An attitude of gratitude...

This year I have so much to be thankful for! Last week at bible study we talked about being thankful for all things....and in all things. Our leader challenged me to make a list of 50 things that I'm thankful for. So, here I go...in no particular order.

1) I am thankful for my husband, Josh. He is so good to me and such an amazing man of God. I am very lucky to be married to the love of my life!

2) I'm thankful for my family....what a treasure they are to me!

3) I am thankful to be an aunt...Kalie and Cole bring me so much joy.

4) I am thankful for my friends...I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life who love and support me each day.

5) I am thankful for my church....and the woman's bible study and our couples home group. Such a blessing!

6) I am thankful for the freedom to worship freely.

7) I am thankful for the men and women who serve our country....and their families who give the ultimate sacrifice.

8) I am thankful for our country....and the people who lead it.

9) I am thankful for our home....and the safety it provides.

10) I am thankful that Josh and I have cars that work and are paid for.

11) I am thankful for hot water to shower with each morning.

12) I am thankful for our air conditioner and heater.

13) I am thankful for our refrigerator, dish washer, microwave, oven, toilets, sinks and washer/dryer....thank you for making my life easier.

14) I am thankful for our dogs and the way they happily greet me each and every day when I get home. They are my biggest fans. I probably love them a little too much. :)

15) I am thankful for my job...I love coming to work each day. What a blessing.

16) I am thankful for wonderful co-workers. I love you girls!

17) I am thankful for my boss who genuinely cares for me, believes in me, trusts me and wants me to succeed.

18) I am thankful for the ministry of Family Legacy...and that Josh is so happy working full time there. What a joy it is to be a part of what God is doing in Zambia, Africa!

19) I am thankful that our financial needs were met this year. Words cannot express my gratitude to everyone who gave to Josh's support account at Family Legacy. We will forever be grateful.

20) I am thankful for all of the clothes hanging in my closet. I need to stop complaining that I have nothing to wear.

21) I am thankful for the food in our pantry/refrigerator...and that we do not have to worry about how we are going to put food on the table.

22) I am thankful for the trip mom took our family on this past summer to Greece and Turkey. It was absolutely incredible....I have so many special memories from those 2 weeks.

23) I am thankful for my dad's home in Colorado....for the peace and rest it brings me when I'm there.

24) I am thankful for Target. If I had to pick one store to shop at for the rest of my life, it would definitely be Target!

25) I am thankful for God's Word and the hope it provides.

26) I am thankful for my book club / supper club girls...what a joy it has been to get involved in our community in Coppell this year!

27) I am thankful for my daily cup of coffee.

28) I am thankful for the Christmas season....it's my favorite time of year!

29) I am thankful for our mailman who delivers our mail everyday. Checking the mail brings joy to my day!

30) I am thankful for my blog....and my blogging friends. I love keeping in touch with old and new friends through our blogs.

31) I am thankful for my health.

32) I am thankful for the furniture we have.

33) I am thankful for my iPhone. I really don't know how I would function without it, as sad as that sounds.

34) I am thankful for my sweet girls in Zambia....I cannot wait to see them again this summer!

35) I am thankful for my computer and email....I rely on it everyday.

36) I am thankful for my ability to think and problem solve.

37) I am thankful that I can be creative.

38) I am thankful that my clients trust me to be a part of the most important day of their lives. I will never get tired of sending a bride down the aisle...it is such a special moment!

39) I am thankful for the TV shows I watch....The Today Show, Glee (my new favorite), The Office, SYTYCD...and others. But, I'll stop there so I don't sound ridiculous.

40) I am thankful for Skinny Cows. Simply delicious.

41) I am thankful for God's mercy and grace...and that they are new EVERY morning.

42) I am thankful that I am confident in myself.

43) I am thankful for the mountains and the sea....and that God created them both for our enjoyment and His glory!

44) I am thankful for the memories of my childhood.

45) I am thankful for the ability to taste....and enjoy food. In moderation, of course! :)

46) I am thankful for my wedding ring....and the constant reminder is serves of my commitment and love for Josh.

47) I am thankful to have in-laws who love me as their own.

48) I am thankful for my education and the opportunity I had to go to college.

49) I am thankful for the power of prayer.

50) I am thankful for laughter.

What are you thankful for this year? I challenge you to make your own list. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Showering Zoe Mae Conner!

My sweet friend, Mel, is 30 weeks pregnant with a GIRL!! Zoe Mae Conner is schedule to arrive on Feb. 1st! We are so excited to meet her...and to finally have a girl in our friend group!! On Saturday, we showered Mel and Zoe with lots of cute, girly things! Here are a few of the fun details...

The invites....from Tiny Prints. We went with a "vintage" animal theme.

Mantle Decor...we handmade the sign with craft paper and glitter. The puff balls are from Martha Stewart's collection at Michaels....they come in all different colors and are perfect for parties! The monkey is from Pier 1 and the giraffe was borrowed from my boss's daughter....we tied pink bows around their necks to make them more girly!

I borrowed crystals from a florist that we work with all of the time and hung them from the living room chandelier....

We borrowed the animals (Webkinz) from my boss's daughter and hung in them in the dinning room chandelier.

The menu....baked brie, vegetable quiche, sausage rolls, mixed berries, pumpkin muffins, petit fours, raspberry punch and snickerdoodle flavored coffee. Everything was delicious!! Thanks to Marina for letting us borrow the giraffe from Owen's nursery (pictured in the back corner).

Food signs...

Zoe will look so cute in this owl dress....and hopefully one day she'll be a Chi Omega!!

Is this lamp precious or what?!

The girls...

The soon-to-be grandmothers and great-grandmothers!

Hostess love...

Mel at 30 weeks...isn't she beautiful?!

Too yummy...and easy not to share

Yesterday I helped host a baby shower with a few a my dear friends for mom to be, Mel. We had such a great time...I will post about that tomorrow, so stay tuned! Karen was in charge of most of the food...and she did a great job of course. But, one of the recipes she made definitely stood out...the pumpkin muffins!! Not only were they delicious, but they have 2 (yes 2) ingredients and are 100 calories each! She found the recipe on Our Best Bites....my new favorite food blog! These muffins are perfect for Thanksgiving! So, here are the directions....

Preheat oven to 350. Combine and mix 1 29oz can of Pumpkin and 2 Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mixes. Spoon mixture into muffin tins...or directly into muffin pan (just be sure to spray with cooking spray if you don't use muffin tins). Cook for 22 minutes.

I did the math to make sure that they were telling the truth about 100 calories....if you make 24 muffins out of one batch, they are indeed 100 calories each! Here is the recipe on Our Best Bites...they added chocolate chips, which sounds delicious. But I'm all about 100 calorie muffins. Adding the chocolate chips will obviously increase the calorie count.

ENJOY!

Fancy Schmancy Christmas Packages...

This holiday season I'm offering gift wrapping services to make your life easier....and the packages under your tree fun and festive! I'm charging $35 per hour. Depending on the size of your boxes and/or how elaborate you want your gifts wrapped, I'm estimating that I can do 8-10 gifts per hour. Here are a few samples of what I can do....

A bit of whimsy...


Whimsy details...


Traditional and formal...


Traditional/formal details...


I can come to your house to work OR you can bring everything to my house in Coppell. I can use your gift wrap and ribbon OR I can put together the look/theme that you want for your packages and go buy all of the supplies for you. I'm extremely flexible, so just let me know how I can make this process easiest for you! If you want me to purchase gift wrap and ribbon for you, my hourly charge for shopping is $20 per hour plus the cost of the paper, ribbon, boxes, etc. (I will not up charge you on the products I buy).

I will be accepting orders through Dec. 22nd....Dec. 23rd will be my last day to wrap. Beginning Dec. 20th, my hourly fee will increase to $45 per hour. If you want your packages to be fabulous this holiday season, please contact me so I can put you on my calender, especially if you want me to purchase your paper/ribbon. (mindyrives at gmail dot com)

Happy Holidays!!!

Turkey Trot...

This year we'll be in Coppell for Thanksgiving with Josh's family. I'm really looking forward to spending the holiday at home...usually we're traveling. For the first time, Josh and I will be joining the Rives clan for the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot! I figured it's a great way to start off the holiday....so I can eat more and not feel bad about it! The only downside....is missing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have found memories as a child watching the parade in my PJ's while my mom was preparing Thanksgiving lunch....ahh, the joys of being a kid! This year, we'll just have to DVR it and watch it when we get home from The Trot! It's crazy to me that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away!! I can't wait to give thanks...we have so much to be thankful for!

Josh is Home!

Josh arrived home safely on Friday afternoon!! It was so much fun to see him after 17 days apart! He is happy to be home and quickly getting back into the swing of things. His trip to Zambia was a huge success....all of the prayer requests that I blogged about when he left were answered....so a sincere thank you to all of you who committed to praying for Josh (and I) while he was gone. Our God is so good!

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately! I'll make up for it...promise!

Everything is Different...

My favorite duo, Shane and Shane, are back with another amazing record....Everything is Different. If you need some new tunes, go download it. It's fantastic....good for the ears and soul!

Josh is in route home from Zambia!! He should land in London at 10:30am (Central Time). He has an overnight layover in London tonight and he'll arrive to DFW tomorrow around 3pm! Please say a prayer for safe travels. I can't wait to see his face tomorrow....it will be a good day!!

Cowboys vs. Seahawks

On Sunday, my sweet brother took me, Jill and mom to our first Cowboys game in the new stadium. It was amazing! We had such a great time. Our tickets were on the club level, which was very nice! To top it all off, the Cowboys played great and beat the Seahawks!! GO COWBOYS!!!!

Agness and her goodie box...

Josh got to spend some more time with Agness at The Tree of Life Children's Village on Sunday. We sent her a little goodie box from Texas that they had fun opening together....

Digging in...

A new dress...

Hair doodads...

Tie Dye Shirt...

Reading a letter from Uncle Josh and Auntie Mindy...


We sent her a picture of Josh and I so she could unofficially "meet" me...

Josh and "Aggie"....her friends call her Aggie...how appropriate! :)

Spooktacular!

I spent last night with...

Commander Fox...

A cute witch...

Tony Romo and a piece of candy corn...



There were some great costumes wondering around the streets of Coppell...these two won my "most creative homemade costume" award...

The iPhone...

and M&M's...