A year full of thanks

Okay, so I've been behind, which is clear by my month overview that was supposed to catch me up in the blog world, but the truth is, I never did a "what I have to be thankful for" post. Now, I'm an avid fan of giving thanks on more than one day a year, so here goes my year of thanks, not on Thanksgiving, but on my own late terms.

The truth is that I have so much to be thankful for that it's almost ridiculous to me that I am this blessed. So, here goes another bullet pointed list.

• My husband was laid off from his job in the spring of this year. I am grateful for a lot of things that occurred because of this development in our lives. First off, the day it happened, we did not panic, we sat down that evening and calmly discussed what things we could live without and things we could scale back on. I am thankful that we remained calm and that I have a marriage so strong that a stressful incident of that magnitude did not come close to disrupting our happiness and did not make us once direct the stress at each other. Secondly, my husband no longer enjoyed that job. In fact, he pretty much hated it and was in a bad spot. I think a power higher stepped in because he would have never quit that job because it was financially great and his work ethic is strong. Lastly, I am thankful for a new, supposedly temporary job, that came along a month later and is still going strong and makes him happy to get out of bed and go to ever day. This situation showed me that we can handle pretty much anything, as long as we are together and money truly does not buy happiness and, if you stop and pay attention to where the money is going, you'll find that you don't need most of it. Most of us live well beyond our means and when you cut back on things, like eating out or going to Target four days a week, you won't even miss them and you'll wonder why you ever did those things.


• I'm a nurse! I am very thankful for this. It was hard and there was doubt, but I graduated, passed my boards, and am now doing something that makes my soul feel satisfied. I only wish that everyone was as lucky as I am.


• I am thankful for our ever changing house guests and for the things I have learned because of them. I am gaining parenting skills, great conservations, more appreciation of my relationship with Aaron, gratefulness for a beautiful home that is so much more than just a house, and much respect for the parents out there. It seriously is a hard job.


• Odds and Ends things: my health, always having food in our pantry and heat in the cold and air in the heat, that our families have made it through the tough recession fairly unscathed, for all the hugs, kisses, and well wishes I have received all year long (I was blessed without a lot of these), friends to make me laugh, a full calendar, though tiring, full of social events, an obscene amount of clothing and shoes in my closet, and enough love in my heart for me to share.

This has been an unbelievable year, even with the bumps along the way. I can't wait until next year to see what is in store for us, possibly the pitter-patter of little feet or at least the anticipation of hearing them. (Don't worry, B. I'll give you a heads up!) If you're reading this, then thank you for being in my life. I couldn't image my life without any of the people in it.