A Thankful Heart...

As it is almost Thanksgiving I thought it was only appropriate that I write a blog about what I am thankful for. The sad part is we take this time of the year to be thankful and really reflect on it, when in fact we should be thankful everyday and count our blessings instead of taking them for granted (as I do far too often). So here is a start to my thankfulness and I will make a conscious effort to remember what I am thankful for throughout the year.

#1 I am thankful for my amazing husband. We have been together for 8.5 years now, married for 4 of them, and been on MANY adventures together. It is amazing that I have been able to already spend so much time with him and I look forward to all the years ahead. He works hard day in and day out- whether at his job or at home with us, and he never complains. He is a handy man, always fixing our vehicles, and wanting to build and create. He is an AMAZING Daddy to our 2 (soon to be 3) children, when even after a tough day he's still ready to play with them.

#2 I am thankful for my children- the 2 healthy babies I've already been blessed with and the wee one growing inside of me. All of them are a miracle and a gift from God, they teach me new things and completely enrich my life- they also give me more patience then I ever thought imaginable for one human being. I am SO thankful for the title of MOMMY! I am thankful for their smiles, cuddles, giggles and their wonderful personalities.

#3 I am thankful for my parents. Not only have they raised me and filled my life with love and memories they now are there for my children and it is such a special thing to witness the relationship between them. My mom is so very dear to us as we see her a couple times a week and Jaxon LOVES to go see Oma, she is amazing and always willing to help me out when I'm feeling overwhelmed. My Dad will never say no, with such an amazing giving heart he is always ready to help anyone out!

My Mom with the kids at the beach

My Grandpa Hamalock (who is now passed away) Me, Alivia, Jordan, Jaxon and my Dad

#4 I am thankful for my In-Laws. I've always thought the term "in-laws" had such a negative sound to it, but I have no negative feelings about mine. They have always been welcoming of me- even when I was 16 and hanging around their 14 year old son (who they raised to be an amazing man)! They are wonderful grandparents to our children as well, we are blessed by them and their love for us and our children.

My mother in law Grace with Alivia

My father in law Bill, brother in law Conrad and my boys

#5 I am thankful for family. My brothers, my beautiful neice, my brother-in-law and his wonderful new wife. Family is what makes us who we are- in the end nothing else matters but your family! I am also thankful for grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins- as I get older seeing my extended family is fewer and farther between, but I have wonderful memories of fun and special times that I can treasure and take with me.

My brother Rob on his birthday

Jaxon and my neice Mya

Conrad and Cori with the kids

Jaxon with Anna and my Opa

#6 I am thankful for my wonderful friends. I do not have many friends, but I have a few GREAT friends- in my opinion it is not about quantity it is about quality. A friendship since highschool that means so much to me, we can go out and do anything and it's a guarenteed good time, whether out by ourselves or out with my kids.

Jaxon and Caszie at the beach

My mommy friends who are so special to me, not only do we share ideas and try to give helpful advice, there's also a safe place to talk and feel welcomed, not to mention our kids get friendships out of it too. I am also thankful to share this pregnancy with 2 of my mommy friends, it is such a special time as one of them is due about 3 weeks before me and the other one is due only a day before me.

#7 I am thankful for pictures. I have a love of photographing and documenting our life, sometimes it is a bit much i'm sure, what a wonderful gift to have so many aspects of daily life that may not be otherwise remembered. Photography is also a hobby Jordan and I share, when we were dating we would drive around and take pictures together (we don't do that anymore but the memories are still their). We both LOVED night photography, as you can get some awesome shots with such different lighting. When we were in Europe we would go back to the same places we saw during the day just to see them at night, they were FAR less busy and most of them looked way better!

At the Colosseum in Rome (2007)

Train tracks on 248 St. (2005)

Jordan's parents drivewayin the snow on 248 St. (2005)

#8 I am thankful for my child's love of learning. Jaxon is amazing me these days, the amount of knowledge he absorbs and retains and everything he is learning makes me so proud. His vocabulary is constantly increasing and it's such an exciting time watching him grow and learn.

#9 I am thankful for milestones. These add excitement to life and give us something to look forward to- birthdays, anniversaries, first steps, first words, due dates, celebrations. We have alot of new milestones ahead of us- what an exciting time!

#10 I am thankful for arts and crafts. I have always loved making and creating, whether it be jewelery, scrapbooking, sculpting, you name it I've probably tried it. I was never good at painting or drawing so I never really took art in school but their is so many different outlets in being creative and I now get to share it with Jaxon (and soon the rest of my children). He loves doing crafts and making things, getting messy and I love his results- whatever they may be. If I have the time I still enjoy making stuff for myself or I guess by myself, on the agenda this year will be Alivia's Christmas stocking and hopefully some homemade gifts for friends and family.

I will leave it at 10 for now as this list could go on and on. I will hopefully remember to add to my list and in no particular order continue it on. Adding pictures to this post I realize I need some more recent pictures of the family all together... added to the list of things to do.