Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for a man who loves, supports, and respects me, who still makes me laugh after 11 years of knowing one another. Thankful that he works hard to provide for our family but also keeps the balance of being a family man and is there for me and our kids. Thankful that he never has missed one of Hailee's dance classes and always takes our kids to "school" in the morning. Thankful that he knows the only thing that helps me feel better when I am sick is a hot bath, even if I have to take one 4 times in one day. Thankful that he starts my car on really cold mornings to get it warm, thankful that he dances crazy and silly with our kids, that he sings Taylor Swift music with Hailee and watches "Handy Manny" with Jackson. Thankful that he cleans up our kids bedsheets, and our kids, when they have tummy aches and throw up in the middle of the night. Thankful that he loves to take afternoon naps with me on the weekends when our kids are napping and thankful that he is still the man that kisses me every morning and every night and won't let me leave the house without a good-bye hug.

I am thankful for two amazing, beautiful, funny, loving children. I am thankful for their good health and that their faces always light up when I come home, I'm sure that will change one day. I am thankful that they love being around one another and I hope their friendship continues to grow and strengthen with each day. I am thankful that they share with one another and that they love to be outside.

I am thankful for two parents who have raised me to be strong and independent but also sensitive and compassionate. I am thankful for ALL the road trips, tent camping, shopping with Mom, hiking with Dad, Saturday mornings cleaning while listening to "The Big Chill" soundtrack and even being woken up on the weekends at 7:00am when I was a kid to the sound of them vaccuming or mowing the yard. I am thankful for every prayer they prayed over me when I was sick, had a broken heart, or an anxious mind. Thankful for all the potato soup that they always made me, and still do, when I am ill. Thankful that they would drive 2 hours to see me on a week night when I was in college, because they could tell by the sound of my voice on the phone that I was lonely. I'm thankful that they cared enough about me to have a say and be a part of my friendships, my education, my marriage, my career, and my faith.

I am thankful for a sister who can always make me laugh, when she is not making me mad. I'm thankful that she let me sleep with her when I was kid that was afraid to sleep alone, even though I know she hated it. I'm thankful that she carried me a mile to my parents (okay, maybe a block) when I was seven because I crashed my scooter at the lake and had a freakishly bloody head. I'm thankful that she is the one who will hold all the memories we have of our parents with me. I'm thankful that she is a lady who has passion about everything in life. From her husband and daughter to a certain chinese food to helping our community by serving them, caring about people who struggle with mental health to, last but not least, all things "Twilight" with the highlight being Taylor Lautner aka Jacob Black.

I'm thankful for family and great friendships, some who have been there all my life or nearly all of it. Thankful for all their laughs, advice, shoulders, hugs, calls, cards, gifts, for being a part of so much of my life that it would be hard to imagine the biggest parts of it without seeing their faces there. Thankful for the chicken enchiladas and the Wal-Mart frosted sugar cookies (which are my fave) that they bring me when they can tell I need some extra help or a break! Thankful that they know I would most deeply love to be a real cowgirl that lives somewhere on a ranch in Wyoming and rode horses all day.

Thankful for a career that lets me be me, for the oppurtunity to help people by listenting and talking to them, thankful to know that I am trusted and a piece of what makes it all work. Thankful for the "family" that I have made there and that they cherish my own family and allow me to be a Mommy first.

Above all, I am Thankful for a God that has given me all of these blessings, who has showed His mercy to me over and over again. Thankful that I can always know that He is there and listening every morning when I am driving to work, in the middle of my day when I am looking for peace, in the evening when I am praising Him for my day. I am thankful that He is good and just, that He has a sense of humor but is also feared. I am Thankful that He has been there with me all these years through the celebrations, the tears, the darkness, the joy, the questions and the answers.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope that each of you have something in your lives that you can be thankful for this year. I know I do.