thanksgiving

i have so many things to be thankful for. and even though i feel overwhelming gratitude every day, it is good to have this one day a year to really specifically focus on those things that i am grateful for and maybe even jot a few of them down.

i am thankful for my wonderful family and that we all live so close to each other right now. i love family dinners on sunday, raucous as they may be, and how comfortable it feels to be surrounded by my whole family. and even though they live a little farther away, i am grateful for such good in-laws (seriously though, i couldn't ask for better in-laws), who live close enough that we still get to see them fairly often. i am also grateful for ichat, which allows us to see them even more often (though still not often enough). i am thankful for caring extended family and those who have gone before me who are such good examples of faith and hard work.

i am thankful for the basic needs in life that i often take for granted - food, shelter, clothing, and so many less basic needs that i also enjoy. i am thankful for employment and the ability to support ourselves through school. i am grateful for knowledge, of so many different things, which empowers me and guides my decisions.

i am grateful for good friends. we have met so many amazing people throughout our lives. many of them have moved far away, but i am thankful that we are able to keep in touch with most of them and continue to enjoy their friendship. i am grateful for the friends that we still have around and who make our lives so much more enjoyable. i am thankful for laughter, for its abundance in my life, and for its healing powers. randy continues to make me laugh every day. what more could i ask for? i am grateful for peace in troubled times that comes through the gospel of christ and correct decision making.

i am thankful for music, that fills my home and my heart, makes randy who he is, and is already shaping madeleine. i am grateful for tender touch in my life that comes in the form of kisses from randy and madeleine's soft hand on my face. i am thankful for mornings in bed with my family, filled with soft chatter from madeleine. i am thankful for the overwhelming sense of love that i feel in my life in such a tangible way every day.

and this year, i am especially thankful for my little family. i am grateful for madeleine, who is such a sweet, mellow baby. she lights up my day and gives my life such greater meaning. she has taught me to be more selfless and renewed my sense of wonder at the things around me. every day is so much better because she is part of our family. i am thankful for randy, for his constant patience with my flaws, for his talents and abilities, and for his constancy in all things. i am so thankful that i married him.

and most of all, i am thankful for a loving heavenly father, who has given me all of this to be grateful for. happy thanksgiving.