Thanksgiving Letter

Starting last year we have begun the tradition of sending out an annual Thanksgiving letter to various family members. I thought that I’d post the letter here for your viewing enjoyment.


“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”
Psalm 75:1

How much we have to give thanks for! As Thanksgiving approaches, it is good to count up our many blessings and note the many gifts our God has given us this past year. As a family, we have been tremendously blessed and we would like to take a moment to share our thankfulness with you.

Joshua is still working at [his job] in Research and Development and, while it’s not a dream job, we are grateful that he has a job that provides enough money to support our growing family. Especially in these days of unemployment his having such a good job is a huge blessing to us.
And he still has time for play, too. On any given night, if someone were to stop by our house they would hear beautiful guitar music being played by Joshua’s skilled fingers. Most of what he plays is self-composed and he’s been experimenting with children’s music as he writes little songs for Lily and Malachi- much to their delight. Music is a big part of our life and the talent that God has given Joshua is something for which we are very grateful.

Homemaking and mothering continue to be Adiel’s main daily occupations. And even though the kids may drive her crazy some days, she loves being home with them. “School time” has become part of her daily routine as she teaches letters, numbers, colors, shapes and songs to two smart, but wiggly little kids.
Through her love of creative decorating she is continually filling the Gardner home with bright, cheerful colors which will be especially appreciated during the upcoming gray winter months.

Lily is an active, imaginative, clever, pretty little three-year-old. She is a doting big sister, though sometimes that shows as bossiness. She really loves her little brother, helps to take care of him and does her part to make sure he’s learning his letters and colors. She amazes us with the questions she asks: “Where is Heaven?” “Does God have hands?” “Did Jesus cry when He died?” We do our best to answer her questions wisely and praise God that He’s given her a hunger to know Him, even at her young age.

Everything Malachi knows he learned from his big sister which means he is picking up all her bad habits as well as the good ones! At two years of age he shows a great aptitude for memorization and is learning Bible verses, songs and the ABC’s almost as quickly as Lily is. He is currently obsessed with trucks, cars, motorcycles, trains and anything else that has a big engine and makes lots of noise. He and Daddy will often have wrestling matches and he often comes out as champion!

And, of course, a huge blessing- or should I say a “little” blessing- to our family is the baby that is even now growing inside of Adiel. After losing a baby a little over a year ago, we are all the more grateful for this new addition to our family. “Baby Buddy,” as we are calling him/her, is healthy, growing, wiggling and kicking.
While, right now, Malachi is more interested in trucks than in babies, Lily is almost as excited about Baby Buddy as Mommy and Daddy are. The February due date seems so far away, but hopefully the time will fly by and we’ll be holding our precious child soon. Please pray with us for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

As you can see, we Gardners have much to be thankful for. But as we are counting our blessings, let’s not forget the One who gave them to us. Yahweh, the creator and sustainer of the universe, is Lord of this family and it is to Him that we are thankful and give all our praise.

“Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise?” Psalm 106: 1-2