the simple things

I love the simple things in life! The things that may seem tiny or basic, but that bring such joy and are treasures from Jesus. So I thought I would make a list of a few of the simple things that I'm thankful for lately :) I also have to include some pictures, because I'm a total shutter bug! I'll probably be doing that in as many of my posts as possible :) I LOVE photography and being able to capture the beautiful moments in life that can't always be described in words. So anyway, "these are a few of my favorite things"! (I'm feeling in the Sound of Music sort of mood :)).

I'm so thankful for the sweet times that I got to have with my family this past week over Thanksgiving! We went to the mountains for a few days, which was such a blessing! I love them more than it's possible to describe! I don't think there's even a dictionary word that I could use to sum up HOW incredibly much they mean to me. No matter what we're doing- whether it's driving in the car, all singing and dancing to Christmas music, poking fun at each other, getting competitive in some crazy card games, cooking destroying our turkey haha (that's a story for another day!), doing puzzles, skiing, sitting by the fire in the condo and talking about the Lord, walking through the snow to get to the heavenly Starbucks (joking :)), or any other random thing you can think of- I absolutely treasure our time together! We also went up with our close family friends, the Pearnes, who we adore! We have so many fun memories together :)

a walk around the gorgeously lit village with my momma

before a beautiful day of skiing with the boys

let the games begin!

Sorry for the blurriness/graininess in some of the pics. They were taken with my mom's camera in somewhat dim lighting.

some proud double-hand solitaire champs :)

team caffeine all pumped up (I wonder why haha :))

after a day on the slopes

I'm thankful to hear my precious cousins' voices over the phone (who now live in California and who I miss like crazy!).

Aren't they beautiful? 

I'm thankful to be able to see my best friend's smiling face for 10 quick minutes in between class twice a week. She's amazing!

I'm thankful be able to cry out to God for a miracle with another beautiful friend whose family just received a very difficult diagnosis.

I'm thankful to spend time with the most awesome group of jr highers each week at church and to see how they're growing in Jesus.

I'm thankful for the beautiful, quiet, snowy days (like today) when the Lord slows my pace.

I'm thankful to be able to write letters back and forth with one of my other amazing cousins/sisters in Oregon (both who I miss dearly!).

I'm thankful to even have a home, food to eat and clothes to wear (things that I can so easily take for granted while others throughout the world live in absolute poverty). 

My heart is filled with complete gratitude for so many things, starting with the simple ones, that I couldn't possible list them all. Let alone you want to read them all :) But the Lord knows and sees my heart. Oh what an incredible life with Him!