Saturday, August 17th was a day I had been dreading for months. You see, in December of last year, I marked this day with the words “Due Date.” Unfortunately, it would not be a due date for our precious baby, but rather, just another day in the life of the Hendricksons. Yesterday morning I was spending some time with the Lord, sharing my heart with Him. Out of nowhere, the Lord reminded me of the day my husband proposed to me. Gary and I celebrate our wedding anniversary, as well as the day he asked me on our first date. But, we have never really celebrated our proposal date.

When he woke up that morning, I asked him, “Gary, when did you propose to me? Was it the 16th, 17th, or 18th?” We both thought for a moment and he said, “I think it was the 18th?” I dug through some boxes that still house our books and I found my journal that I wrote in while we were dating. Quickly, I found the page the held all the details of that great day. Sure enough, Gary asked for my hand in marriage on August 17th at 5:00 p.m. in the backyard of his parent’s house.

Once again…it is all about how you look at things. So, I decided to change the eyes of my heart and look at August 17th through a different lens…a lens filled with sweet memories and hope for an even greater future.

My 28 Thanks:

1. Gary asked me to marry him.

2. I can change the way I look at things.

3. August 17th was a great day.

4. Judah had a great day at his cousin’s birthday party.

5. Jump Zone wasn’t very crowded.

6. The twins loved their gift from Judah.

7. Rony and Danielle came by our house to surprise me with a pampering gift. The gift included Sees Chocolates.

8. They wanted to make my day sweeter and happy. They are such a blessing in my life.

9. My sweet friend, Amy, flooded me with scripture verses.

10. I had close friends thinking about me and praying for me.

11. We met some more of our neighbors.

12. My in-law’s garden is doing so well. The tomatos are awesome.

13. The weather was amazing.

14. I have hope.

15. The best days of my life are ahead of me.

16. I have thoughtful people in my life.

17. Received some really sweet emails from people who thanked me for praying for them this week.

18. I feel like Gary and I have been friends with Rony and Danielle forever. And, I found out that Rony lived with my cousin in San Diego…what a SMALL WORLD!!!!!

19. I found my journal that I wrote in when Gary and I were dating.

20. Clayton, a Kid’s Ministry friend and leader for Kidz Blitz, asked us if he could do a service in KidMotion! My answer, “YES!” Super excited to host him on our stage.

21. Camp WOW emailed me and asked us to come back again next year and do another kids camp for them. Several other churches heard how awesome our camp was and want to join us.

22. I play a role in leading the best generation of people-KIDS!

23. All of the Hendrickson grandkids who live in the OKC metro are going to the same preschool.

24. Eric and Laci are strongly considering moving closer to all of us!

25. We enjoyed an evening at Gary’s parents. They have an awesome yard. I love relaxing outside.

26. Evening chats with family.

27. Gary held my hand a lot today.

28. Hope is never lost.