Happy House-iversary!

Podcast Tuesday!!

Ryan's inside scoop on the ripping apart of our kitchen (AGAIN) and a bonus this week: hands down, the BEST labor narrative I've ever read in my life. Ryan's cousin's wife had a lonnnnnnnnnng labor last week and her husband's Facebook updates were simply hysterical.

 Listen right here!

One full year ago today, we were here:

We were a bit taken aback that were there, because even two months before that, we hadn't even set foot inside the house. We didn't know we would be moving. It's probably a good thing it all happened so fast, because we didn't have time to freak out about it.

One of the biggest faith journeys of our married life hit a major milestone on this day. Though we didn't take possession of the house that day, we walked out owning it and dreaming of a future to come within those very walls.

We've been so purposeful in the past year, molding and shaping this house into our home. We've lived intentionally, trying our best to use the blessing we've been given to, in turn, bless others.

I. am. so. grateful. God saw fit to move us here when He did. He knew what was coming that we didn't know. He knew the friendships we needed to form and deepen that we couldn't form and deepen from 40 minutes away. He knew the new computer system Ryan's work would get that require much more time at work, and He knew that would be more manageable if we lived closer to work. He knew the gallbladder debacle and the hip replacement that loomed before us and how much easier it would be if we could just be closer to the hospitals we needed to frequent.

We had no clue, but He knew all that.

So today we celebrate one year of owning this home, and we're thankful that even though there have been so many surprises in this past year, we're able to say that all the many good things we hoped to know as a result of this move have absolutely come true.

If there's one thing we've learned in our marriage, it's that we have no idea what God has next for us. We could live here for the rest of our lives, or God could move us somewhere else. We have no idea. But I am thrilled that we have no regrets from this first year of living here. I don't think any house has ever been more well loved in that short amount of time. If we stay here forever, I completely anticipate that every year that follows will be just like the first: lived to the fullest. If God opens a different door and takes us forward into a new place, we'll go knowing we had a great, memory-packed season in this place.

It's home indeed.

Just Thankful

Thanksgiving rolls around next week, and speaking of rolls...anyone looking forward to indulging in one of those during the holiday meal? My mom is a great roll-maker, and not surprisingly, it's one of the gifts I did not inherit from her. That...and pie making...and candy making. It's all very sad. So whenever she makes a batch of rolls, I like to save a carb up and have one. They're worth it.

But even though we're still a week away from Thanksgiving, it's not too early to be thankful, and I thought today would be a great day to do just that here on the blog!

A few things I'm thankful for...in no particular order:

* This house and the journey to get here. When I think that ten months ago, we had not even stepped foot on the property, and now it feels like we've always lived here, I think that calls for some major gratitude. Everything about finding the house, purchasing it, renovating it, settling into it, and now enjoying it brings about a major swell of joy in my heart.

* Our new city. I wasn't scared about moving to a new city, but I was curious how the transition would go, since I'd lived my entire adult life in Marion. But it's been such a blessing to be closer to our family, to be able to be involved in helping them when they need something, being able to be included in things that we were too far away to be part of before. This place suits us.

* Those who carry the baton. This year we said farewell to the Bekah-mobile and to our first home together. While we try not to be overly sentimental, those things did matter to us, and in both cases, we passed the baton to people who understood the love and care we had put into them and promised to carry that on. And we've heard that both are thriving under new ownership, and that makes us happy.

* Our new church. We have begun attending a church closer to home, and while it was hard to leave the place where we worshiped for the last 3.5 years, we've begun to settle in to our new church home. We're starting to learn names, we've found a seat to call ours, and we've been welcomed and embraced already, which is a huge answer to prayer.

* Phoebe. Since I still haven't convinced Ryan that Shafferland needs a dog, I'm grateful for Phoebe. We get to watch her semi-regularly, and she is such a fun little girl. We love how excited she gets when she sees us, we love how she adores cuddling, and Ryan particularly loves what he calls "joint custody." All the fun without the expense. Maybe that's why he sees no need for a dog of our own...

* New opportunities. This year brought about a host of new opportunities for me. Speaking in new places, writing new material, freelance work, podcasting, working from home, chasing dreams, releasing a new book...WOW! What's not to be thankful for there??

* Tuesdays at the Table. This little idea we conjured up and threw into motion at the end of the year has been such a blessing to us. We have loved actually having time to open our home and welcome in friends and family, and my goodness - do we ever have a growing list of people yet to invite! {And if you want to come visit, give us a holler!}

* Great friends. From those who pitched in to help us with all the aspects of moving, to those who have included us in their happenings this year, to those who keep in touch even though we may live a great distance apart, I'm reminded that we both have many wonderful friends. That is a huge blessing!

* You. Hanging out with you every day when you come to visit is a complete joy. I look forward to talking with you in the comments, hearing your stories, and sharing with you. THANK YOU for coming over so regularly and allowing us to be part of your days!

* Ryan. I can't close out a list (and this is by no means a complete list of what we're thankful for) without including Ryan. I am thankful for how hard he works to provide for us, how he supports me in my dreams and makes me feel like I'm making a difference in our home, and how he shows his love in a million ways. I'm thankful for the dreams we've conjured up for the future and for all the exciting things yet to come!

So that's a few thoughts from my head...now it's your turn! What are you pausing to be thankful for this week?

Home

First things first today! Time to announce the winner of the Jennifer Rothschild book from last week's giveaway. We put all the names in a hat and Ryan drew out the name SHERYL GLANCY!! Sheryl!! You won!!! :) I will message you to make arrangements to get it to you! :)

And now...on to today's post!

I am so eager to tell you all about my retreat weekend, but I am still putting all my thoughts together, so today I want to tell you about a beautiful little God-moment we got to experience last week!

I wrote a post last month to commemorate the six month mark of living in our new home, and in that post, I mentioned that we knew our old home's new owner was loving it well. But it was a surprise and complete joy last week to get an email from his mom, who just wanted to let me know that it really was true.

He's been in the house five months now {ACTUALLY, to be fair, I have to say that she said it was his fifth monthiversary in the house, and how much did I love seeing her use that word???} and that he really was loving it.

And not only was he personally loving the house, but he was doing with it exactly what he hoped and envisioned he would do with it: making it a place of ministry. It's a home away from home for college students who need a place to escape and have a home-atmosphere for an evening. She said they were responding and coming over every week, and she even sent me a couple of pictures to show me ministry in action.

I wanted to cry in the best way! He is using the home in ways we never could have. It is a resource and asset to him in a way it couldn't be for us. To see proof of the legacy continuing was such a joy to my week.

AND THEN.

Yesterday we went to a celebration for the centennial celebration of my old church. {The one I attended before the Ryan days.} I will tell you more about it later, but it was such a fun way to see old friends and celebrate the work God has done in the 100 years of that church's life. One of my friends brought a housewarming gift for us. She'd told me quite some time ago that she had a gift for us, and Sunday I unwrapped it.

And I cried.

Again.

This was our home.

And I want to tell you why I love this so much. I have another watercolor painting that I inherited because I bought this house - a painting done probably thirty years ago, when Grandma and Grandpa owned the house. The structure is the same, but house in that watercolor is their home. Hanging plants on the front porch, green carpet on the porch, big bushes in front of the railing.

This picture is our home. This picture shows the siding I put on as soon as I bought the house. This picture shows the red shutters Ryan and I added after we got married. It shows the star we bought on vacation and Ryan hung above the stairs. It shows the landscaping bricks Ryan painstakingly added and the gray paint I applied to the porch after I ripped off the carpet. This shows the metal sign my friend Jenny gave me and Ryan hung on the front of the house and the coffee filter wreath I made at a craft day. It shows our rocking chair and the table that belonged to Grandma and Grandpa that always sat by the front door.

The picture makes the words true. Home is wherever I'm with Ryan. And the picture shows the home we created together, building on the foundation made by my grandparents.

This housewarming gift is dear to me. This, combined with the story of how well-loved and intentionally-used the house is every single day...is beautiful. I'm grateful for all of it. My heart smiles.

Six Months

This past week marked six months since we took possession of our new home in Kokomo. Man, that seems like a lifetime ago.

This first dance in our new living room?

A distant memory.

Last week, I watched our niece and nephews one day, and randomly, our niece said to me, "Do you ever miss your old house?"

Her question took me by surprise, mostly because I figured it was out of sight, out of mind for her. We hadn't mentioned the move all day, and I have no idea what made her think of it. But I didn't hesitate for a second before saying no.

My own answer surprised me.

I think there's something very God-orchestrated about leaps of faith. Leaving our old house and moving here was one of our biggest leaps of faith ever in our marriage.

I still remember the night of our last living room dance in our old house:

So many tears. So many goodbyes. Painful tugging of heartstrings. Walking away from where we began.

But coming here was right, and we knew it. And we knew that in time, the pain of goodbye to something we loved would be replaced with the joy of hello as we enjoyed our new home.

And we have been enjoying the daylights out of this new home. I'm pretty sure one of us says at least once a day, "I love our home."

We can do here what we couldn't do there. We can be part of relationships - friendships and family alike - that we were too far away to be part of in Marion. We can spend time together, morning, noon, and night, that we couldn't have when work was a 45 minute drive from home. We can entertain and host people in ways we couldn't before. {Ironically our new house is smaller by a few square feet, but the layout is such that the space is actually more usable.}

Every single person who has come here to see our home remarks that it just looks like us. And that makes us so happy. We want people to walk in and feel comfortable here. We want it to be a refuge for them like it is for us.

Our old house is so loved, both by us and by its new owner. We've driven by it a couple of times when we've been back in town, and the new owner is caring for it well. We've heard that he is carrying out his vision for it: inviting people over and allowing it to be a refuge for them like it is for him. That makes our hearts so happy. His world is fully engulfed in that city in ways ours never was. He can make such good use of that home and allow it to minister in ways we couldn't really do. The love and care and purpose my grandparents and I put into it is being carried right on, without interruption. Mission accomplished.

As for us, we're loving fall in our new home. I've decorated, and we're content to enjoy the view of pumpkins, the scent of spice, and the soft of blankets while we make ourselves at home in our home.

Six months in, and no regrets. This is home. I can't imagine it any other way.

Becoming Home

It's been forever since I wrote a thoughtful kind of post. Life has been so {beautifully} full lately that each day's post is a mad dash to keep you up to date on what's happening in our world {not to mention to serve as a reminder to me later when I finally have time to scrapbook this wild journey and have forgotten key things I want to preserve}.

But I feel the need to catch my breath, so today isn't a recap. It's just my heart.

When I moved into my first home, the one we just left last month, I was a college graduate with a new job, a white twin daybed, a hodge-podge of things inherited from the homes of my grandparents, a kitten, and a roommate.

Life was brand new for me in every way and each day was an exercise in figuring out who I was and how I fit in and how in the world I would survive this Financial Aid thing. And life found a rhythm. I figured out the job, the kitten went to live on a farm after not liking the roommate's cat, the roommate went to live on her own after we failed to find harmony, and I was left with the white twin daybed and the hodge-podge of things inherited, while adding to it a hodge-podge of what began to represent my life.

And despite a couple of huge home-purges in the last few years {one before getting married and one last summer after quitting my job}, this move still felt like an exercise in honing our possessions and figuring out what we need learning to live concisely and simply.

People ask us almost every day if we're all settled in and the answer is no. I would feel comfortable now saying we are largely settled in, but we are not fully settled. Rooms are mostly assembled. Less than ten boxes remain packed. The piles of to-be-sorted are not as bad as I imagined they might be, and I am tickled to the brightest shade of pink at all my newly assembled {AND LABELED!!!} storage boxes that make life lovely

This week, we started the permanent settling of hanging our pictures on the walls. We piled the bed high with art and pictures and sayings and then created little collages on the floor to be transferred to each wall. It was a slow process - and those of you with husbands who have the same love affair with levels and measuring tapes that mine does will understand what I mean by that.

With each step we've taken, this house has become more of our home. The kitchen was the first room I assembled, so I could work to create healthy meals for us - meals that could be eaten on real plates at an actual table. And then I organized the closet so we weren't pulling wrinkled clothes from suitcases and wondering what happened to the bag of socks.

Room by room, we've slowly made a home, continuing to organize and purge as we go. This house is as different in layout from our old home as I think we could have gotten, so nothing naturally went in the same space. Everything required a new home with new vision. And we've loved that. We have loved figuring out how this place suits us. We've combined the old and familiar of our things with the new and exciting of the space. We've combined my things with his and purchased a few more that could just be called ours.

It's becoming home. It's felt like home since the first day, when we wandered inside and stared at the blankest of home canvases. But with each box unpacked and each item given a place, it's become a true home.

We're back at it again tonight - with the level and the tape measure and a new armful of art that needs a wall. It's lovely, comforting {although occasionally maddening} work. And I can't wait to introduce you to the finished product!

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday, I read Anne's post over at In Residence, and she talked about her recent move to a new/old city, and how it was important to her to find some places that felt like home so she could feel at home after her transition.

It's true, you know. If you haven't moved for a while {or ever}, you might not realize how easily you take for granted the places that are yours. I had lunch a couple of weeks ago with my friend {and former neighbor!}, Julie. She told me how strange it felt to come back to this city after a handful of years away, and while it felt familiar, it wasn't quite home anymore. She has a new stash of places that are hers. 

And if you have moved recently, you probably know the urgency to find YOUR grocery store, YOUR church, YOUR favorite restaurant, YOUR park. Home goes beyond the walls of your house. It's your community, too.

Ryan and I are both transplants to Marion. I've been here {technically} nineteen years {WHAT!?!?!} if you count my college years, which I do. Ryan's been here almost three years now, after marrying me, and this place has become home.

Our Coffee Shop

 We have four coffee shops in town: one on campus, two independently owned, and one Starbucks. And Starbucks is home - not because it's the trendy place to go, but it's where we have gift cards! {They speak loudly!} But it's more than that. It's the place where we've actually made friends with the staff. The place where they know our drinks sometimes better than we know them. It's the place we can find open early in the morning or late at night, and someone will smile and hand us coffee.

Our Church

We never meant for this church to become our home. We walked through the doors about 2 1/2 years ago, fully intending to be there for a brief time and move on to whatever home God ordained for us, as far as churches go. We're still there, we dared to make friends, we got involved, and we have learned so much from the pastors who teach us. I think finding a church home can be one of the hardest things about moving to a new community, so for those of you still searching - keep pushing forward! The right one will be there!


Our Pizza

We love pizza. Truth? We could eat it every single meal for every single day for the rest of our natural lives, which would likely be much shorter than planned because we'd experience death-by-pizza. There are something like 32 million pizza joints in this town and we've visited just about all of them. And because we love pizza, we have no complaints. But we default to Papa John's, because we can get the best deals there. {Shout out to half price pizzas when the Colts and Pacers win!!} We do find it really interesting that the ONLY Papa John's in town is on the opposite side of the city from campus. You'd think the college could support its own Papa's, wouldn't you?


Our Campus

Speaking of campus, we love the grounds of IWU. Stunning, stunning property, thanks to the hard work of the individuals who care for it. We love taking walks there, praying in the chapel, running there, and seeing the life that springs up when school is in session. {Even if we do have to watch more carefully to make sure we don't get run over by zealous drivers!}


Our Shopping Strip

I am one of those rare blessed girls who has a husband who doesn't hate shopping. And every now and then, we'll hit the shopping strip that houses TJ Maxx, Kohl's, Hobby Lobby, and Meijer. It's pretty sweet to just make our way down the row, looking through each store. It counts as a date, and it's one of our favorites.
 

Our Park

I'm pretty sure when I moved to this city the aforementioned 19 years ago, the city park was largely a joke. But my goodness...they have certainly put a lot of effort into improving it in that time, and we love our park. The walking trails, the pretty gardens, the lights at Christmas: it's a beautiful, beautiful place now, and if we move, I think I may have to insist it move with us.



So those are our home-sweet-home places around this fine city. What about you? What makes your town feel more like home?

Thankfulness, Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! I know for some of you, this day is going to be a lot of fun with food, family, and friends, and for others of you, today is a day that brings up memories you'd rather forget and pain you'd rather not feel. Regardless of which camp you fall into, I pray God will meet you in a special way today and that your heart finds a way to be thankful!!!

Today I'm continuing the list I began yesterday - the top 20 things I'm thankful for this year!

11. YOU...my dear blogaroo readers.

I really need a big picture of all of you right here, so just imagine it! :) This year I had the opportunity to mail out a few copies of my book to some of you who have become friends through this space. Some of you I've met in real life and some I have not, but I'm really grateful for all of you who leave comments and take time to get to know me and allow me to get to know you as well. Writing is my love, and this blog is, in part, a chronicle for me, but it's a JOY to me that so many of you have hopped on board and read along and care about us and pray for us, and that's just a massive bonus. Thanks for blessing me every day of the year. I am thankful for you!

12. Warm home that IS home.

 I've had the blessing of always...all my life...having a bed of my own, clothes to wear, more than enough {!!!} food to eat, reliable{ish} cars to drive, and no worries of where any of those things are going to come from. I know that is not the case for everyone. I'm so grateful, in these chilly first days of winter, that I can come home at night and sit by a fire and cuddle under a blanket and sleep in a bed with a heated mattress pad. And not only do I have a house...I have a home. A place that feels not only comfortable, but comforting. So, so grateful.

13. Safety on commutes.

 When I took my job at WBCL 3 1/2 years ago, I put my house on the market immediately and fully anticipated...expected, really...that I would be a Fort Wayne-r by winter. I had no idea I would still be commuting and hour each way 3 1/2 years later. {Blissful ignorance. Probably wouldn't have been brave enough to say yes to the job if I'd known.} The girl who hates to drive became a professional {ha!!} driver, and in the time I've been on the road, I've watched cars lose control, I've seen slide-offs, I've seen collisions, I've seen rollovers and more. I'm so grateful that God has protected me from impaired and distracted drivers, from deer, and probably for a host of things I do not even know.  And in the 2 years we've been married, Ryan's had safe commutes as well - and for this, I am intensely grateful.

14. Health.

Sounds crazy cliche, but this year, I've discovered some of my friends - my same age friends - have serious, life changing health problems. Some are permanent. Some don't know if they'll deal with this stuff permanently or not. But it breaks my heart.  And I have other friends whose kids are dealing with life altering and sometimes life-ending issues. Sometimes I cannot even wrap my mind around it. I have no idea why I have my health when others do not, but I am grateful for what I have at this time in my life.

15. Fun.

I am so thankful for the amount of fun Ryan and I get to have together. I think more than anything else, we hear from others that we seem to have fun together, and I can assure you, it's not just a "seem" thing...it's true! We have a blast! We laugh hard, we play often, and we try to make any and every activity - clear down to grocery shopping - as much fun as we can. I don't take it for granted that this much joy has entered my life along with Ryan!

16. Our Wedding.

How was this our wedding??? Seriously?? I look back on this day - almost two years ago now - and am stunned that I had the opportunity to have such a dream day. Not only that we were able to make the trip to Florida, but that so many of our family members were able to come too, and that the day was all I ever could have hoped for. I look at our pictures and I sit in awe. God redeemed in a big way on this day by giving me a once-in-a-lifetime dream.

17. My Job.

 If you had told me, five years ago, that I would get married on a beach, I wouldn't have believed you - but I also wouldn't have believed you if you'd told me I would work at WBCL! I love what I do, and I'm grateful for the chance to do life with the same people I grew up listening to. Thankful for the investment they have made in my life and thankful for a chance to do a job that's not just a job. It's ministry!

18. Our church. 

When Ryan and I felt the tug to find a new church home after we got married, we dreaded it. We picked a church that was big, hoping we could get lost in it for a while - and one day we would find our forever home. But this church has unexpectedly opened its arms and welcomed us in and made us family. It's been a beautiful year of finding our place, and I'm thankful for the unexpected blessing.

19. BLT.

 When Lynne came up with this idea just over two years ago, we had no idea what a treasure it was going to become to the two of us and to those who like to hang out with us. This is one of my favorite things of each week. Thankful for Lynne and the chance to share the airwaves with her every Thursday!

20. Tears.

We actually had our BLT show a day early this week, and we heard all kinds of thankfulness from our listeners. One of you said you're thankful for tears, because without emotion, you would be cold and unfeeling inside, and you don't want to be that. YES. OH YES!!! It's no secret I love me some clean tear ducts, but I agree. To cry means I haven't lost all feeling in my heart, and I'm glad for that.

So that's a sampling of what I'm grateful for this year. Also grateful for FOOD...and I'll be enjoying that today - hope you will be, too!!

Feeling at Home

Yesterday I read this post by Emily A. Clark - in which she referenced this post about costly decisions homeowners make that later affect the resale value of the home.

Emily's question in her post became...do you make decisions in your house based on now or later? Do you choose everything based on the fact that you might put your home on the market at some point?

I love this question! So right off the bat, of course, I'm curious about what you think. Are you making design and decorating choices right now with resale in the back {or front} of your mind?

This may shock you, coming from the girl who has TWO homes on the market, but my answer to this is a resounding no. {Please refrain from saying that this is WHY we still have two homes on the market. HA!!}

When I moved into this home back in 2000, I had just spent four years in university housing, where the number one rule was DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO THE WALLS. NO paint. No nails. No personality. So my main objective was to paint every wall and hang up every picture. Thankfully, my style has improved since those days.

But once I got over binge painting and obsessive picture-hanging, I have tried so hard to make our home...our home. I choose colors that I hope are pleasing and inviting, not only for the two of us, but also for anyone else who might come to visit. The art and photos on our walls reflect who we are and what we love, and I'm unapologetic about those things.

I'm sure home stagers would wildly disagree with me {and they have the expertise to do so, certainly!}, but my feeling is that my home is my home until it sells, and I want to feel at home here. I want to look around and feel cozy and comfortable and welcome. And hopefully others see and feel the same when they come through.

Therefore, we haven't de-personalized the house, even though it's on the market. We were curious to see what people would say when they came through. We were pleased to hear that people find it just as we hoped: inviting. One lady called it Pinterest-perfect {which made my DAY, even though I don't think it's necessarily true}. Several told us that they can feel love from the pictures they see. So far, no one seems unable to envision themselves within our walls...just no one has made our walls their walls. :)

So my answer is...I prefer a home that feels like home. And I make my choices based on what feels warm and comfortable. And I trust that when it's time to sell, the right buyer will feel so at home, he or she will want to MAKE it home.

So that's me. How about you?

{And some pics of this place we call Shafferland. This place we call home.}

Thank You Lord, For Your Blessings on Me

When I thought about what to write for today's post - I kept coming back to a southern gospel song I learned when I was a kid - Thank You, Lord, For Your Blessings on Me.

Sometimes I'm just a really messed up girl. I freak out over stupid stuff, I worry needlessly, and some days I wonder how Ryan - and God - put up with me. But oh how thankful I am that they both do.


So today I'm taking the lyrics of the chorus to that song and offering my thanks for the beautiful, undeserved blessings God has given me.

There's a roof up above me....I've a good place to sleep....

I'm so thankful {though it has nearly been our undoing at times} for our home, which in our eyes is comfortable, cozy, warm, and beautiful. I'm thankful for Ryan and all his hard work to transform so many rooms into something even more functional and more beautiful than they ever were before. I'm thankful, especially in light of last week's tornadoes, that I still have a home that is relatively unaffected by the wind.

Blessed, indeed. Every time I look around the home we've created together. Thank you, Lord.

There's food on my table, and shoes on my feet.

Obviously we do not go hungry, and I know there are many throughout the world who do not have that luxury, so I'm thankful for a life that doesn't cause me to worry about food - but I'm also thankful for more than just mere food on the table. I'm thankful to have a husband to prepare food for. I'm thankful for a husband who also loves to cook and will spend time in the kitchen with me, helping me prepare the food. I'm thankful for the mornings he's brought me breakfast in bed, or stood outside in the cold to grill dinner. I'm thankful for a reason to stand in the kitchen at 6 in the morning and pack lunches for two. I'm thankful for friends who want to come over and share a meal with us, so I can plan and prepare a meal to entertain. I'm thankful for money {and a plethora of gift cards!} that allows us to enjoy dates out on the town and take a break from cooking. God has provided above and beyond....

You gave me Your love, Lord, and a fine family.

How THANKFUL I am for God's love, His grace, His patience, His teaching to my heart, His presence...all of it. This year has been a time of learning, adjustment, and enjoyment, and He's led every step of the way, and I'm so thankful. And I can't NOT talk about my family...the family I was born into has stepped up to support me in ways that just blew me away this past year. They sacrificed to help Ryan and I begin our life together, and I'm so thankful. And I married into a wonderful family, too. I'm thankful for a whole host of new people who have welcomed me warmly. And of course...Ryan. The one God sent to allow me to have a family of my own. The two of us make the family I've always dreamed of having. {Well, and let's not forget Braeya. She's family too.} Thank you, Lord!!

Thank you, Lord, for Your blessings on me!




Thankfulness, Day 28: Even though the magic of Facebook and Twitter let us stay in contact with people more than we ever did before...there are still people we end up not talking to forever. Not on purpose. Just happens. Who haven't you talked to in over a year? Let them know today you've not forgotten them and you're THANKFUL for them!!