Giving Thanks

As a tradition at our Thanksgiving table we take turns going around the table and saying something we are thankful for. This is my year with Ryan's family which is also very wonderful and yummy but I will miss my turn at the table.. so here it goes sissies...

I am SO thankful for my kids. They are absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't deserve them. They are amazing and beautiful and I still stare in awe at their little faces every day.

I am thankful for Ryan. He is so different than me in so many ways but I think we even each other out. I still laugh with him, we still have fun and he is the most amazing Dad I know. The best thing about him is that he really, genuinely tries. He has a good heart and these days that is hard to find.

I am thankful for a big family which taught me strong family values. I have a million cousins and aunts and uncles and on and on and I am so proud of ALL of them.

I am thankful for my Mom. She is a wonderful, kind, smart and generous person. I admire her ability to keep her head high even though she has had a horrible couple years. She is strong, really strong. The strongest person I know. Through all her bad times, losing her parents and losing her home, she has never complained, never given up, kept a smile on her face. She just rolls with the punches. Good things are to come for her.. I just know it!

I am thankful for my Dad. I admire him and pretty much think he is the smartest person I know. He is honest and gentle and he is the best Dad.

I am thankful for Ryan's family. They are the piece of my life puzzle that was missing.

I am thankful for where I live. When Ryan and I started dating we dreamed that someday we would end up near the beach. We now live less than a mile away. Sometimes I still can't believe I get to live in such a beautiful place. Yes, it is more expensive and our house is smaller and we are away from our family but it is truly a small sacrifice to get to live our dream.

And then after choking back tears I would say.. I am also thankful for Diet Coke, animals, cell phones, Jeggings and my sisters. Because without my sisters I would die. I'm serous.. I couldn't go on living. They are my best friends and they love me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!