Thankful for the little things...

My husband and I have eight children, and taking family pictures every year has been one of my favorite events of the year.  From the time our children were little and we had only two or three or four kids, I absolutely looked forward to the day we set aside to capture our family at that moment!
As the years have passed, our oldest son joined the Navy and was stationed in Naval Station Mayport in Mayport, Florida near Jacksonville.  He was there over the Christmas holiday, and I remember sobbing because he wouldn't be in our family picture.  The next year, he came home on leave in October before he was deployed to Iraq.  The highlight of him being there was an opportunity for us to take family pictures.  It was a precious time for each of us to have that constant reminder that we were all together.

Just last year, my husband and I and our five children under 18 years old were living in north Florida (our son was, and is now, stationed in Cuba, and our 20 year-old son and 18 year-old daughter stayed in Colorado!), but we still took family pictures.  I'll admit it helped being at Disney World, but my heart still ached for the family pictures with ALL our children!

This year, our son came home after being deployed to Honduras for over a year, and just guess what was on my list of things to do while he was here!  YES!!  That family picture!!  And I got it!  This year was even more precious because it included our daughter-in-law!!!  Next year, our family picture will include our first GRANDBABY!!!!

I am so thankful that the Lord is mindful of us and that even the little things we desire are on His mind!

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!!!