I am Thankful and I am Grateful

Main Entry: thank·ful
Function: adjective
1 : conscious of benefit received
2 : expressive of thanks
3 : well pleased : glad
— thank·ful·ness noun

How can I adequately write an expression of my thanks? Certainly I am conscious of benefit received. More than well pleased. More than glad. I think that an expression of thanks can do so much to soothe a hurting, anxious heart and to lift the spirits and quicken the step of someone. I mean, really.....is there anyone who doesn't like to be thanked? And what of Him who deserves our most sincere thanks?

I am thankful to my sister-in-law Jill for planning a family service project during our holiday stay. I am thankful to Mom M. and sister-in-law Suzanne for the serious workout they endured at Costco to pick up the supplies. I am thankful to Melissa for watching so many small children when it came time to deliver the fruits of our labor.

Eric, Jacob, Jonathan, Samuel, Mandi, Sarah, Allen, Seth, Kaden, Casie, Annie, Ellie, and Trinity all got in on the action. We created an assembly line to create 200 lunches filled with ham/turkey sandwiches, applesauce, drink, and chips of all kinds to deliver to our local homeless population on the day before Thanksgiving. See, the shelters don't serve a noontime meal. Often their patrons search for whatever they can find or go hungry until the dinnertime meal. We talked of our goals for the project and had fun while we worked. We even had our own personal bread handler (Allen, I am still in awe of your skill). Then it was time to deliver. We drove downtown. We encouraged the kids, taught the kids, all the while learning a profound lesson ourselves. We have SO MUCH to be thankful for. I feel renewed to be more generous, more thoughtful, more caring, more aware.

Main Entry: grate·ful
Function: adjective
1 a: appreciative of benefits received b: expressing gratitude
2 a: affording pleasure or contentment : pleasing b: pleasing by reason of comfort supplied or discomfort alleviated

Oh how I am grateful! So pleased by reason of comfort supplied or discomfort alleviated (can I hear a big amen on that one?) I am profoundly grateful of the benefit of receiving my beloved Brian into my life. What a rock! What a man! What a tremendous example of the enduring desire to be better than he was. To learn from his errors (and help me learn from mine). I am grateful that I am loved by him. I feel it in how he speaks to me, how he treats me, how he thinks of me, how strongly he desires to take care of each of us in this crazy gang of ours. What a privelege. What a blessing. I express my gratitude at this holiday for him. (I know he reads this...I am hoping he reads this) He supplies my comforts and does his very best to alleviate my discomforts. He reminds me whom I can rely on and encourages me in my relationship with my Father in Heaven.

This is him with our newest nephew Jack. Isn't he cute? (Jack is too!)

I promise to be more frequent with my posting. I have so many!!!!