I’m Thankful For…
I have been really enjoying Courtney Joseph’s new book, Women Living Well: Finding Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home. So much encouragement there! Today the encouragement was to think of 10 things you admire about your husband. I thought I would share mine here, just as an added blessing for my amazing man! Here’s what I admire about my husband:
- He loves Jesus and wants to glorify Him with his life. One of my requirements for a husband was that he be a serious Christian, and I found that in my man!
- He has a great sense of humor. He’s always making me laugh! He likes to play little tricks on me that we both find hilarious later. Such as the time when (before we were married) I called his house and he answered with, “Buenos Dias, Taco Palace!” And I thought I’d dialed the wrong number and hung up, feeling very embarrassed! We got a good laugh out of that.
- He is a great dad. My love for my husband has grown through the years as I’ve watched him tenderly caring for our babies, changing diapers, reading bedtime stories, swinging kids on the swing, and reading the Bible to them.
- He keeps his word. If he says he’s going to do something, he does everything in his power to make it happen. He’s very dependable and steady. I love that about him.
- He is extremely intelligent. My husband is over 5 years older than me, and had already earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees when we met. He thinks in an intelligent, logical manner, and he’s an excellent writer. I’ve always been impressed with his ability to communicate so effectively through the written word.
- He is a great teacher. Sometimes when I’m listening to him teaching during a church service, I can’t help but be impressed with what a natural teacher he is.
- He is very patient and forgiving.
- He loves to plan special things for the family. He often plans a day to take the kids to the park or he’ll plan a family picnic at the lake. Sometimes I get so focused on my to-do list that I don’t even think of breaking free of the daily duties and doing something just for fun. But my husband often senses when we all just need to get away for a bit, and he’s so good at planning inexpensive but memorable times.
- He is an amazingly strong servant-leader. He has never been above making a meal or doing dishes when I was sick or discouraged. He serves me and our children in so many ways.
- He is very thoughtful and sensitive to my needs. I have been amazed through the years at how creative he is when thinking of gifts to give me or planning special times for the family or just the two of us. He often brings me flowers or gives me a thoughtful card when I need encouragement. He is a genius at thinking up ways to delight and surprise me! For example, on our 5th anniversary, he planned a weekend away at a bed and breakfast, and rented a sign with an anniversary message on it that included Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.”
To illustrate number 10, another thing I’m thankful for is the weekend away he planned for the two of us last weekend. He totally surprised me with this! He rented a small cabin on the lake (since it was off-season it was super cheap), and this is the view we woke up to Sunday morning:
There was mist rising up from the water and the sun was shining. There were ducks floating in the midst of it and it was so very peaceful.
I loved this husband and wife floating on the water together:
It was so refreshing just to get away and be able to talk and enjoy being together. We were able to sleep in, nurture our marriage, and just relax. It was truly lovely and it really recharged us to come back to our daily duties and family life.
While we were gone, our children also had a great time here at home with my mom, who stayed with them. They made chocolate no-bake cookies, cotton candy, cinnamon ornaments, watched videos, had ice cream, and went over to Mom and Dad’s to help decorate their tree. So, they were having a blast while we were gone. I’m so thankful for my parents!
I’m also very thankful for this new quilt that I found at a home store in the outlet mall we went to this weekend:
For years now we have been using a bedspread that my mom made for me when I was 16. I had fallen in love with the fabric at the fabric store, and she made it into this bedspread for me. It has received nearly constant use for over 20 years! With all the wear and tear it has received, the cotton fabric became worn and finally tore in several different places:
Every night when my husband would pull the blankets up we would hear a ripping sound, which for some reason caused me to experience fits of laughter! Finally, he said to me, “Could you just put another blanket on the bed?! This one is totally torn up!” To which I replied that I was keeping this one until I found just the right one, and we hadn’t been able to afford another one yet.
So I had been saving up little bits here and there, and then I walked into the home goods store and found this one. Walked right over to it! Just what I was looking for, and so affordable! I hadn’t been able to find anything this cheap online, so it seemed providential when I found this one (and I had been praying that the Lord would provide a new quilt for us that we could keep another 20+ years!).
It looks very nice with this knit pillow that I got from Zulily (for free, using some credits I had). One side has buttons, and the other side is plain:
I love the scalloped edges and the floral cotton binding:
I wasn’t able to get the matching pillow shams, as the store didn’t have them, but I did remember that I had some fabric that a friend had given me almost 10 years ago! It’s very high-quality Moda quilting cotton, and it seems to match really nicely, don’t you think? I think it would make some lovely pillow shams.
And I also remembered (thankfully) that I had these three plates that I found at a local flea market (for very cheap) a while back. I want to hang them on the wall in our room.
I’m also thankful for our Christmas photo cards that came in the mail a couple weeks ago! And they only cost me $4.49 (including the shipping) for 20 cards! You can take advantage of this deal (for new customers) for a few more days (good until November 30). All you do is sign up here and use the code 1CARD at the checkout to get 20 4 x 8 photo cards for $1. I thought it was a great deal, but I did need more than 20 cards, so I also got 60 free prints just for registering as a new customer!
I asked my husband when he went to the post office if he could get me some Christmas stamps, and he came back with these. I just love Christmas stamps, and these are so cute!
I’m thankful for these cozy p.j.’s that I found at the thrift store:
And thankful for more thrifted clothes:
I’m thankful for sweet times with family and pumpkin desserts, like these pumpkin bars. Today I cooked three small pumpkins that we had been using for decoration. We roasted the seeds and then I made pumpkin puree, which I plan to use tomorrow for some special treats.
And this adorable pumpkin cheese ball was so fun to make. From a distance it looked just like a little pumpkin! We used a real pumpkin stem on it.
I’m so much looking forward to Thanksgiving, and spending time with family! What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Are you hosting a dinner at your house? We have two sets of family that we go see every year, so we’ll be busy Thursday and Saturday with that. I can’t wait!
P.S. Here’s the December Flexi Clip of the Month. Isn’t it beautiful? It’s been so popular that several sizes are already sold out (and it’s not even December yet!), but the good news is that you can back order it! It looks so pretty and wintry. You can find it here.
Linking to: Deep Roots at Home, A Wise Woman
wow! So many beautiful pics! I've been admiring those knitted pillows! So nice that you were able to use credits and get them free! Those stamps are adorable. I'll have to ask for them next time I go to the post office. Love that new quilt as well!
That bedding is lovely! As are all of the accessories! Stopping by from Deep Roots!
I love it when people are thankful for their spouses. My husband has been so kind to me over the years and is my best friend. No matter what we are doing it is always made better by doing it together.
ChristyH