Thankful

Today is my most favorite day of the year, Thanksgiving! It's not just my favorite holiday because of the food or my crazy family traditions, it's also my favorite because it encourages you to slow down and reflect on what you are thankful for. Too often I get caught up in the day to day, forgetting that I am beyond blessed. I recently heard a quote that really got me thinking about giving thanks:

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

That really got me thinking, how often am I thankful? And not just flippantly thankful, but truly from the bottom of my heart grateful for all the blessings in my life. So with that, here are just a handful of the things that I am thankful for this year.

1. The amazing gift of life and the birth of our beautiful baby girl Emma Grace. There is nothing more miraculous than human life, and I know that now more than ever. So many people struggle with infertility, or complications in pregnancy or birth and I am so grateful that we have a happy, healthy, beautiful little baby. I could go on and on but I'll stop there :)
2. Brandon getting a job as a character animator! I am so proud of how hard he has worked to get to this point and the sacrifices he has made along the way. Seriously, how many people can say that they get to do a job that they LOVE and have wanted to do for a long time? I am reminded of the quote, "If you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life".
3. Along those lines, I am so grateful that the timing of this new job worked out in such a way that we don't have to be working retail this holiday season. I wanted to be able to enjoy Emma for her first holidays without having to go into work the next day and it's actually going to work out that way! Talk about God's perfect timing.
4. I'm so thankful that we have a place to live during our transitional period. Brandon's parents have graciously opened their home to allow us to stay with them as Brandon transitions to a new job and it was a huge blessing to not have to pay a lot of money for rent while I was staying home with Emma during the first couple months of her life.
5. Now, more than ever, I am thankful for family. I am so thankful that we get to go up to Bethany Beach today and enjoy the most fun Thanksgiving ever. I have a new outlook on my relationship with my mom after becoming a mom myself. I am so thankful for Brandon's family, for the fact that Emma has a cousin who is just a little older and a second cousin who is the same age. I am thankful that Brandon's family has remained close so that our children can grow up enjoying time with their cousins the same way we have both grown up with our cousins. I am thankful that I have a new brother, Ben, and that he an Trisha are beginning to build a life together. Family has taken center stage in my life this year, it's been amazing watching my parents become grandparents, and my grandma enjoying being a great-grandma (or GG as she as so aptly named herself).

I could go on and on, but I need to get Emma ready to go, hop in the shower, make another cup of coffee and head up to Bethany!