Happy Thanksgiving!

 

            Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! I know – when speaking to a broad audience – that this day is met with mixed emotions. Some of you have been eagerly awaiting it, whether for friends, family, or food. (Or football.) Others of you are struggling to find something to be thankful for in a hard season, and you just want this day to pass. I’ve had a year or two like that in my life.

            But whether you’re excited for today or dreading it, I want you to know that I am thankful for YOU. Thank you for spending time here each day…or week…or whenever you have time to drop in and read a few words. I am grateful you would take a moment to stop and see the thoughts from my heart.

            I’m also thankful today for the goodness I was reminded of this week as Ryan and I decorated our family trees. I thought back to the years before Ryan, when I cried my way through more than one Thanksgiving and struggled with disappointment in dreams yet unrealized. I wasn’t sure what life would look like someday, and as we recounted our memories, I found myself grateful beyond measure for the fun we’ve had, the memories we’ve made, and even the hard times we’ve survived.

            The little ceramic windmill we purchased in Holland, Michigan, reminded us of the trip where so much went wrong, but we came home with a scrapbook full of pictures, a mind full of memories, and a bunch of belly laughs. The Tulip Time Festival had no tulips, we had to wear hats and gloves on the beach in May, our first hotel reeked of toxic cleaners covering who-knows-what, and a lady at the fireworks heard me walking down a set of bleachers and told me she thought it was thunder. What do you even do with all of that? You laugh about it later and give thanks for windmill tours, second-chance hotels, and a delicious birthday cake.

            The snowflake with the alphabet on it reminded us of the year we did the alphabetical dates all year long. That was, hands down, one of my most favorite projects we’ve ever done in the dating realm of our life together. We saw some fun and unusual things that year: A Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, the Biltmore in the snow, a sunflower farm, and more. What a fun year of memories!

            The moose with the maple leaf we got on the Canadian side of Niagara falls after a perfect fall day and the chance to walk across the bridge into Canada. That adventure was the end of such a fun vacation, and we have nothing but wonderful memories from our thousands and thousands of steps walked all around both sides of the falls.

            The multiple ornaments gifted to us in memory of Allen and Nita remind us of the good years we were able to spend with them before they passed away. Though we never imagined saying goodbye so soon into our marriage, we have no regrets from the time we spent with them, and the ornaments honor them beautifully. (Even hung the ornaments together on the tree, because that’s how they would have wanted it.)

            The little dinosaur snow globe reminds us of our first ever birthday getaway – to the Creation Museum. Back then we didn’t realize we were setting traditions, but we are sure glad we blindly leapt into some things we’ve kept every single year of the almost eleven we’ve been married.

            Our Route 66 patch ornament reminds us of the fun we had stopping to visit our entire wedding party when they all ended up living in Joplin, Missouri, a few years after we were married. It also reminds us of our future travel dreams, which include ALL of Route 66 one of these days.

            The Blue Bible ornament reminds us of the year we took the challenge to read through the Bible chronologically, and we had great conversations that stemmed from sharing what we read along the way. We’ve tried a number of different ways to study and learn as a couple, and this remains one of our favorites.

            The handful of ornaments that represent our wedding and first Christmas together were all gifted to us by friends and family and bring back the joy we felt on our beautiful wedding day and that first Christmas together, chaotic though it was. (Getting married, having a honeymoon, coming home, moving in together, and having Christmas all in a few days was quite the adventure!)

            Lexi’s first Christmas ornament reminds us of the year we had met her but she was too tiny to be at home with us. We went to visit right before Christmas and again at the new year so she would learn us and start loving us even before she was old enough to live in our home. She was so tiny!!!

            The little blue pottery Indiana ornament reminds us of the day we painted pottery with our tenants in celebration of one of their birthdays. It was a crazy day of trying to keep everyone happy (and I’m pretty sure we failed) but it also reminds us of a season when we teamed up to do challenging things to the best of our ability – and solely through God’s strength.

            The stories go on and on for the 122 ornaments we hung and stories we read as we placed then on the tree. (If you’re new here, the story of each ornament is written on a picture of that ornament. I read the stories, and Ryan hangs the ornaments on the tree.)

            We came away from that evening in awe and thankful for goodness in the fun and difficult alike.

            Today we are thankful for life, for the Lord, and for you.

            Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.

            Much love,

            Ryan and Bekah