Thanks.Giving. Part 2: North Carolina

So even though traveling hours away multiple weekends isn't my favorite, I'm a big fan of the end result: being with people that you love.
The week before Thanksgiving we had my side's "Thanksgiving", and for the "real" Thanksgiving we were in North Carolina with Ben's brother, his family and a few others.
North Carolina has people that we love. It was a great weekend with Dave (Ben's older brother), Dana (his wife) and their four children. Meg, a great friend, and Dana's parents were also around for different parts of the long weekend. We also got to visit a while with Collin and Jinny, a couple that the Thacker family loves dearly. Not to mention Dave and Dana also had their pastor and his family over. The house was full, and sometimes less full, of people coming and going, and it was a great time. We played games, laughed, ate, decorated for Christmas, played with the kids, went to a tour of where some Lord-willing cabin sites will be for Collin & Jinny's continued ministry will take place in the mountains... So many fun things.
It was a great time to get away, to relax. To be with people that we love. To make memories and reflect on things that we are truly thankful for.
We went around the table to share what we were truly thankful for in the past year, and then prayed for those things. The "thing" I was thankful for? Ben. Ben's growth in the Lord. Ben's love for the Lord. Ben's determination to have true, meaningful, deep relationship with the Lord and those around him. His determination to do what is best for those that he loves - regardless of the cost. His growing love for God's Word. That he is everyday living life more God-centered and more God-focused and less self-centered and him focused. I am thankful that we have a bond as a married couple, but even more than that I am thankful for the bond that goes deeper: we are both tied to Jesus Christ. I am thankful that my husband and I share that which matters most. That our hearts, our lives are unified in Christ. They will be forever. I don't know if there's anything I could be more thankful for.