Give Thanks

In Honor of Thanksgiving next week here are 15 things I am thankful for this year!!


1) My Jesus, who came to earth, died for me, and washed away my horrible sins so I can live forever in his kingdom! Praise him!

2) My amazing Hubby who is a blessing to me. He works hard and almost never complains, so that I can stay home and raise our daughter. It warms my heart when he says things like "man if she was in daycare "this and this" would happen". Makes my heart happy that he gets it and knows how important it is to me to be home with her!

3) My amazing Hubby's job, that MORE then provides for our family. After looking for a job for 3 months, we KNOW we are blessed and Hubby is 10 times happier currently then he was at old company. Praise GOD!

4) So so so so soooooooo thankful for my amazing loving Toddler. She is a gift and I know to never take advantage of her or our time together. When I get annoyed by finding pancakes in my shoes, or her whining, it's better then silence or her not being here!

5) My wonderful amazing families. I love my parents and siblings more then they know, we ALWAYS laugh until we cry together, always have a funny story to share, or fun memories to reflect on. Steve's family has quickly become my own and I love spending time with them, and love how they love my daughter! Also I am blessed by my Hubby's extended family in Michigan. I have become so close with them and consider them MY family and some of my best friends!

6) My friends. They rock. Although I don't get to see them as often as I did BH (before Hailey), every time we get together it's like no time has passed and we always laugh and have such a fun time together. Girlfriends make the world go 'round!

7) My house. It keeps me warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and is so lovely and big and PERFECT for our family. I am blessed!

8) my brand spankin new-to-me car! So great that I know I can get where I need to go safely and it will start every time. I know not all people can say this and I feel spoiled rotten!

9) having a stocked fridge/pantry. It's so stupid and sooo so so selfish but sometimes I get mad that our pantry or fridge is TOO full and I can't get to stuff easily, or I can't fit something somewhere. Seriously who does that?? I know there are so many homeless, starving people and I do NOT deserve all that I have been given!

10) my MOPS group! I joined for the 1st time this year and I know this is something I will continue to do until Hailey (and maybe siblings) are in school. I want to give back and volunteer if there is a place for me, and I have already made some good friends! Really, if you have the time and $ to join DO IT. You will not be sorry I promise you!! If you can't join a mops then I highly suggest finding a sunday school or small group. The relationships and time off of children are WELL worth it!

11) My most favorite radio station EVER K-LOVE. They play all the greatest Christian music ever, and all the DJ's are my favorite. I love them! It keeps me focused on God, which in the world we live in it's very very easy to get distracted and not keep him in your daily life! I love that Hailey dances to the songs and gets excited when I turn the radio on! It's pretty much on in my house 24/7. I'm trying to get better about turning the TV off and the radio on!

12) Not everyone will understand but I LOVE Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. It's one of the best Zoo's in the country and I LOVE to get outside and walk around and get some exercise! Stay tuned I am working on a picture filled post of our Zoo adventures from this summer! It's super fun and it's such a blessing to have grown up in a city where they treat animals with such love and respect and I hope it crosses over to Hailey!

13) Blogging! I love reading other blogs (um I have far to many in my reader), being inspired by other Momma's and their love for their Children, Hubby's, and Jesus! It really makes my day and I love being allowed in their lives on a daily basis. It inspires me to get out and do things with Hailey, fun crafty stuff we can do at home, and even decorating tips! I honestly don't know how my Mom did it, raising children without the internet!

14) Our Health! This should be way higher on the list! I pray every night before bed and thank God and am amazed by his blessings over us! Our families are extremely healthy, and when I hear about friends who have loved ones in the hospital and with illness it makes me so so so extremely happy to say that we are healthy! Hailey has never once been to the dr unless it's just a well check, we just have a few sniffles here and there, and slowly Hubby is getting better and growing his immune system!

15) a good sleeping Baby! This has blessed me in more ways then you could ever imagine! Ha. Hailey goes to bed every night around 9:30 (sometimes it's 9:15, sometimes 9:45). I have to WAKE her up at 8:50 in the morning! Then usually at 11:30 she will go down for a nap and sleep anywhere from 1-2 1/2 hours. So that means she can sleep from 11-1:30 some days! THEN at 3:30 she will sleep for ANOTHER hour and a half! I love it! I am going to keep her on her 2 naps a day schedule for as long as I can!!

Hope this inspires you to think about all that YOU have to be thankful for! Some days are hard and I know how easy it is to sit and think "woe is me" but if you sit down and list all the amazing blessings in your life it will brighten your day!