I'm Thankful...

(this is my craft project I started a week and a half ago. i got a late start on thanksgiving crafts so i chose something pretty easy. these are made out of felt with a blanket stitch around the edge. i finished my letters on wednesday night and now i just need to string them together, the twine i have is too thick i think so i need to get some raffia or something instead, but the weather hasn't been such to just run out for one thing. here's an up close shot.)

Anyways, all month on facebook I've been doing what a lot of people have been and saying one thing that I'm thankful for each day. It was fun to do but I quickly realized that there are a lot of things that I'm grateful for that require more than one sentence explanation. These may not be in order, just what's on my mind...

Steve... I am so incredibly grateful for my husband. He's so much fun, a hard worker, a sweetheart, and he perseveres. I'm so happy that he has this new career opportunity and I love that he gets so excited about it and gets to finally use some of the skills he learned in school. He's such a great husband and does a great job at taking care of me. He's so committed to our religion and seess things in black and white when it comes to those things. It's so great that we can work together to be better people. And to top it all off he's the most amazing father. The one HUGE benefit of him being unemployed for so long was all the time that he and Preston were able to spend together the great relationship they built. They are the best buddies and even though sometimes I feel left out that Preston always wants his daddy, I'm so happy for the bond that they have. I love that right now he's working from home and is able to still spend so much time with P. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and am so excited to be celebrating our 6th anniversary next month.

Preston... What a great little boy!!! We love Preston so much and are happy to be celebrating his 2nd birthday today. (I'll probably do a post just for him.) He's such a great little boy and we are surprised everyday at the things he's learning, his imagination, and just how adorable he is. He keeps us on our toes with the trouble he gets into and now the tantrums he's throwing, but he has such a great little personality that we'll take all the rough stuff for the next couple of years.

New baby... We are grateful for this new baby on the way!! We kind of feel like this pregnancy has been overshadowed by everything else going on in our lives the past couple of months. I feel like we haven't enjoyed it as much as with Preston. That's definitely not to say we're not excited, it's just different with number two. I'm excited that things have finally slowed down and I can focus on this new baby. We'll hopefully find out what we're having in the next couple weeks (although we both really feel like it's a girl, but we could be wrong!). I get nervous about the thought of having two kids, especially on those days where Preston is an extra handful but I know it will all come with time and motherhood is a continual learning process. I'm getting excited to have a newborn again. I'm one of those women that LOVE newborns!

Being a Mom... To go along with the last two, I am beyond thankful to be a mom. It's such an amazing calling in life. It can be overwhelming and scary when I really think about the big responsibility I have of raising children. There will always be more that I can be doing, but I'm trying hard to just do the best I can and meeting the needs of my little boy. I'm extra grateful to be a stay-at-home mom again. I'm happy that it's important to both Steve and I, and I can focus on taking care of my home and family. On a serious note, I know so many who have been or are affected by infertility and I can only imagine how hard that must be, and for that reason I will never complain about being a mom or the ability to have kids. It's truly a blessing!

Faith... My faith has carried me through a lot, especially the last year and a half. Our lives have kind of been one trial after the other, and while no one gets a free pass from trials, I'm grateful for faith to help me remember what's important. Life will always have it's difficult moments, days, weeks, or months, but it helps to remember that my Heavenly Father loves me and to know that He has a plan for me and my little family.

Church... Similar to faith, but I'm grateful that we actually get to go to church every Sunday. I'm happy that it's a priority to us and we make the effort to go. There are Sundays, like a couple weeks ago at Stake Conference where I was on the brink of tears because it can feel like a waste of time to get all dressed up and go and attempt to sit and listen with a toddler. On days like those, I know I get points just for showing up dressed in our Sunday best, even if we feel like we didn't get anything spiritual out of it. But then there are other Sundays that I can hear just the right song, make it through Sacrament meeting without taking P out or it can be the perfect lesson in Relief Society that touches my heart and uplifts me and lets me know I'm in the right place. It doesn't hurt that church is just around the corner (there are 4 church buildings within 2 square miles here, crazy!).

Family... We both have amazing families. They have always been so supportive of us and they are great examples to us. I also love the technology we have to keep in touch with family. They are always a phone call, text, facebook message, or blog away. That makes living far away from my family a lot easier... it's not like we're in the pioneer days when one member of the family would leave they might be saying goodbye forever. That's only one of the reasons I wasn't a pioneer!

Home... I'm very thankful for the comforts of home. Warmth... I can't imagine facing the elements of Idaho without a heater to warm my home. (another reason I wasn't a pioneer!). Food... being pregnant I appreciate food even more, but more than that I'm grateful my family has never gone without food and because of the kindness of family we never had to worry about where our next meal was coming from even while Steve was unemployed.

I know there is a lot more that I can list of what I'm thankful for but I will stop here. I'm thankful for the Thanksgiving holiday that allows me to stop and count my blessings and remember how truly blessed that I am. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope your day was filled with family, food, and fun!!