Well, darn.

So, I thought this would be easy, but it wasn't. Turns out I get distracted and stop thinking about our blog on a daily basis. Today, I will be grateful for two things.



First is my dad and his amazing technical know-how. We had to take our car in to get it safety and emissions tested. Now, our car is just about as old as we are, which means that each time we do this over the next couple of years I will likely hold my breath for a few seconds. We managed to pass emissions this year, but we failed safety for three reasons, steering ball joints, rear brakes, and our windshield wiper squirter things didn't squirt. We had to go to a mechanic for the ball joints, but my dad knew how to fix everything else, and he took his saturday to walk us through the whole process. Nate and I even did a lot of the second brake ourselves. This is good for us, as we're intelligent people, but lack some practical car know-how. My dad ended up saving us a ton of money, and it didn't even take that much time. To top off this wonderful news, we got to do some laundry while we were there, and lunch was provided. All of these are amazingly good things, and it looks like when we take it in the next time, we're going to be just fine.



All of this leads me to a more general thing I'm grateful for: Family. I probably should have saved this one for later in the month or something, but I'm just so darn grateful this weekend that I can't help myself. Our families (immediate and extended) are so amazingly good to us, that it's not even funny. Our parents on both sides watch out for our needs and are willing to jump in and help where they can without forcing us to be dependent on them. Our grandparents in the area are good-natured and kind. This laptop I'm typing on was a gift from our Grandma Linn, Nate's sitting with a blanket that's been quilted by Grandpa Elison. Food storage assistance from Grandma Elison is sitting under our entertainment center, and dishes from Grandpa Murray sit in various cabinets in our kitchen. Our siblings are awesome, and they always make us feel like we're people who are important because they care when we come over, and our parents are just wonderful people. Seriously, we're so blessed.

Also, I'm grateful for our family, the Nate and Nicole one. We're fledgling...but we're holding strong.

We talked a lot about the family in several different classes in church today, and I can totally see why it's important. I don't know where we'd be without our families, and all of the things we've learned from them. I am so thankful for my whole family, all of them.