Taking time to be Thankful

As I've obviously been lacking in the writing department, I wanted to share a bit.  Nothing overly profound to share except that I find God is the one constant in my life no matter where on earth I live, no matter what time zone I'm in, and no matter if my day is good or hard. I realize when I feel distant it's usually because I've pulled away or haven't made time to spend time with my maker. He doesn't change and while we are in a season where things seem to only be changing, the very fact that He doesn't brings me much needed steadiness and hope. I'm also realizing the more time I take to think about what I'm thankful for, the more my heart changes, the more I can see past the fog that sometimes surrounds my mind. It's not a method or any gimmick. I just see that there's a reason we are told to count our blessings, to take time and see what we can be thankful. I see that it stills my anxious heart and mind and often fills me up with joy and hope. As we near Thanksgiving and Christmas, I find my heart missing family, missing friends, missing the comforts I've known since birth, and yet I want to say I'm so thankful. We've been blessed with a wonderful group of friends, both locals and internationals who love on us so well.  We also have an awesome Bible based church we are a part of and they are all just wonderful. We eat after church together and often get coffee afterward which makes for an all day event that we look forward too.  We are also hosts to one of the small home groups whom we look forward to seeing every week. We are even having our own Thanksgiving dinner with our group and one of our friends scored a Turkey so I'll be cooking up a turkey this year.  The language learning is going slow in our minds but we are blessed to live in an area where so many do speak a little English and we are more than able to get by.  We were able to get bacon close to where our friend lives this weekend and just ate some with eggs, toast and pancakes. God blessed us with tastes of home just when we were feeling homesick. Our kids love their friends and while they are honest when they feel homesick, thank God, they overall enjoy life here. Our baby is growing strong and kicking so so much.The doctor has checked twice and so far says we are having a Girl. The kids are thrilled.  Also, my friend and her mom, who use to be nurse, said they can go to the hospital with me when I go into labor so I can have people speak Albanian clearly with the nurses, which is one less thing I have to struggle through.  There's also wonderful news that one of our friends from our home church in California will be coming and will stay with us from January till mid-April. She will be working with one of our friends who works with the poor and marginalized. We are so excited and thrilled. We also have neighbors from Georgia who will be close by and are planning to visit late April for a few days which again is wonderful as the wife was like an extra grandma to our kiddos. This will be perfect timing as the three are adjusting to another life in the house and someone to compete for mommy's attention.  Our house stays warm which is a blessing as the air is definitely getting colder and while the fires are bothering my allergies, Sean's asthma is staying pretty controlled which I'm very thankful for.  So I guess my reason for writing is just to say we are thankful for friendships, friendships and relationships that span distance and time. We are thankful for the people God brings in our lives and we are thankful for each other. We are also so thankful for you. Here are some photos, well because who doesn't like photos? Happy Thanksgiving from the Quinns!

Face painting time 

 

The sun peeks out amidst the clouds and highlight the rooftops below. Cold air greets my outward stare but what I see warms my soul. (View from our home, Prishtina/Kosovo) 

Time with friends

Baby #4 growing strong and loved

Enjoying dad