four times this month, while I’ve posted some thirty-plus times over at Creative Perch. My energies have been so divided, and I apologize.

Chris and I celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends this past week. We missed being with our families so much and vowed never to land ourselves in the position of not being able spend such an important holiday with family. This has been an incredibly economically challenging year, but even so, if we had planned early enough in the year, we would have been able to go. Lessons learned.

In spite of our economic challenges, we are doing well. We’re learning to live on nearly $1,000 less per month than we were six months ago, which means that when our income goes up, we’ll have disciplined ourselves enough to put that money into savings and toward our debt-wipeout plan. Here are just a few of the things I am so thankful for this year:

• Friends. We have been overwhelmed by unexpected and sincere friendships this year.
• God’s Provision. God is so faithful to us. He truly knows our needs (including what we need to learn and when is best). He always comes through for us, and we are constantly amazed.
• The richness of our life. Chris and I have crafter our own little family traditions, and when we look around us, we feel as if we lead an incredibly rich life.
• Creative community. I’ve connected with other creatives more this year than I think ever before. I am so thankful for the challenges that have come up that have forced me to reach out and find a support network. There are days that I have relied on that network more than I ever would have anticipated.
• My family. They are wonderful, and they are growing. I am so proud and thankful for them.
• My incredible husband. Chris  has shown up more this year than any other, mostly because I have needed him to. When I have faced my greatest challenges, felt the most overwhelmed, or most bewildered, he has been there, wearing his “I love my wife” black t-shirt. He’s incredible. He says he married up, but really, I got the better end of the deal.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the holidays are full of joy and peace for you and your family!