The Year of Living Thankfully (Part 2)

I will exalt You, my God the King;

I will praise Your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise You

and extol Your Name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

His greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 145:1-3

1. I'm so thankful for the Lord's grace on me, a great sinner. Today I was reminded afresh of how great a gift it is that mercy and salvation are mine through Christ Jesus. Unmerited favor is such a shocking thing. Thank You, Lord, for not giving me what I deserve.
2. Our little cousin, Baby Coco, who is on the way! Today we celebrated our cousin Coco (the mama) who is alright with being called absolutely anything as long as it's not "Big Coco"!
3. A super Superbowl XLII Extravaganza at Uncle John & Auntie Marilyn's
4. Making plans for this summer's Union in Hermosa Beach! We are going to have so much FUN!
5. A sweet evening in front of the fireplace with Michael watching a Jane Austen chick flick with a glass of wine. I'm so grateful that my burly man loves art, English literature, poetry, and girl movies, too!
6. Playing tennis with the kids and getting completely stomped by Jackie!
7. An incredible conversation with my friend Susan who humbles me with her dogged pursuit of joyous Christ-likeness no matter what her circumstances
8. Our OCEAN We Heart Ethiopia supper. Michael and I are tremendously grateful for all of you! One of the unexpected blessings of adopting Ray Ray has been all the precious friendships we've made along the way.
9. Junior High winter camp with tons and tons of SNOW!
10. Birthday party for Mother & Ray Ray. Time with our family is the sweetest treasure!
11. Getting a little one-on-one time on a long walk with Jackie this morning.
12. Mother. Happy 60th birthday to our dear Mother who models grace, loving kindness, and others-centeredness (Is that a word?) on a daily basis. She's also a really terrific friend!
13. Hung & Hue Tran, longtime friends
14. Lovin' that man of mine!
15. A sweet email from a long-lost friend
16. A wonderful Girl Day with Marg
17. Our church family
18. My sister, Lisa, and the hours and hours we spend on the phone
19. A delightful trip to the bookstore and lots of new books! Hooray!
20. The Clarks' successful adoptions of little Elijah & Sophia! Thank You, Lord Jesus!
21. Horseback riding with Marg
22. Rickerman! Our big boy is becoming a man! Thanks, Lord, for a fun day at Knott's riding rollercoasters and for a wild supper & show at the Pirate Dinner Theatre.
23. Dinner party with the Adamses
24. Leading worship with Chris Lizotte and celebrating Poppy & Ricker's birthday after church
25. Potty training. The Word says to rejoice always and then keep on rejoicing, so I'm learning to rejoice through potty training! Actually, Evangeline is doing really great and any time spent with my little angel is truly a joy... even sitting on the pot!
26. A wonderful time with my friend, Chloe, talking about the joys and struggles of homeschooling, and the hard and yet worthwhile walk that Christian life is.
27. Poppy. Happy 63rd to our Poppy whom we love, and admire, and respect so much. Our Pops is the most encouraging, enthusiastic, and whole-hearted friend in the world!
28. A very special vacation to Pismo Beach with Ricker... Driving up the coast today, listening to his favorite music, walking on the beach at sunset talking about what a great God we serve, and later sitting in the jacuzzi just being together made priceless memories!
29. Riding ATVs on the beach until we were 100% exhausted and in need of a good chiropractor! I'm also SO thankful for my fantastic Spa afternoon... oh, the luxury was straight from Heaven!

God is so good! Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings that are too many to list!

(Private note to Betsy: Please email me again. I haven't been able to reach you by the email address I have. I miss you, my friend, and all the Kikstras!)