I Have Been Blessed!

(ps- Gotta love this picture that Todd took of me mid-sentence!)

I really love this time of year. A time to truly reflect on the many wonderful things that each of us has been given. I am having an especially "thankful" season this year because I just feel that my family has been watched over and protected more than ever before. We all face trials in this life, some big and some small. Whatever the circumstance, trials are hard. They make our day-to-day events a bit more challenging and test our strength to the very core. Our family has seen a few of these this year. Some big and some small. In each individual situation though, prayers have been answered, relationships have grown stronger and faith restored and strengthened. In the past year I have spent many hours on my knees, many hours on the phone, many hours worrying and hoping and it was all worth it.

I am so thankful for my own little family and I love them so much. I have such a good husband who works so hard to provide for us. He spends so much time at work and then is always willing to come home and help me with projects around our home. I am so fortunate to be able to spend the majority of my week at home with my sweet boy. He is the light of our lives and we are so thankful for him. Thankful doesn't even touch on the feelings that I have for our son. Todd and I both have good jobs and that in itself is a huge blessing these days. We love our home and are so grateful for the blessing that it has been to us. We can't wait for the new arrival of our sweet baby this coming year and feel so blessed to be able to bring children into our home. Our family has been so blessed this year.

I am so thankful for my own family. I can't even write this without tearing up. My parents have had a most difficult year. Things haven't gone as planned and they have had to face many trials. My father is such a positive person. I can't think of another person in the world with a greater faith and sense of peace than him. He has been strong through each of these trials and doesn't complain much. I have learned so much from him just in the past year. His positive attitude has touched me and I realize that without that, life is a lot more difficult. My mom has been so good to be by his side through all of it, even though it has been so hard for her. I don't think I have ever seen my parents relationship so strong as I have seen the past year. What a comfort. I couldn't go on without mentioning my brother and his family. We have all worked together so much and have looked out for each other. I honestly can't imagine my life without daily phone calls(sometimes hourly) to New Orleans. I love Garrett and Becky so much and I am so thankful that even though they live half way across the country, we can still accomplish so much and be so close. It just might take a few hundred phone calls;).

I also couldn't go without mentioning Todd's family. I am thankful to have married into his family. His parents have always been so kind and loving to me. They have done so much for us and are always there to help us when we need it. It really couldn't get much better than that.

I have been BLESSED.