Thankful

 Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.  This year I have a lot to be thankful for.  

First of all I am thankful for my loving husband.  He has brought so much joy and happiness to my life.  He is my best friend!  This year we have shared such a blessing together and what a special time it was.  There is nobody else that I would have wanted to be with for all of our joy!!

I am very thankful for our precious little girl that we were blessed with this year.  I could never have imagined how much I would love her and how much happiness she has brought to my life.  I love my little Kayleigh girl!

I am thankful for my parents as they taught me so many morals and values in life, especially the value of family.  They made each day special and always loved the 4 of us no matter what we did! (Starting the tempo on fire, swimming in Lone Tree Pond and loosing shoes..just to mention a few!)  When I look back at growing up some of my most fond memories are of the holidays.  They ALWAYS made them special.  We have so many wonderful traditions that I hope to pass along to Kayleigh, especially St. Nick because nobody else does that and I always felt special at school when I said St. Nick came!  I keep praying things will work out and we can move back to Colorado soon so we can share those special holiday times together, well actually just share more time together!

 I am thankful for my brothers.  We grew up picking on each other, we had a fight or two, some of us had a black eye from a sibling accident and sometimes I was unsure if we would ever be friends, but now the three of them are some of my best friends.  I can confide in them, get advice from them and share both happy and sad times with them.  Who else do you complain to when you are dragged on family adventures??  I am also very thankful that my brothers and Jeremy get along so well.  Sometimes he spends more time texting them then talking to me!  Maybe one day Jeremy will come to the realization that the Big 12 is better than the SEC....or maybe Kyle and Lance will realize the SEC always wins!

I am thankful for the family I gained when I got married.  I did not have a sister growing up so I am glad that I now have a sister!  Jeremy's mom is always here for us when we need her and she is going to be Kayleigh's babysitter 1 day a week when Jeremy and I work.  I am thankful she is here to help us out!  

I am also thankful for Papa Charlie as he is also there for us.  He and Jeremy share a special father-son bond.  

 I am also thankful for my puppies.  They were my first children and I can not forget about them!  They are each so special in their own ways.  Layla is always there for me.  She is my trusty dog who is at my side for everything and the first person to run to the kitchen when she hears the peanut butter jar!  She always listens, can go outside without a leash and loves her new little sister!  Koa is a one and only dog! He still gets into bed with us every night, under the covers and snuggles with my feet keeping them warm.  When I get up in the middle of the night with Kayleigh he moves into my spot in the bed with his head on my pillow, I guess keeping my spot warm for me!  He spends most of his day on window patrol.  I always know if ANYONE, ANYTHING or nothing at all is in front of the house!

I have been blessed with so many special people in my life.  I have some wonderful friends who I have shared such special times with.  I am especially thankful for Jenn as she is my sister that I never had and the person who keeps me sane here in Tennessee.  I miss my family so much, but Jenn helps me get thru all of that.  We share so many fun and special times together and I know we will have many more special times to come.  I also have some wonderful extended family.  My Grandma is 86 years old and keeps all of her family members (over 100 of us) in her prayers every night.  I am very excited to be in Colorado soon for her to meet Kayleigh and for her to rock with her as that is what she told me she wants to do on Skype the other day!  Jeremy and I were both blessed with some wonderful Grandparents who are no longer with us.  We think of them often and know they are very proud of us up in heaven looking upon all of the blessings we have today.

I hope that everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and is able to share it with the ones they love.  It is impossible to physically be with everyone you love on that day, but have those people close to you in your hearts!