Count your Blessings

Where do I start? There are so many things I am thankful for, but rather than making a really long list like last year’s 303 thank you’s, I will only name the top few that come to mind…. (drum roll)...


I am so very thankful for God’s grace and mercy. I am thankful for my faith, for His forgiveness, for answered prayers, for miracles, and for His unbroken promises. I am SO thankful.

Chris, I am so thankful for you. You are my best friend and my husband. Going on 9 years… for better or worse, here we are and I am so thankful for you. I am thankful I found someone who loves me for (and despite) all my quirks…. I love you unconditionally. (And I love that you do laundry, make my coffee, and gave Emilia your smile!) XOXO

Emilia, I am so thankful for you… you are the most precious little girl. You are growing up so quickly and I am constantly amazed at the person you are becoming. I am thankful for your sweet heart and gentle spirit. I love your quirkiness… I think I know where you got it from! You are so loving, ornery, silly, beautiful, feisty, snuggly, unique and just plain amazing… I have been so blessed. I love it when you say, ”Mama, I very love you!” I very love you, too, peanut! (and I still love your morning breath)

My parents… Dad and mom, I am very thankful for you both. While we had our differences growing up (numerous differences :)), I am thankful you cared enough not to take the easy way out. I was quite (exhaustingly) rebellious, and it would have been easy to give in, but you persisted. And while I might not be so strict with my own kiddos, I am so thankful my you cared enough to raise me in a way that was difficult at times, but what you thought was best. I think I turned out pretty good, so mission accomplished! Dad, thank you for giving me an example of a Godly, loving, gentle, and yet strong man. Thank you for protecting the country I live in and and am raising my family in...you are an amazing father, friend, and papa! Mom, thank you for being a 2nd mom to my Emmy bug. I am sorry for all the stress I caused you growing up, but on the other hand, the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, and I have a feeling I know where my stubbornness came from! Thank you for making me a strong woman...and mom...I hope I am half as beautiful as you are when I am a grandma! Thank you both for loving Emilia so much… you are her home away from home.

My sisters, Heather and Melissa… you both rock. Heather, you paved the pathway for parenting a little girl, and I hope I am a good follower. You are a great friend, co worker, and aunt (and karaoke singer in Europe… but we won’t go there). I love you! Melissa, I am so thankful for your friendship and big sister advice. Thank you for knowing when to give advice and when to just listen (and when to just show up with Starbucks). I love you both (and your kids)!

My nieces and nephews…. Ty, you are the one that made me an aunt… such an awesome job! From the age of 15, I took the role quite seriously and hope I have not failed… I love watching your soccer games and just hanging out. And I promise to be the cool aunt that teaches you how to drive (at 14 :))! I love you, buddy! Hannah… you made me want to have a little girl! You are beautiful, sweet, and an amazing young girl. I love seeing what an awesome big cousin you are to Emilia, and I am so thankful for you and love you so much! Garrett… where do I start… you make me laugh. While you may, at times, challenge the patience of a saint and allow a deaf man to hear, you are such a little blessing and I love your energy. You have a soft heart, and Emilia calls you “best friend Garrett.” I love you (to infinity and beyond :)) Lily, I am so thankful for your spunkiness and Taylor Swift singing. You have the cutest little grin, and I love seeing the beautiful little girl you are becoming. I love that you call Uncle Chris “Christmas”… too cute! I love you Lilybelle! Mr. Hudson… you are my handsome little guy. I love it that you love me so much… it is so nice to feel loved unconditionally! You have the sweetest little smile… I love you, Batman! Erika and Payton, while you may have only ended up my niece and nephew through marriage… you are my niece and nephew none the less (no getting out of it :)! ) Erika, I remember taking you on your first chaperoned date (funny I was chosen as a chaperone! :)) You have turned into such an amazing beautiful young woman, and I am thankful I was there to see the journey. I am thankful you found your sweet hubby, Tim, and that you two finally decided to move back in town! Payton, you always make family gatherings more fun, whether playing pool, Wii, or legos (with Emilia). I have enjoyed watching you grow up (and up… you can stop anytime), and you have become such an awesomely wonderful guy. Thank you for being such an amazing cousin to Emilia, and making her feel so special EVERY time you see her! I am thankful for ALL my nieces and nephews and love you all very much!

I have so many family members that I am thankful for… each for different reasons. While I will not name names (because you can find then in last year’s 303 thank you’s), I will name some things I am so thankful they provide me with… friendship, chocolate sheet cake at 2am if needed, support, financial advice, best cousins (ever!), fishing buddies, shopping buddies, art show company, hugs, lunch dates, coffee buddies,  and sometimes just somebody to sit with in silence… I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Friends… I cannot name you all… so I will name the last 5 I have seen/talked to/ or text! I have been so blessed with the best friends and am so thankful for each one of you! We will start with Jen for longevity sake… to think I didn’t like you in 4th grade and even cut your hair to prove it (for telling on my note passing and making “glue balls” in class)… 21 years and 1 matching tattoo later… I absolutely love you. It only took 1 birthday party to make us inseparable, and I am so thankful you came to my 9th birthday party and gave me a lifelong friendship (and a silver hairbrush comb and mirror that I STILL HAVE!! You get me… and I am thankful for that! Remember when we were growing up and you pretended to model while I took your photos?( If your mind needs jogging I can post some photos I found :)) How ironic you do this as a hobby and I still love taking photos… not much has changed! Samantha, I am so thankful for you (and my new growing nephew, Lincoln)! Sixteen years of friends…. family vacations in Myrtle Beach, college roommates, bar hopping buddy, and now church friends… our friendship is constantly changing and I am so thankful our changes are in sync to enjoy these times together. I am so thankful for you and so proud of what a great mamma you will make (in February! )! Kelly, I am very thankful for your friendship and for having other boring old couple to hang out with :)… you are gonna be a mama soon (next week?), so we only get more boring after kids! I am thankful for your friendship over the past 10 years and have fond memories of snow skiing and “Desperate Housewives” parties! Ahh… now to my “work friends”… the last two I spoke with… Audrey, I have had such a great time getting to know you and you have become one of my close friends. I am thankful for our friendship, scrapbooking buddy, and coworker that is always willing to lend a hand… feeding a baby, hanging IV fluids, or drawing up code meds… you are there! I learn a lot from you, and hope when Emilia is grown that she and I will be as close as you are with your daughters…. I’m taking notes and hoping for this! Saxton, I am thankful for your friendship and for Myles and Emilia’s friendship. I enjoy their play dates, and appreciate that you let me get my “baby fix” with Bella while we hang out… you would think I would get my baby fix at work :)! I love that our kids are getting to be good enough friends that they argue with each other…that’s always a good sign! While I have several more friends I would love to mention… maybe next time you will call or text me more often to make the “last 5 list”! ;) I love you all and am very thankful for you!

While there are many other things I am thankful for, I am choosing this Thanksgiving to focus on people and if you wonder about the other things… check out last year’s list… they still apply! Happy Thanksgiving… hope this holiday finds you counting your blessings! I know I am!