Saying Thanks

As part of my Sabbath today, I wrote thank you notes all afternoon - to family who helped us buy and furnish our house; to friends who watched our kids and helped us move; to new neighbors who have been, well, pretty darn neighborly. In doing so, I realized I hadn't really offered any thanks to you, dear readers, for your help in (or tolerance of) our online efforts this past month, so I'd like to do that now.

In response to the CD offer, we ended up with a total of $1,883.21 from 40 different people toward our closing costs. Granted, this amount was short of our initial $3,000 goal, but due to complications the week before we moved, our costs actually went down, so it wasn't a big deal - we had what we needed. We were also able to write a campership check to Eagle Lake for $200, so that was good. To those who bought CDs and/or gave money to our effort, thank you.

Many of you left encouraging comments, sent supportive emails and letters, made enthusiastic phone calls, and generally served as cheerleaders in person throughout the process. Megan and I were both humbled by hearing from total strangers that they were praying for us. To those who shared your own hopes for ours, thank you.

Finally, most readers were patient and stuck with me despite my hijacking my own blog with the occasional inane whining about the home-buying process. To those who endured any especially selfish, narcissistic ranting (even more than my usual daily offering), thank you.

Chesterton said,

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

While I'm not sure about the elevation of a blogged thank you note, the double-wonder of the happiness of my gratitude is real. To any and all who motivated that in me, thank you.