Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving from the Finstad family!

I found myself looking through pictures of Thanksgiving Day 2009. It has been such an amazing year, and I cannot believe just how fast time seems to fly by. Last year at this time Makayla wasn’t even crawling yet, and now she’s constantly running around, climbing on everything, and sleeping in her new toddler bed! Wow, kids do grow and change so quickly. Now I love living in the moment, I mean that’s all you can do right. But I love reminiscing of holidays past and imagining holidays to come. Being at my parent’s house reminds me of everything good. I very much enjoy the smell of turkey, the many homemade casseroles, sweet pecan pie, and irresistible pumpkin pie. The voices, the laughter, the loudness (at times), football in the background, the crispness of the air outdoors, the Christmas tree and decorations, and the sweet embraces of loving family members. I imagine how it will be next year with two little ones to love on and dress up in cute little outfits. I imagine Makayla being a sweet big sister to her little brother, and me once again thinking about all the blessings in my life.

I am thankful for….

~ God’s love, grace, and mercy.

~ My loving husband. Tim is my best friend and treats me with love & compassion. I have to be honest and say I pray that other married couples have the same type of loving relationship that we have. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He is my better half.

~ My sweet (and sometimes sassy) daughter, Makayla Grace, who keeps me on my toes   and makes me see the wonder in things I missed before.

~ My son- Every time I feel him move around in my tummy I’m reminded of just how awesome our God is. Babies are a miracle and gift. I can’t wait to meet him!

~ My parents. They did a great job raising us kids, and taught me that family is most important. Thanks for helping Tim & I so much over the years, and being such a big part of Makayla’s life. It means the world.

~ My sisters whom I love dearly. Thanks Summer & April for always being two ladies I can count on. Sisters are the kind of friends that will always share a love tied with heartstrings.

~ My brother, Sean and his 3 children. I am thankful for all of you and wish we lived closer so we could spend more time together.

~ Thanks Granny for calling just to see how things are going.

~ Larry & Kris…for giving me a great husband. 

~ My pets. Somehow they know if I’ve had a rough day, and always try their best to make me feel better. Sometimes the kisses are a little too much, but I love them anyways!

~ Our Pastor, Sam Polson, whom God used to lead Tim & I back to church.

~ Our church family

~ and I’m thankful for so many other things I haven’t listed here….as I would be writing for days.

In the midst of the happiness, there is still a sad craziness. The craziness of Black Friday sales, the traffic, the commercialized Christmas, people asking for money here & there, the Scrooges, and the people who are so often forgotten. I pray that the goodness of the holidays will be forefront for our family and yours. I pray that we will always remember that Jesus is the reason for the season, and every blessing we’re thankful for is from our Heavenly Father.

The most beautiful gift we’ve ever received was the gift of eternal life through God’s son, Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 9

I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
         I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
         I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Happy Holidays & God Bless,

Shawna

Praise & Prayer

It was about a month ago when I forced Tim to go to our pcp for his stomach problems. If you know Tim you would know that he doesn’t go to the doctor and I had to beg him to go. I just had that ‘wife’s intuition’ and it was eating me up. He said he would go only because I didn’t need to be stressed out, being pregnant and all. Our pcp referred him to a gastroenterologist and he ended up getting a colonoscopy. After the procedure, the doctor told us that the visit that day saved his life, and if he hadn’t of had it done soon he would be dying of colon cancer. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. I was so very thankful in a million different ways for God taking care of this problem. Tim ended up having a very large polyp removed that ended up being precancerous. It is actually very rare for someone Tim’s age (just 27) to have polyps at all. He will need to be re-screened once a year to check for growths. My praise is that the polyp was removed before it became cancer! I know that God was completely in control each step of the way. My prayer (and prayer request) is that everything will look good when he goes back for a follow-up sigmoidoscopy this Friday, Nov. 19^th. My husband is the most amazing man and would never want to burden anyone else with his problems; that is why he didn’t even want me to share this initially. However, we also know that prayer is so incredibly powerful, and we should lift up prayers together & for each other.  Please pray for Tim this week, specifically Friday, that he would find comfort in knowing God is always in control.

Philippians 4:6 ^“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”

Sincerely,

Shawna