Extravagance, day 5

God could've just given us everything we would need to survive...

Instead, He gave us a relationship.

I'm overwhelmed at that act of extravagance.

Extravagance, day 4

I prayed for years for a husband. God could've just given me my request.

Instead, he gave me the man I admire most on the face of the earth. He gave me a man full of honor, integrity, kindness and strength. He gave me a man who's willing to face life's challenges in order to pursue our dreams. He gave me a man with a fast smile, a heart for God, a sense of adventure and an uncompromising drive to do what's right.

He gave me my best friend, my lover, the man who wakes me up in the morning with a smile. He gave me a man who cherishes me and seeks to make me happy and truly delights in me. He gave me a man who has my best interest in mind and who is overwhelmingly patient with me. He gave me a man I can safely give my whole heart to. He gave me a man who thinks I'm delightful and beautiful and constantly tells me so.

He gave me a daddy to my son who is full of dreams and plans to raise him. He gave me a man who provides for his son and loves him and desires to teach and train him to be the best person he can be. He gave me a man who is extremely capable of taking care of our little guy, and someone I can trust completely with our little Wesley.

You see, God could've just answered my request and given me a husband. 

Instead, in the most amazing act of extravagance

I've ever experienced, God gave me him.

Extravagance, day 3

God could've just given Warren and I a son....

...instead He gave us a tiny little man full of curiosity...

...and smiles...

...and innocence...

...and needs only we can meet...

...and trust in us...

...and a fresh, hopeful perspective on all of life...

...and a reminder that every single moment counts.

He gave us a dream come true...

...and a delight...

...and a heritage.

Yes, God could've just given us a son. Instead, 

in His unmatched extravagance, He chose to give us 

Owen Wesley.

Extravagance, day 2

God could've just given us a job...

...instead He gave us an occupation that centers around the beautiful horse property we live on.

Warren doesn't have to leave 40 hours a week, but instead we get to do all of life together; best friends, business partners, comrades. 

Wesley gets to be with his dad while at work.

Warren is doing the thing he loves most.

Yes, God could've just given us a job. Instead He gave us this.

Extravagance, day 1

The month of November is always full of thankfulness. People's statuses on Facebook are talking about it, businesses have it on their marquees, it's the theme of advertisements. This month, amidst all the thankfulness, my mind has been concentrated on one word: extravagance.

The dictionary defines extravagance as: luxury, treat, indulgence, extra, frill, nonessential, splurge.

Hmmm...I kinda feel like the definition should end with the word GOD in all caps, bold and underlined.

God has been very extravagant with me. When I pay attention to my life and the people and things in it I could describe it as: a luxurious life, filled with extra-special treats, an indulgent amount of frills, completely showered with non-essentials and constant splurges. Sounds pretty extravagant.

It is. 

In fact, my life is so extravagant I decided it would take an entire week of posts just to begin to illustrate. By the end of this week (actually, by the end of this post!) I'm sure you'll agree with me.

This God-guy just really outdoes himself. Really.

You see, God could've just given Warren and I a family...

...instead, He gave us friends, helpers, companions; people who teach us about life, desire for us to have as easy of a time as possible, wrap their arms around us and love us no matter what...

...He gave us support, cheerleaders, people who delight in us and brighten our lives. These people pray for us and celebrate us and give to us and support us and honor us and build our reputation. They believe in us.

Yes, God could've just given us a family. Instead, He gave us them.

Four months old!

Three months old!

This is finally uploading! Our little Wesley at three months, October 6th, 2012

So...

...I have a confession to make:

I have a fetish with office supplies. I know, it's weird, and Warren raised an eyebrow at me when I admitted that to him this morning. But seriously...new notebooks are the best thing ever and I could get addicted to them. The same thing goes with new pens and highlighters. I love binders and folders and journals especially. When people ask me what I want for Christmas I can't quite spit out the words, "A gift certificate to Office Max," but I really want to.

Today I organized our businesses (yes, we have four--both Warren and I are too adventurous to stick to one home business). I had brand new, colorful hanging files, a Sharpie, a filing cabinet, two binders and a large stack of papers. I know my husband thinks I was slaving away as I copied and filed and sorted and labeled and slowly whittled away at the overwhelming amount of paperwork. Secretly, I was having the time of my life. In my opinion that's the best part of running a business anyway.

If my computer were letting me upload pictures I would share a glimpse of my day's accomplishment with my perfectly organized, color-coordinated filing cabinet. As I can't upload pictures right now (hence the lack of three and four-month pictures of Wesley, as well as several other post ideas I have to share), you'll just have to imagine how much of a masterpiece it is...everything labeled with black Sharpie...red files for Jennings Quarter Horses, green for Integrity Bookkeeping, orange for Mobile Mechanic, yellow for the books I've written...legal paperwork all put neatly in the back file...horse contracts freshly printed and ready to sign...business cards waiting to be handed out...  I may be the only person in my family who is totally inept at art, but that filing cabinet might as well have Michelangelo's signature on it.

The most disappointing part of all of this is that I don't have more paperwork to organize tomorrow. It'll likely be the end of the week before my magnum opus gets opened again. If only I could have a job where I got to buy office supplies and use them every day.

Ah, blast it all...I'm starting another business.