Thankful

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and friends and lots of food and foorball! I've been thinking of all the things I'm so very thankful for. And they are...

1. My husband. Ted is everything to me. I know lots of wives say this, but I'm seriously the luckiest woman on earth. He is the epitome of a good man, and he works so hard for me and for Jude. He has given me a life, a home, a family, a place to belong, and a future I can't wait to live into. I'm always completely at peace with whatever tomorrow brings--whether its sunshine or storms--because I know as long as we have each other, we're alright.

2. My son. Jude is relatively new, but when I look at him, I feel like I've known him all my life. Maybe I have. I am thankful for his sweet spirit and his little trusting heart, and especially thankful for what he teaches me every day. God is using this tiny man to teach me patience, humility, selflessness, gentleness, wisdom, and countless other things I always need to improve on. We are helping each other grow up. I am thankful for his little toothless smile and the way he pats me on the face....I can't even begin to describe how parenting has changed me...I just know I'm better than I was, somehow.

3. My extended family. My parents and Ted's parents are friends and mentors, and all people I genuinely like and enjoy spending time with. The same goes for siblings on both sides. Ted and I are both the babies of our families and embarking upon a lot of "firsts" and we rely heavily on the advice of our families, for all the big and small things.

4. Our health. I never gave much thought to this before, but I'm starting to realize how much it affects everyday life. Ted and I take for granted that we're able-bodied, emotionally healthy (that's debatable;) energetic, functioning, and generally feel great almost every day of the year. The way you feel can affect every aspect of your life, and so I'm extremely thankful that all 3 of us are enjoying good health at this point.

5. Friends. Whether its our friends with kids who share the joys and burdens of parenthood with us, or our friends from church who walk with us and encourage us to live more fully, or our friends we've known all our lives that we can laugh with and remember with, we are thankful to all of you who for loving us as we are are sharing our lives with us.

6. And most importantly, I'm thankful that God oversees all these things, gives us a purpose and a reason, gives us hope beyond what we can see and faith that carries us from day to day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING