This is what makes it all worth it...

Believe it or not (ha ha ha), sometimes I get tired, frustrated, anxious, disappointed, and just plain ol' burn-out. It is moments like these that make every difficult moment fall to the way side. It is times like these when all I can say is thank you Jesus! I thank God for how He lifts me up! I am so grateful for how He makes me fit his plans, even in my weakness.

Seeing Jamie smile as he played a game all by himself (he is always having to share).

I love you letters from Angel and TT.

Happy Thanksgiving card from my father-in-law.

Nathan smiling at me as he tells me he is going to "fix" some things around the house.

This Wednesday, after months of serving the kids at The Linc, two kids that I have always referred to as the "difficult kids" in my mind, won my heart. I can remember the very moment that I looked at them and thought, "Wow, you guys really are just sweet kids". It almost brought me to tears, thinking that I had NEVER seen them in this light prior to Wednesday. Thank God for how He showed me the hearts of those boys. From now on, I will always look at them differently. On Friday, I had a date with Nathan. Oh how we laughed together that night. We had SO much FUN. I am so thankful that we can laugh together! On Saturday, DJ and Jamie stayed the night with us again. They were SO good. Oh how I enjoyed tucking them in and telling them how much we love them. On Sunday, I held TT (a 5 year old girl) tightly in my arms at church. We have spent time with her and the rest of her brothers and sisters (DJ and Jamie are 2 of her brothers) for many months. She is so cute :)! Her family is going through a very rough time and I know it is very hard on her. Oh how I loved holding her tight and singing to her while my husband held my hand and rapped his other arm around sweet DJ. Thank God for placing them in our lives! Thank God for giving me a supportive husband who loves these children! This afternoon, we ate dinner at Nathan's parents house and his dad gave us all Happy Thanksgiving cards. His dad doesn't say much, so when he speaks, I listen. Oh how thankful I was when I read these words, "Nashville was from God". Tonight I talked with my mom for over an hour. She just learned how to send pictures over the internet. It was so much fun seeing pictures of her house and talking with her. It almost made me feel like I was there with her. Oh how thankful I am for the happiness I heard in her voice tonight!

We all have our good days and our bad days. While I think that staying in a state of contentment, thankfulness, and joyfullness is what makes the bad days not seem so bad, it still feels so good to have these simple reminders that make every tough moment completely worth it!