A Day of Thanks

With today being the official day of giving Thanks, I thought it appropriate to take a few minutes to list some things in my life that I am thankful for.

Without the intent of being cliche, I am thankful for my family and their health. I have a wonderful Husband and two beautiful, sweet and silly children and thankfully we all have our health. Good health is a thing I can not be thankful enough for. There are so many people out there that are not as fortunate as we are, and I count my blessings every healthy day that goes by.

I am also thankful for both Duke and my extended families. From our parents, to our siblings and their spouses, and our 2 nieces and 5 nephews as well as my Grandma Flo and the list goes on... I am so thankful to have such caring and wonderful people in our lives and extremely proud to call them my family. My Grandma Flo, my Dad's mother, is now 92 years old and is the last living grandparent between Duke and I. Just this past week, Grandma Flo was moved from her assisted living to a nursing home. The week prior, she had been hospitalized due to a large blood clot in her leg. She is no longer able to do as well for herself and is in need of assistance in every day tasks as well as now being in a wheel chair the majority of the time so it is better that she is somewhere where she can get the care she needs and deserves. I can not tell you how thankful I am that she is being well cared for and to still have her in my life.

A nice home and a great job. Those are also two things that I am very thankful to have and I consider myself to be fortunate. Although there are times where I would rather follow my dreams and do work that has more 'meaning' to me, I am extremely grateful that I work for a good company and have a steady paycheck that allows me to help support our family (and my shopping habits!). I also, without the intent of sounding ungrateful, often refer to our home as being too small for our family now. Big or small I am grateful to have a roof over my head. After all, the smaller the house the easier it is to fill with lots of love (and lots of toys!).

Soap and clean water - without both I would be a miserable (and smelly) person in dirty clothes. Last Sunday was "veg out day" at our house and I didn't even get out of my jimmer jammers (take a shower for that matter) the entire day. Although it was nice to be lazy, I NEED to take a shower every day. I felt greasy and "fuzzy" and...well lets just say I could not imaging being unable to take a shower each and every day.

As long as I can remember, I have been an animal lover. I vividly recall my Mom telling me many times that, when I got a house of my own I could have a many pets as my little heart desired. Well, my hubby has now put a cap on the number of animals I am allowed. We currently have two (outside) dogs and a cat (both outdoor and indoor). I love my animals and am thankful to have their unconditional love. I am grateful to have been able to provide them with a home, great care and lots of love in return.

The internet. Yes, I am thankful for the internet. A person best and worst enemy, but it has opened many doors for me...from blogging to facebook I have been able to reconnect with old friends and make many new. It saves me time and money by allowing me more options and products. Granted, the internet can be a time suck, but it also offers me a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips. Google, WebMD and Baby Center are a few great friends of mine. If you haven't met them yet, you really should introduce yourself.

Friends - what would life be like without good friends? Over the years, friends have come and gone from my life. It hasn't always been an easy thing as I tend to invest a lot in friendships and feel much pain when contact with friends from the past drifts away. I tend to be one of those people who can pick right up where we left off so once you are a friend of mine you will have a hard time getting rid of me :) I do greatly cherish making new friendships as well and couldn't imagine life without the presence of the wonderful friends who are already such a big part of my life.

Is it appropriate to also be thankful for "Sales"? I love sales and without them, I would have to pay FULL PRICE *eeeeeek!* so I am (as I am sure my husband is) very thankful for SALES!!!!

There you have it...the basis of what I am thankful for. I could go on and on but I'd hate to bore you too much so go spend some time with your family and reflect on all that you are thankful for today. Sorry about the lack of pictures lately. I promise, I will be back to old self and posting oodles of pictures soon. Until then...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!