Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

I am thankful for John's job. It provides money in the bank and groceries at the end of every week. It provides a warm (or cool) house in a safe neighborhood. It allows me to be a stay-at-home mom, which I have always wanted to do. I am able to watch my son grow every single day and I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for my friends. The ones near and far. I love keeping in touch with friends in other states and always picking up where we left off. I am thankful for the new friends in CA who have become family. Moving here was very lonely but meeting these new girls, whom I adore, has changed that for me. I am also very thankful that we all had healthy pregnancies and babies and were able to support each other through it all.

I am thankful for John's family. Most of them welcomed me with open arms and treated me with so much love and respect. I adore them as well and feel very blessed to call them family.

I am thankful for my plethora of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I was raised with most of them and I continue to value their opinions and advice. They are the foundation of where I come from.

I am thankful for my siblings. They are some of the best people I know. They stole my heart the moment they were born and I am so blessed to be their big sis.

I am thankful for my parents. I didn't know the word sacrifice until I had my own child. I may not ever know the extent of their sacrifices for me, but I am eternally grateful.

I am thankful for my dog. Riley has the best personality of any canine I know. He may be second fiddle to Jude now, but he is and will always be my 'first born'.

I am thankful for my husband. I didn't know true happiness until I met him. He is my biggest supporter and my best friend in the whole world. John is the person that always has my back. He's respectful, loyal, honest, funny, caring, and so loving. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for Jude. I thank God everyday for thinking so much of me that he decided Jude should be my child. What have I done so right in this world to deserve the most amazing person in this life? What could I have possibly done to be so blessed? Jude has fulfilled my life in a way that no other person could have done. He is my strength and I will spend my life making sure he knows how special, loved, and cherished he is. He and John have completed my life. And for that, I am so thankful.

Thanksgiving 2010. Little did I know I was pregnant and our lives would be changing forever.