I'm Thankful

I'm thankful. I'm thankful for so so many things - especially this year. I didn't jump on the bandwagon of posting one thankful thing per day this month for fear of leaving something or someone out. But, I could not let this day go by without at least putting down a few of the reasons my cup is overflowing this year. So, here is a (not even close to comprehensive) list of the top ten things that make my heart sing with gratitude. 

1. I'm thankful for my Savior and His complete and unconditional love.  
2. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. I am so blessed to be Mrs. Stewart.  
3. I'm thankful for our growing family and this little life that is growing (and apparently leaping and bounding) inside of me. It is such a miracle! 
4. I'm thankful for my fuzzy little doggie. That adorable Gizzy pup has brought more joy and laughter into our lives than I ever could have imagined.  
5. I'm thankful for my Mommy - a true Proverbs 31 woman. She loves and lives with her whole heart. I hope I can live up to her example.  
6. I'm thankful for my Daddy.  I love every bit of him and truly miss waking up to his goofy singing every morning. I cannot wait to watch him and my mom become grandparents! 
7. I'm thankful for my sweet brother and sister. We're closer today than we were when we all lived in the same house and it is such a blessing to watch the two of you become such wonderful adults. I'm so proud to be your big sissy. :) 
8. I'm thankful for the rest of my Alabama (and beyond) family. For sweet grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my wonderful cousins. I am blessed because of you.  
9. I'm thankful for the amazing family I married into. Brandon's family (Stewarts, Pollards, Gregorys, and all) have taken me in as one of their own from the very beginning. I couldn't even begin to list the reasons and ways they have blessed my life! 
10. I'm thankful for my friends - far and near. Friends who share their lives, their faith, and their families with me and allow me to do the same. I love you! 

 So, yes, I'm thankful - for these and so many more. My list could stretch on for days and not be complete. I could list my home, my church, my wonderful job and the people (staff, students, and parents) that come with it, the AMAZING food we will eat today (Grandma's home canned green beans - out here in Texas!!), the fact that I'll be eating it all in maternity pants (hooray for elastic!), and so many many things. 

I am rich because of these. I am blessed. I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Images

Well, yesterday we finally got to meet little Miss Piper Grace Baker.  She is the sweet, tiny, 3 week old daughter of our good friends Eric and Emily.  It's been a while (I guess about a year and 4 months, right Carrie?) since I've held a baby that little.  She is so precious!  I could sit all day and watch her make faces (she is definitely trying to test every muscle God gave her in that tiny face!) and feel her soft baby skin.  There are few things better in this world, I'm convinced.  It's so amazing to me to know two people like Eric and Emily, to be so familiar with their expressions and their reactions, and then see that mirrored in their daughter.  I could look at Piper and be convinced that she looks exactly like her beautiful mother, and then in an instant see Eric all over her.   She is made in their image - not an exact copy, but a unique representation of her mother and father.  Much like, I believe, we are made in the image of our heavenly Father.  What a beautiful and tangible example of that He has given us!

It was so wonderful to catch up with Emily and Eric (we used to see them nearly every day when we were neighbors in Odessa) and love all over their sweet little Piper, though I have to say that the highlight of the visit for me was watching Brandon hold Piper.  As far as he can remember, he has never held a baby at all (no matter what age).  It was so sweet to see tiny little Piper cradled in his arm, even if it was for only a minute or two.  For it to be his first time, I have to say he looked pretty natural.  One day, I imagine, it will be our own child cradled there.  Not that that will be anytime soon, mind you.  But one day . . .

Fall, Football, and Fun

Fall is in full swing in the Stewart house! Brandon is officially a student again and has survived his first week and a half in UNT's doctoral program. I now have a full two weeks of teaching behind me and I have to say that we're both very glad to have this long weekend to rest, relax, and have a little fun.

Sometime this morning, we will head over to Keller to see our good friends Emily and Eric from Odessa (man have we missed you guys!) AND meet their precious new baby girl, Piper. I will definitely be posting pictures when we get home! Later today, we are heading to Ben and Sarah's to celebrate the official start of Fall - the first Alabama football game! Roll Tide Roll! I'm so excited - if only we were heading to Atlanta instead! Even Gizmo is ready to cheer on the Tide with his Bama collar and squeaky bone (I'm afraid his Alabama t-shirt is too small for him now, Eloise)!



Tomorrow night, we join our friends Jen and Travis for the Dallas Wind Symphony's Picnic in the Park, followed by (I think) a showing of E.T.! Should be fun!

Hopefully, I'll get another update in later this weekend and tell you more about the house, the jobs/schools, and things. Until then . . .

ROLL TIDE!!!

Supper Club

Well, here we are at the end of a wonderful Spring Break. I'll have to give a full update of all our fun times later, because we're about to be off to our "supper club." That's right, we have a supper club. How cool are we?! :) It's really just us and two other couples from our apartment complex, but we're all musicians and these guys are our closest friends here. Tonight we will be at Emily and Eric's. They're providing the main dish and side (steak and mashed taters!), Christi and Joseph are bringing the salads (two because some people don't like anything in their salad except lettuce and ranch), and we get to book-end the meal with Aunt Janet's Mushroom Logs (Brandon's fave!) for appetizers, and Key Lime and Chocolate Pies with homemade whipped cream for dessert. Mmm! It's gonna be good!

PS - Thanks for the recipe, Aunt Janet! We love it! :)

Ahhh . . . Spring Break!

I LOVE spring break! We have nothing to do, and nowhere to go this year. And it's SO nice! It's warming up here and should be in the 80's all week! I'm looking forward to a week where I can just be a wife, cook real meals, get lots done around the apartment, and just relax.

We officially kicked it off last night with a nice date-night to Midland (15 or so mins from us) where we ate at the cutest little Italian restaurant called Luigi's. They had drippy candles on the tables and everything! Brandon and I both agreed that it wasn't nearly as good as the Spaghetti Warehouse in Tulsa though (that place is amazing!). Today, we drove the 2 hours up to Lubbock to visit some friends at Turning Point Community Church, where I used to work, and to tour the Llano Estacado winery. We had such a great time!

I'm amazed at how much TPCC has grown in just the few months I've been gone! We saw plenty of friends and familiar faces, but there are so many new people that are already invested in the church now that we were actually greeted (more than once!) as newcomers! Haha! What a great indication of church growth!

In other news - only one more day to go without wheels! We got the insurance check on Friday, but the tire place couldn't send anyone out here until Monday (and it would be a little hard for us to just TAKE the car to the shop, ya know). But I'll be back on the road sometime tomorrow - hooray! We've had so many blessings come out of this though. In addition to our insurance covering so much, we have some amazing friends that have really pulled through for us. Wednesday night, after Brandon left for a rehearsal, our friends Emily and Eric decided to take it upon themselves and treat me to dinner - just because. Then, to top it off, they insisted that I take Emily's car to work on Thursday (since I have to travel between schools during the day). Wow. We truly are blessed. :-)

PS - Hi Stewart family followers! I'm glad Eloise passed our website on to you! Much love, Melanie and Brandon