Giving thanks

We just got done eating our Thanksgiving turkey and our tummies are full! Before I lay down on the couch to watch a movie and promptly fall asleep I thought I'd better blog before I let the day go by!

Today has been a good day. Most days around here are pretty good, but today was especially good. We didn't have any company for Thanksgiving and we didn't go out of town like we normally do, so it was just us. For the past few weeks I've been feeling kind of bummed about that, because I actually really like big family Thanksgivings, but today with just our little family sitting around the table talking about what we're thankful for, my heart was full. I love our sweet little family. I love sitting at the table laughing and talking with our kids and sitting next to my sweet husband. Life is good.

So while we were eating we had the annual "tell us what you're thankful for" discussion and it was fun to hear from the kids. Matthew is thankful for Heavenly Father and Jesus, our family, Santa and all the people in our neighborhood. Josh is thankful for our family, our church, our pets and his friends.

Today I feel like I have so many things to be thankful for thatI don't really even know where to start. So here is my very imcomplete list of things that I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my kids, who make me smile every single day. I couldn't ask for better kids. They are such a blessing in my life.

I'm thankful for my husband, who is always there for me, always understands me and happily puts up with me, even when I'm a little difficult to live with, which is often. :)

I'm thankful for our church. Without it my life would be very different.

I'm thankful for Clarissa's birth mother. Somewhere out there there is a woman hurting for her baby right now and my heart breaks for her. I hope that I can raise her daughter to be the kind of person that she would want her to be.

I'm thankful for whoever is keeping Clarissa warm and safe right now. I couldn't help thinking as we were eating our Thanksgiving dinner today there there was someone missing from our table. I'm thankful for kind people in the world who take babies into their lives and love them, even knowing that they'll eventally have to give them up.

I'm thankful for my friends, the old ones and the new ones. I've learned something from each and every one of them.

I'm thankful for the birds in my tree. Nature is amazing and God has given us beautiful things to look at and enjoy.

I'm thankful that I live in a free country, where I'm free to live and worship as I choose, whether people agree with me or not.

I'm thankful for green grass, warm blankets, good books, ducks who lay eggs in my yard, rainy days and all the other simple pleasures in life.

I'm also thankful for a million other things that I don't have the time to name right now. Life is good.