Thanksgiving

I sent out our annual Thanksgiving letter a few weeks ago and I thought I'd post it here as well. I hope you all have a great day of Thanksgiving to our God for His many gifts to us!

It’s time again for our annual Thanksgiving letter. This is always such a fun letter to write at such a good time of year. Autumn is a soothing time of year here in Erie, PA. We’ve made it through the sticky heat of summer and we’re gearing up for the long, gray winter, but right now we are enjoying bright blue skies, a tapestry of brilliantly colored leaves gently falling around us, and that pleasantly crisp nip in the air. It’s a good time of year to stop and thank God for His many gifts to us.

Our health. As Adiel struggled through a rough bout of morning sickness this summer, we were reminded again of how important our health is to our daily lives and how much we take it for granted. All six of us (including the newest one on the way) are healthy and well. We can breathe, walk, run, see, hear, get out of bed in the morning- all because God has given us good health. We are very thankful indeed that God has made our unborn child healthy, too, which is evident by a strong heartbeat and a lot of kicking!

Our love. “All You Need Is Love.” Isn’t that how the song goes? And while our own feeble love is so insufficient much of the time, when it’s backed by Jesus’ all- sufficient love then that really is all you need. Sometimes it seems like we’re full to bursting with love in our family: Lily is so good with Evangeline- helping her, comforting her, being patient with her, Malachi is already tenderly loving his newest sibling- he’ll rub Mommy’s belly and talk to “Baby Boo,” and the kids take turns going out on “Daddy Dates” with Joshua- what a treat that is! And Adiel still stays at home and shows her love through cleaning, cooking, teaching, etc. We all genuinely like being around each other and we are so grateful for this love that fills our lives.

Our home. We’ve lived in this house for a little over four years and it has been a good home for us. Even though we are starting to feel a little cramped here as our family continues to expand, we are so grateful for a warm, comfortable house to call home. These four walls hold some of our best memories.

Our Family. This is the gift that keeps on growing! Just when we think this parenting thing can’t get any crazier, along comes another addition of joy, trials and dirty diapers. We’re so excited for Kid #4 to arrive in February, but in the meantime we’re keeping mighty busy with the other three kids! Lily is a very loquacious 5-year-old Kindergartener and she’s learning like crazy! We’re doing our best to keep up with her growing mind, but she learns everything we put in front of her and is eager for more. She is so excited to learn how to read and Adiel is thrilled to have the honor of being her teacher. Malachi just turned four and is growing in size, brains, and character. He is turning into a little gentleman. Well, he’s gentle when he wants to be, but when it comes to getting rough and tough with a mud puddle or wrestling with Daddy, then he leaves gentleness behind! In fact, the only one who can compete with Malachi’s roughness at times is little Evangeline. At 1 ½ she’s gaining quite a reputation for herself as one tough cute cookie. She may be pint-sized, but that little girl makes up for her size with her spunk. She doesn’t seem to realize that she’s small so she runs, climbs, wrestles, and gets into trouble just as much as her big siblings. We’re kind of hoping our next kid is a little mellower than Evangeline.

And Joshua and Adiel are still truckin’ away at raising this family and keeping busy with their own talents- music and winemaking for Joshua and photography and homemaking for Adiel. We’re a strange crew when you put us all together, but this family is still striving toward holiness in our own odd ways.

Our Hope. We have had some really great times as a family, but we’ve also gone through some dark, horrible times. We’ve experienced death and heartache, sickness and pain, but through each and every moment we’ve been held together by the promises of God and the hope we’ve found in Him. Today the sun is shining, but tomorrow maybe it will rain again. But we know that even then our hope doesn’t change. We know our place in God’s kingdom and we know that this earth isn’t really where we belong. Heaven isn’t that far away and we are getting ready for it. And that hope is truly something to be thankful for!

Here we are at the end of another letter at the end of another year. How exciting it is to anticipate the events waiting for us in the coming year! We hope you, too, are filled with the wonder of God’s goodness toward us simple humans. How good He is!


With our love,
Joshua, Adiel, Lily, Malachi and Evangeline

A Glimpse of Gold

Today I walked into the living room in time to see the three kids huddled together with Malachi praying: "...and please help Lily to not be scared of the Bad Guy. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Evangeline added her hearty " 'men!" and then they were set to go back to reading their book with the Bad Guy in it.

I feel like a failure so much of the time, but occasionally I get to see some area in which I've actually done well. The kids knew that when they are scared, the thing to do is pray. By God's grace, Joshua and I taught them that.

Thank you, God, for telling me "Well done" today.

Our Snowy Day

Today we enjoyed the snow. Yesterday I wasn't too happy with the boat load of white stuff that was being dumped on us because it interfered with my plans, but today I was able to have fun with it. I've lived in Erie most of my life so I'm pretty used to having lots of snow, but even I will admit that there is a shocking amount of snow outside. For example, in some places the snow comes up to my hips.
So today we took the kids out to play and it was pretty hilarious watching them try to work out how to get around the yard. They tried walking, but because they aren't very big, they'd start out walking on the surface of the snow and then they'd sink in halfway. After a while they figured out the best method was to crawl on the snow.
Lily was pretty tough out there, but Malachi struggled a bit so we had fun picking him up and throwing him. That worked well except that he'd land on his bum (causing a cute imprint) and then flail his legs around like an overturned turtle trying to get up.
Evangeline was far too little to get around well in snow that could easily cover her so we'd just plant her somewhere and she'd play for a bit, then we'd grab her little snowsuit, uproot her and plant her someplace else.
Joshua dug a little snow fort out for the kids and I'm hoping to get back out to play in there more tomorrow.
All in all, we had a grand time being snowed in today. So even though I was near tears yesterday because of the snowstorm, I'm very glad we had the snow today.

Thank you, God, for giving us exactly what we need- even "inconvenient" snowstorms.

Daily Thanks #10

My dear husband has been listening to this song with some frequency of late so it's been going through my mind a lot these days. That's okay since it just makes me laugh.

Done listening to the song? Good. Quirky, eh? That brings me to my Daily Thanks for the day: I'm thankful for Joshua's silly side. Most of you don't get to see his silly side since he's usually mild-mannered around many people, but I know some of you have seen his duck-fighting, Fenton de Bruce side, too. And while he may never show off the famous "Joshy Shuffle" dance in public, I get to enjoy his goofiness and so do our kids. We have some very, very silly moments in our family and I can't throw all the blame for that on the kids. I am so thankful that I married a man that makes me laugh at myself and also at his silly ways.

Thank you, Almighty Matchmaker, for pairing me up with the perfect man for me- someone who leads me in righteousness, love, and laughter.

Daily Thanks #9

Today I thank God for giving me my creativity. For letting me see things that others don't get to see. I'm not trying to be proud or anything, I know there are many others who are more creative than I am. I am just grateful for how God made me. That I get to see waffles made of snow and flowers in soda bottles, stars on my dining room ceiling, a steaming cup of coffee on my kitchen door, the beauty of words scrawled by a familiar hand, woodgrain that dances like a rippling creek, the sun rising and fighting a storm for its right to shine- only to lose that battle, the choreography of skilled fingers strumming a guitar. All these things I see in the little corner of the world in which I live. My life is filled with beauty and I am so thankful that I get to see it.

Thank you, Master Artist, for giving me, Your apprentice, eyes to see Your art and the desire to create some of my own.

Daily Thanks #8

I'm thankful for my oven. On Monday I baked six dozen mini muffins, eight loaves of quick bread, a batch of cookies and a spice cake. As I was baking, I realized how much I use and enjoy my oven without really valuing it. My oven is one of those things that it considered a "necessity." I just set the temp, pop things in and out they come, all baked and ready to eat. My home wouldn't be what it is without my oven and yet I can't remember ever thanking God for it or for the yummy things that get baked in it.
I could go on and on about my oven, but I need to go now- I have a lasagna to bake.

Thank You, God, for my oven and all the tools that I use every day and that make my life easier, but that I never thank you for. Forgive me for my ingratitude. Thank you for giving me so many beautiful gifts so that I've lost count of them.

Our Thanksgiving Letter

We make it our practice to send out a Thanksgiving letter and family photo to various family members. I realize most of you will have received this in the mail, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving!
There’s a real nip in the air these days so apparently fall has finally arrived! There were times during those unseasonably warm months when we weren’t sure if fall would ever come or if it had simply decided to leave us with an endless summer instead. But it’s fall now and that means it’s time for our annual Thanksgiving letter. It doesn’t seem possible to sum up this last year and write it down in letter form. The ups and downs of the year were many and while we had many “up” moments, we also had many “down” times, too. But, true to His promises, God never fails to pull us through the bad times and bring us out again rejoicing at His goodness.
The biggest change for our family this year was the arrival of kid #3- Evangeline Felicity (or Lil’ Vay-Vay as we like to call her.) What a fun little critter she is! Lily and Malachi adore their baby sister and sometimes tend to love her a bit too much for her own good. Many a time we’ve had to rescue her from being over- snuggled! Having three kids has been quite an adventure so far and if what other parents tell us is true, then it will only get more exciting as time goes on.

Lily, our beautiful four-year-old, is constantly growing in helpfulness, thoughtfulness, creativity, and tenderness. She is getting to the age when she can actually help with chores and projects instead of hindering them. Her favorite chore to do is setting the table for dinner and she likes to fold the napkins in different and unique ways. She is always asking questions and, amazingly, she remembers the answers we give her. We are so privileged as her parents to see the world through her eyes. We just need to remember to take the time to stoop down to her level and listen as she unfolds to us the mysteries of flowers, and clouds and piggy toes.

While Lily asks questions about the world around her, Malachi wants to learn everything through experience. If there’s a button to push, a rock to throw, a bucket of dirt to spill, a puddle to jump in- Malachi will be there doing whatever mischief he can accomplish with his little hands. We’ve lost count of the times when we’ve found him in the middle of some mess with a charming smile and his best attempt at looking innocent on his face. What else is to be expected from a three-year-old boy? And yet, in the midst of the chaos he produces, a love of music is growing in him. He walks around the house humming “La donna e mobile” as sung by Pavarotti. More often than not, he is singing, humming or playing some sort of “instrument” that he’s made from some of his toys. It will be interesting to see how God uses Malachi’s gifts and talents as he gets older.

Speaking of talents, Evangeline has a real knack for mobility. She took her first step at only 7 1/2 months of age and now she’s almost nine months old and walking around like crazy! When she’s ready to do something she just decides to do it and does it all the way. Instead of attempting to climb up one step, she flew right up the whole flight of stairs at breakneck speed (with mommy right behind her insuring that she didn’t actually break her neck!) Our little Evangeline has truly been “good news” to us as her name means and we look forward to seeing her share the good news of Jesus with the whole world as she grows.

So what can we say about us, Joshua and Adiel, the parents and backbone of our little family? Our days are spent doing the same mundane things that husbands and wives and daddies and mommies have done for ages. Sometimes it’s disheartening to be stuck in the same everyday things, but sometimes God graciously grants us a glimpse of what it is that we are really doing. We are building the Kingdom of Heaven. With each day that Joshua goes to work and every dirty diaper that Adiel changes, we are bringing glory to our Creator. Sometimes we feel that what we do isn’t very important or that we’re not really having an impact on the world around us, but then we step back and look at God’s bigger plan and we know that we are exactly where He wants us and doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing. And for that knowledge we are truly thankful.

God’s blessings to us this year are really too numerous to list in this short letter, but one thing that we can say is how grateful we are for people like you, our family and our friends. Some of you we don’t see nearly often enough and some of you we get to see regularly, but we love each of you very much and thank our God that you are a part of our lives.

With our love and thanks,
the Gardners

Daily Thanks #7

I am thankful for my giggling children. Right now two of them are sitting at the table making monster noises and being goofy in general. And as they make each other laugh they make me laugh, too.

Thank You, Father of Joy, for giving my children laughter that bubbles out and splashes like a waterfall. Thank you that I can share their mirth today. May I never be too busy or cranky to laugh along.

Daily Thanks #6

I am thankful for the three little voices that sing around our dinner table. Hearing my little children sing the Psalms with gusto (and even Evangeline adds her voice to the throng) is one of the most beautiful parts of my life. I'm so thankful that we can teach our children to sing to our God whether it be a song of praise or a "sad song" as Lily calls some songs (like Psalm 22.)

Thank you, Father, for giving my children hearts and voices to sing to You. Ever help us in our endeavors to make a joyful noise to You.

Daily Thanks #5

I am thankful that right now all three of my children are down for nap/quiet time and they are actually being quiet.
Enough said.

Thank you, O Maker of peace, for this moment.

Daily Thanks#4

I'm thankful for my body. I'm thankful that I have ten fingers and ten toes, two legs that move well most of the time, two arms that can work hard, eyes that see beauty and everything else, ears that hear the sounds of life, a mouth that speaks and eats (though both occupations tend to get me in trouble), a belly that has been home to my babies. I'm thankful for the body parts inside that perform not so pleasant, but necessary tasks, my shoulders that many a child has cried on, and my feet that move and dance for the glory of the King.
I'm thankful that my body is beautiful and that I can control it and move it and use it to accomplish my tasks of life.

Thank you, O God, for my body and thank you for taking on a body of your own. Bless my body and enable me to serve you well with it.


(As I was writing this Daily Thanks I thought of this post by Seth.)

Daily Thanks#3

I'm thankful for oatmeal. For steaming bowls of it on a cold, snowy day, for plump raisins and a sprinkling of brown sugar, for the faint swirl of cinnamon throughout. I'm thankful for the way it fills my belly and warms me up. I'm thankful that I can start my day with the simple little pleasure of hot oatmeal.

Thank you, my Sustainer, for not only providing food to nourish me, but granting me the enjoyment of it as well.Thank you, God, for oatmeal.

Daily Thanks #2

Today my Daily Thanks is very simple: I'm thankful for today. I went shopping with the kids and survived, I cleaned and organized a few things and I'm listening to some great music right now (it's Flyleaf in case you're wondering.)
It's gray and rainy outside, but it's warm and cheerful inside. It's a good day.

Thank you, Yahweh, for orchestrating today- for me.

Daily Thanks #1

Well, it's time again for my annual Daily Thanks posts. I'm going to try to write a thankfulness post for each day leading up to Thanksgiving, but I'm sure I'll skip a few days here and there.

Today I'm thankful for being able to enjoy corporate worship with the same people that I'll be spending eternity with. Today when I sat in church and heard the Word of God and responded to Him with prayer and song, I got a sweet taste of what the rest of my life will be like after I die. (Though I'm pretty sure we won't be singing with piano accompaniment in heaven.)

Thank you, Father, for this sweet taste of Home.

To My Parents

"To Dad who only reared twelve children and to Mother who reared twelve only children."

That is the dedication for the book "Cheaper By The Dozen." When I first read that several years back I thought that was a rather odd way of putting it, but only recently I realized that I understood it perfectly.

In my family, though, it was reversed. My mom only raised five children. We would always be hearing other people exclaiming at the size of our family, but I never once heard Mom say that we were a handful or that our house was chaotic because of the kids that lived there. She didn't seem to realize that she had a larger than typical family- she just raised us, clothed us, fed us and, most of all, loved us like it was no big deal.

My dad raised five only children. I think I can speak for each of my siblings when I say we all know that we're Dad's favorite kid. Whether he's talking on the phone or enjoying a meal with us or if he's helping out by watching the kids or sending gifts to grandkids, he has a way of making whomever he's interacting with feel like the most important person in the world.

Maybe I'm a bit biased here, but I know that my parents are the best parents I could ever wish for. And I say that fully aware of their imperfections and sin.

So many times I wish I could say thank you once again to my mommy. She sacrificed so much to love me. But I'm so very grateful that I still have many oppotunities to say this to my dad:
"Thank you, Dad, thank you. I love you."

A Praise For the Little Things

Today I ate a banana with peanut butter on it and it was so scrumptious! It was such a small thing, but it sure put a smile on my face. Do you believe that one reason God made bananas and peanuts all those thousands of years ago was so I could enjoy my banana with peanut butter today? I do.


"Praise to the Lord...
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him."