5.  I'm so grateful that God knows better than I do.

I was driving home from Aldi this evening when a song came on the radio that took me back to a time long ago and to a former crush.  Man, seriously, God protected me from so many lousy relationships.  I look at how this former crush has turned out, and I think about how other former crushes and former boyfriends or pseudo boyfriends have turned out.  I'm so glad I didn't end up with any of them.

Now I see a workaholic,
an alcoholic,
one who can't hold down a job,
one who didn't want children,
one who didn't see freedom in Christ,
one who wouldn't sing with me in church...

I could go on and on.

I am beyond grateful that God knew better than I did and did not allow of those past relationships to continue.  Of course at the time, I was naively seeing only the dreamy, good things and wearing blinders to the bad.

"God, why won't you just let me have what I want??"  I don't think I used those exact words, but that was pretty much my sentiment when none of the relationships continued.

And it wasn't until years later that my blinders were removed, and I saw all that God had protected me from.

Thank you, God.  Thank you for doing things in Your time, not mine.  Thank you for knowing better than I do.

3.  I am thankful for Target's policy that allows me to get the sale price of an item after I bought it at regular price a couple weeks prior.

4.  I am thankful for a husband who does so much for our family - tending to Catherine when she occasionally cries in the middle of the night or frequently cries in the early morning, changing poopy diapers, cleaning toilets, climbing onto the roof to clear out gutters, mowing, raking, cooking meals, skyping during his lunch break, working long, hard days so I can stay home with Catherine, washing dishes, bringing me flowers, dusting, vacuuming, and making me pumpkin pancakes.  Phew!  I am SO grateful that he is my husband and Catherine's daddy!!!

i write this on a friday night not from my own home, but from the home of my in-laws.

i am thankful for my in-laws.  they raised a great son in my husband, and they are great grandparents to our little girl!

we are so blessed to have them nearby.  tonight josh is with his dad at a mens retreat.  catherine & i are having a girls night with his mom.  we had a nice dinner out, and catherine entertained all the restaurant patrons and staff of course.  tomorrow we'll do brunch and who knows what else.  kinda depends on how little girl does.

thank you, God, for more family through marriage!

so do you think i could actually post a little blog of something to be thankful for every day in november?  or at least until thanksgiving?

hmmm, we'll see.  maybe it will last a day.  ha.

i am grateful for my new job.  as trying as it may be - and believe me, it is - i am truly grateful that i can stay home with catherine to be a full-time stay-at-home mom.

it took us about a month or so to get into our routine and figure out our groove together in a new city and with josh going back to work and me staying at home.  i tell ya - it was a lot of change all at once.  but we are exploring our new town and getting out there and trying new things.  we are both learning and growing together.

the last two days i really felt like quitting my job.  it was a very rough couple of days.  but the fact that it was the first thing that came to mind as i show gratitude for specific aspects of my life shows how easily i can overlook the challenging times to focus on the good.

thank you, God, for giving josh a good full-time job so i can have my good full-time job as well!

I am so grateful for our vehicle(s).  Granted, only one is currently working, but that is ok.  Josh now walks to work, and we are managing to get by.

We are in no hurry to get rid of either vehicle, especially the one that is working.

However, with that said, I will say that our next vehicle will be a bigger vehicle.

We have had some interesting moments in our backseat lately.  Thank goodness we have an easygoing baby!

Things I Like Right Now

• chevron
• grey & yellow
• burlap
• pumpkin
• candles
• fall
• actually being chilly
• nap time
• muffins
• cookbooks
• coffee mugs
• having a dishwasher
• sitting on the front porch
• baby Halloween costumes
• consignment shops/thrift stores
• weekends
• family cuddle time
• pinterest
• craigslist deals
• catch-all baskets
• pumpkin recipes