Thankful Things: Part II

I was going to include my fam in the earlier post but it was just too much, they deserve their own post of glory. 

Seriously I love my family. They're a little crazy, let's be real, but they're super awesome. I feel like I've been able to truly appreciate my family now that I'm in college and not getting to enjoy their company 24/7.

As I've started thinking about how I want my own family to function one day, I've found myself valuing and wanting to employ the things and rules my parents did and enforced (even though I may or may not have hated some of those things at the time). Thanks for not letting me get that Brittany Spears CD in the 2nd grade and for making me listen to Point of Grace. Thanks for homeschooling me (and making sacrifices to do so) and teaching me the value of working hard and self-discipline. Thanks for not letting me go on dates with icky boys at age 15. Thanks for not letting me watch Bring It On. Thanks for kissing each other on the lips, even though I thought it was gross when I was little. Thanks for working for your marriage. Thanks for sacrificing and saving money so that I can go to college and not worry about finances.

Thanks for being a stellar example of provision, Daddy. And making the best eggs ever (even in ill-stocked beach houses). Thanks for making me laugh all the time. And thanks for embarrassing me and keeping me humble. Thanks for being a true leader at home, at work, and at church. Thanks for coaching tons of teams, and for reading books to coach sports you didn't have the slightest clue how to play.

Thanks for being the best example ever of what homebuilding is, Mom. Thanks for being an awesome cook and teaching me how to be hospitable. Thanks for spouting off Scripture when I had a problem and that was literally the last thing in the world I wanted to hear. Thanks for teaching me how to properly stir ingredients together, scrape a bowl clean, and lick beaters (without worrying about salmonella). And thanks for getting the coffee ready every night before bed when I was in high school. I kinda wish you could come to my apartment every night and do that.

Thanks for being hilarious, bubs. I'm pretty sure I will always think (most) everything you do/say is funny. Thanks for still giving me hugs and sleeping in my room on Christmas Eve. I'm thankful Mom & Dad listened to four-year-old me when I incessantly cried and asked for a baby brother. Life would be boring without you.

My godfamily is basically an extension of my real family. They're wonderful.

Thanks for being so great, Mrs. Ava & Mr. Glenn. Thanks for giving me a wonderful picture of godly marriage. Thanks for always inviting us over for Sunday lunch and fixing the best rolls known to man. Thanks for being my godparents and even being willing to buy me that Laura Ashley princess bedroom suite I requested at age 7 should you have become my guardians :) Thanks for always sending me encouraging text messages and praying for me if you know I have lots going on, Mrs. Ava. Thanks for always giving me a hard time about boys, providing comedy, and being a good sport when we give you a hard time about proposing to Mrs. Ava (twice), Mr. Glenn.

Thanks for taking me on my first date, David, and showing me how a man should treat me. Thanks for playing Nintendo 64 with me after lunch on Sundays even when I'm sure you didn't want to. Thanks for being a wonderful example of the kind of man I want to marry someday. Bethany, you're super sweet, tender-hearted, and warm spirited. I'm so thankful you're a part of our family.

Thanks for being a great youth pastor, Rook partner, and fellow Napoleon Dynamite fan, Jonathan. Thanks for being structured, but awesome as a youth pastor. Thanks for being so wise and gentle in giving instruction. Thanks for letting me hang out with you on Sunday afternoons for years, introducing me to the batwolf in the basement, fixing me horribly disgusting tea, and letting me wear your Jets jersey to root on your fave team. 

Thanks for being such a godly woman and example in my life, Laura. Thanks for teaching Sunday School for years. Seriously, your lessons were some of the most critical things I learned in high school. Thanks for being a great mom. And thanks for letting me be one of your bridesmaids.

And thanks for making sweet babies and being fun and structured parents!

Love you all!