Monday, April 21, 2008

gratitude


"wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving"


i am so thankful for my sweet baby girl...she continues to amaze me as she grows every day!


i am grateful for our friends here in Atlanta who make this big city feel a bit more like home to me...above, natalie and cosette play together!

natalie has such a sweet personality, and she also is able to tell you what she wants VERY quickly...she reminds me a lot of her aunt katy!


my precious grandmother recently turned 80 years old! we had such a fun celebration in lagrange. i will forever be grateful for my incredible family...


A friend of mine in my bible study group told us that she maintains a "gratitude journal" where she records things that she is grateful for in her life. As I thought more about that idea driving home last Monday, I thought about all that I have in my life that I am thankful for. It is easy for me to complain, and I am pretty good at it, but recently I have been trying to focus more on gratitude.

In the middle of the night last night, our house alarm went off and it scared me to death. I don't think I've ever jumped out of bed so fast...I rushed to grab Natalie from her crib and held her tight while we figured out if we were in danger or not. I am thankful for safety, and for my husband who cares for and protects our family!

I am also very grateful that I am able to be at home with Natalie right now. Through the midst of several (what I believe are God-ordained) circumstances, Natalie's daycare situation did not work out. She is still on several waiting lists. I have been able to do a bit of work from home (counseling transplant patients over the phone and linking them with resources) as well as work some on the weekends at Emory. I am also doing some calligraphy work...addressing wedding invitations! My regular full-time job is quite stressful, and I can't even begin to relay how very grateful I am to have this time away from that stress to spend with my sweet daughter. I needed this time...time to love her...time to breathe...time to escape the difficulty and challenges that I face on a daily basis at work. This time has been so precious to me. I am so very grateful for this time, and especially for little miss Natalie, who blesses my life in unimaginable ways.

I am also very grateful for you...my "people"...the ones who love me and support me and hold me up. You'll never know how much your goodness means to me. "I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3

2 comments:

Shannon Lewis said...

I love you Kel, Dave and Sweet Natalie!

Anonymous said...

hi kelly!
I love this post. I use to keep a gratitude journal and it is such a wonderful thing to do. You really get to see on paper how good God is to us and it changes our complaints to "things we need to work on to change" instead of griping. You have inspired me to start my gratitude notebook back up. chris (from work)