THANKFUL- 2010

There are so many wonderful things that I am truly thankful for in my life right now. This has just been a wonderful growing year for our family of 3 & God has truly had His hand on us in a great way!

I wanted to go through a few things I am thankful for before this wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday & share some things that have changed in my life in 2010 that I am thankful for.

FAMILY:

Without them I am nothing. I am so blessed to have married into a wonderful family who I also call my own. Even though I have only been married to Chad for 5 years, I feel like I have always known them. I feel like it's always been this way. It's such a great feeling to enjoy your in-laws & love being a part of their lives.

I am so thankful for my relationships with my sister in laws. I have 3 total, (& practically 4 because I am so close to my sister in law's sister, Crystal). We all have a special bond & have grown into such mature young woman who truly love our lives, our homes, our families, & God. Family is forever so this friendship is very valued to me. In 2010 my relationships have forever grown close with my sister in laws. So many things have been overcome, & so many joys have been brought into our lives. Blessed.

My family is such a blessing. My Mother has been a rock during this first year of Avery's life. She has grown to become my best friend & taught me that the little things don't matter. What matters is family, & your child who is first, always. She has taught me to see brighter days & helped me through some challenging times when I didn't know if I would survive being a first time stay at home Mom. My Dad is also a best friend. He is the leader of our family & without his words of wisdom we are truly nothing. My brother is amazing. We haven't always seen eye to eye, but through this past year as I have now become a Mom I look at life a little different than before. I value the small things & cherish each second with him. Seeing the love in his eyes for my daughter is something I can't even explain.

My husband is my life. Having a child has changed our lives. We have such a strong love for each other & it seems as the days go by & Avery grows a day older, we learn something bigger about life & how much family is truly our first priority. We are both just so thankful that God blessed us with a child after miscarrying in 08'.

My daughter. Avery is one of the biggest parts of my entire life. I eat, breathe, sleep, & think about her. She is my # 1 priority & job since I am a stay at home Mom. She has changed me in so many ways & molded me into woman of God & into a person that wants to be the best I can be, for her & our family. I am so blessed with a wonderful 1st child- she truly has brought so many joys into our lives, and lots of laughs!

HEALTH:

I praise God daily that I am healthy & that most of our families are too. I know illnesses will come & go but I am thankful for my good health at this time of my life & try my best to do what I can to take care of myself each day.

FRIENDS:

My friends have been SO stinkin' good to me this year. I truly feel like you know who your true friends are during important stages of your life. It seems like my friends haven't missed a single beat; as well as me with them. I have really grown to know who those true friends are in my life & who truly deep down cherish our friendship. So many of them have grown with me through Avery's 1st year & have been there during times of turmoil or when I just needed to cry out in confusion to one of them on when I had no clue what I was doing- whether it be in person or even over the phone. Some days when I was sick a friend would drop off some food & a card, or even try to take Ave from me for an hour. There are days when I just needed a "moment" & a friend would call & take me to coffee. One of my most valued memories is when a friend would just drop in with a diet coke; or when my best friend called immediately after my Uncle had passed so worried about me & I could feel her hurt through the phone for our family.

These moments to me are what true friends are all about. Someone you can trust, laugh with & be yourself with, someone who is unconditional until the end of time. God has blessed me in the area of friendships this year & knew I would need them during the new stage of being a SAHM. I look forward to growing with each of my friends in all areas of our lives; near & far.

My JOB:

Coming from someone that has worked full time since I was 17 to now being a full time Mom, I can honestly say that both are incredibly hard & both have their ups & downs. It's been a change for me. I am such a people person. I love going into the office, getting some coffee, chatting about my weekend, telling funny stories, reading e-mails.... my life now consists of coffee alone, reading FB e-mails, chatting to myself, or mainly to Avery. Sounds exciting & so easy, right!? WRONG on the easy part! Being a SAHM is the hardest most rewarding job- to me anyway. I am 110% responsible for another person 24 hours a day. No lunch breaks, no 15 minute breaks, no nothing. I change 50 diapers a day, feed about 6 times a day with snacks, change her outfits twice a day, (and mine after I get pooped on), & chase her which means I probably burn about 1000 extra calories daily. I sweat constantly & sometimes don't even get a shower. Hats come in handy these days. I laugh constantly but find myself at times crying in frustration then pinching myself saying, "you are blessed"!

I also feel truly blessed for my husbands job. He just got promoted at another company & will be doing some neat stuff! He is really excited & we are so thankful that God opened a door. We prayed for months & he so openly gave us the assurance that it was what He wanted for Chad, so here we go! I am thankful that my husband is able to provide so that I am able to stay home with Avery.

PATIENCE:

I am not normally a woman of patience. I can tend to have a temper & fly off the handle- especially when I whole heartedly disagree with something. I have really been seeking God's hand in this area of my life & basically in forgetting the simple stuff & focusing on the BIG PICTURE of life. I'm so grateful that after years of dealing with this I have developed quit a bit of patience & find myself not worrying about things that don't make sense like I use to. Thank you JESUS! Having a child has helped me develop this nice little feature as well because you have to have ALOT Of patience with an 18 month old!

BLOGGING/BLOGGERS:

SO thankful for this. I have developed SO many close friends through my blog & through their blogs. I have learned so many things about myself & about others & their lives. I have grown in so many areas simply through blog reading. I have been given some amazing advice that no one else could tell me, I have cried SO many tears, & laughed out loud a million times. So refreshing for my soul.

It is so neat that some peoples blogs I have read for years & I am now just meeting them & some even live in the same town as me. It's amazing how we all seem to link together & know each other. Again, friendships... thankful!

During this Thanksgiving Holiday remember this:

In happy moments, PRAISE GOD. In difficult moments, SEEK GOD. In quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD, & in painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment- THANK GOD!