What I'm Thankful For

As I was listening to our pastor talk about the first Thanksgiving and being thankful I sat and made a list of a few of the things I'm thankful for this year and I wanted to share it with you.

• Nick - my sweet husband means the world to me and I am so grateful for the life I have with him. He is so supportive of me and encourages me to do what I want no matter what. I am so blessed to have such a sweet man to spend my days with and I am so proud of him!
• My loving family - whether it's my parents, my brothers, my sisters (and sisters in law) or my in-laws, I am blessed with an amazing family. I have always been grateful for my immediate family, my wonderful parents, protectively loving big brothers, and sweet sister. They have been a strong foundation for me and always built up my confidence with loving words and encouragement. I am also very grateful to have married into a family of loving, sweet people who love me almost as much as they love their son (maybe just as much) :)
• Good friends - near or far, I have been very blessed to have gained the good friends that I have.
• Inlow and my childhood - growing up in the beautiful Monzano mountains of New Mexico is something that I will never forget. I had a whole forest as my backyard and I absolutely loved my life there. There is still and always will be a special place in my heart for the mountains because of my wonderful childhood at Inlow.
• America and the Air Force - needless to say, I am very blessed to live in the country I live in. I love America, even with all of her faults, and I thank God that I live in a country that allows me the freedom to worship Him freely. I'm also very thankful for the Air Force and I am very excited for the military spouse life ahead of me.
• Esther and Chloe - I know, I know, only a animal lover would actually list their pets in a list like this but I am very grateful for those two little cats. They bring that little bit of joy to my day whenever I need it, of course they also bring some big annoyance at times but they still mean a lot to me.
• Alwins School of the Dance - as I was pondering my "I'm thankful for" list, Alwins came to my mind. Dance was a very big part of my younger life and I spent a lot of time with the teachers at Alwins. I will never forget the lessons, dance and even life lessons, that they taught me over the years and I am so very grateful that my parents took the time and money for me to have that wonderful education!

As I draw this list to a close I realize that there are a lot of things that aren't on my list that probably should be but if I wrote a truly exhaustive list I would be here all night! I am grateful to the Lord God that he has given me everything on my list and blessed me beyond measure for things that I don't even know about yet. I don't think that there really is a way for me to truly show my gratitude but I will work at it everyday and never forget that even when things are tough, there is always something to be grateful for.

Life in a painting...

So, this is totally random but I was thinking last night about what it would be like to live in a painting. We have a lovely picture hanging in our living room that would be a beautiful place to really see. It is a sunset behind a babbling brook surrounded by trees and plants. I wonder things like, what would it smell like? Is the water warm or cold? Are there a lot of animals or is it simply quiet? It seems like that painting is so peaceful, maybe that is why I like to look at it all the time. When can I truly experience that peace in my life? What kinds of things are keeping me from knowing that calm reassurance that can be seen in the serene water?

I have been getting to spend time with my brother, his wife, and her family this weekend and it has been super relaxing! I don't even mind doing the dishes and housework when I get home because I know it makes my husband happy. I have caught myself lately taking so many things for granted and having no way of truly showing my gratitude for them. One being my loving husband, Nick is truly the greatest man that God could have put in my life and I'm so glad that I married him. Another is the dance studio that I was blessed to learn in when I was younger. Alwins was a studio run by a strong Christian woman who was a wonderful influence on me and helped me to remember to keep trying even if you fall down. I miss that place! The last thing that I should always be more grateful for are my parents and my brothers. I was given that family as a gift and I can't that for granted. My parents are such wonderful people and I'm blessed to have had them raise me to be the woman I am now. My brothers, who married wonderful women by the way, have loved me through all of my quirks and support me constantly. Thank you, thank you to my sweetheart Nick, for my support and being there for me always, thank you to Alwins, a place of learning that has blessed me and blesses me even now, and to my amazing family, for being so loving even when I've been hard to love.

I hope that people who read this will get a glimpse of the wonderful life I've been blessed enough to lead and will remember all of the blessings that they themselves have been given by our Heavenly Father. Thanks for reading!