The "Grateful" Post

Our happy little (unconventional) family

I simply cannot get through the month of November without writing a "grateful post."  I love the idea of Thanksgiving.  I know the historic reality was far more gruesome and ugly to an entire population than the singular, welcoming shared meal we all celebrate yearly (though I do think that meal between the new settlers and the native population should be celebrated--even if the peace did not last).  However, the notion of celebrating all that we have to be grateful for, of recognizing where we should be appreciative and voicing that appreciation, is something that I wholeheartedly support and try to embrace every single year.

The girls with their grandma

This year I have so much to be thankful for.  First, I am so very glad that we celebrated Thanksgiving with the girls last Sunday instead of doing it this Thursday because I got the flu and ended up spending this entire week (including Thanksgiving) throwing my guts up.  Second, I am really grateful that we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with both girls and that they enjoyed themselves.  I am also really glad that Ava's aunt and her grandmother were able to come to our early Thanksgiving dinner and spend some time with her because they haven't seen her in a long time.

 I am so very grateful that she is getting to know her family and they are getting to know her.  It warms my heart and makes me happy to see her developing relationships with her sister, grandmother, cousin, and aunt.  It makes my heart joyful to see my beautiful girls, both so brilliant and so different from one another, playing together in my living room floor.  

The time we have to spend with our daughters is precious.  We are blessed to have them in our lives, and I hope one day when they're grown they will both feel blessed to have had us in their's. 

I'm also grateful for this guy. Kenneth is truly my partner. Our relationship is gratifying.  We have the kind of open, honest communication that most couples can only hope for.  He has been nothing but supportive and loving since day one, and though he can be pigheaded, I love him madly. 

I'm also thankful for a few somewhat silly things:

• Hot Chocolate--because on cold winter nights there just isn't anything better than cozy pajamas and big, steaming mug of hot cocoa!
• My Kitties--okay, so this one's not so silly--they might drive me crazy half the time, but they bring joy to my life.
• My crazy dysfunctional family--they drive me crazy too, but they're around if I need them and they love Kenneth almost as much as I do, which makes my heart happy.
• Kenneth's family--because they've welcomed me into their lives and hearts openly, and that makes me happy too.
• Wine--who isn't thankful for wine?
• Pinterest--because holy cow you can find ANYTHING on there!
• Michael's--because I'm kind of a craft junky and without them I have no idea where I'd buy my glue, glitter, ribbons, glycerine (the key ingredient in the soaps I make), and scrapbooking supplies.
• And last but not least--my camera because without it I wouldn't be able to capture all the amazing memories we're making (and I'd also be a lot richer because I wouldn't be spending so much on ordering prints, buying frames, or those aforementioned scrapbooking supplies).