Thankful

I'm thankful for so many things all the time, but I'm extra thankful the month of November.  I absolutely love fall the season, fall decorations, and especially Thanksgiving.  It may be my favorite Holiday.  You get together with all your family, eat yummy food, have some time off work, and do a little shopping, all while remembering the many blessing we have.  I'm not gonna lie.  I get annoyed by the facebook thankful posts as attempts to boast and brag.  We ALL have so much to be thankful for, and I try to tell the people I'm thankful for that I am indeed thankful for them.  So now I feel like a hypocrite because I'm about to list several things I'm thankful for.  I'm doing this for me.  So that I can stop and remember it all.  Our days are jam packed now, and I love it.  So I need to take a few moments to just be thankful.  I don't write, ever, because Wilson probably has a better handwriting than me and because I can type 10 times faster.  So here's my typed out list of what I'm thankful for.  For me.  So feel free to wait until the next post that may be more exciting.

My Salvation.  When the days get crazy, and things go wrong, I can always always always turn to God, and He's there.  He loves me, and He is the reason I live!  Even with all the wonderful things and people in my life, I have nothing without my faith and salvation.  With all the amazing worldly things I love, I know that my true treasure lies in Heaven.  Thank you Lord for that.

Caleb.  After almost 4 years or marriage (whoa!), I love that boy (or would you rather me call you a man, ha) to pieces.  Sure, he drives me crazy some days.  He can be the slowest person ever when it comes to getting things done.  He snores super loud when I'm already struggling to fall back asleep after feeding the baby.  And he still argues with me when I try to feed him a healthy meal.  But let me tell you, God knew what He was doing when He gave me Caleb.  He's my best friend in the whole world.  He reminds me to just act silly sometimes, to cry when I need a good meltdown, to just lay there and rest on occasion, and to get all spiffed up for a date on occasion.  I'm so thankful for my husband.

Wilson.  I never thought I could love a baby so much until he came into our lives.  I know there will be a day when I want/need to spank him, when I am ready to just get away for a night, and when I can't wait for him to just go to bed.  But right now, I can't get enough of that cuddly 14 pound boy.  He makes me smile from ear to ear, and I thank God for entrusting us to be his parents every day.

My parents.  I cannot say enough about how thankful I am that my mom is able to keep Wilson right now.  It's amazing how God works out even the little details like that.  I honestly don't know what I would do if she wasn't at my house with my son every day.  I'd cry, that's for sure.  But beyond that, she's just a great mom.  I pray that I can continue to learn from her and become the best mom I can be.  And my dad.  He's one heck of a dad.  He's the comic relief we need to just help us calm down.  He'll feed us any time we want it.  Heck, he'll cook for and feed anybody if they're hungry.  He has such a big heart, and I hope I can become more and more like that.

My in-laws.  Caleb's parents are so good to us.  We live 2 hours away, which is tough.  But we make it work.  They are willing to drive up to visit anytime, and we love our visits there.  They are always helping us out, whether it's Craig talking Caleb through a flat tire or a grill on fire, or Marcia telling me how to cook the simplest things or suction Wilson's nose.  They are always there for us.  And we can never thank them enough.  We wish they weren't 2 hours away, but at least it's not any farther.  There aren't many MIL's out there who will come and stay with you for a week at time, wash your clothes, let you nap, and fill in all the other gaps after having a baby.  We are so thankful for them.

Our siblings/cousins/nieces and nephews.  In their own ways, they complete us.  I adore watching each of them with our baby boy, and he is so blessed to have such wonderful aunts and uncles.  I pray that it's in God's will for Wilson to have brothers and sisters too so he will get to experience that first best friend and the love we all have for each other.  

Our church.  We love our pastor, our life group, and everything else about our church.  I was taught the importance of a good church home from the time I was very young, and I am so thankful we found ours at First Baptist Spartanburg.

My job.  It is very hard to be away from Wilson 8 hours a day, but right now, it's what I need to do.  I don't dread going to work every day.  In fact, once I get there, and I get over the fact that I'm gonna be away from Wilson for a while, I actually enjoy what I do.  I feel like I help women every day, and I feel like it's what I'm called to do, outside of the home.  I love discussing pregnancy with my patients and counseling young girls.  I'm thankful for a full time job.  (I just wish Wilson could come to work with me, hehe).  I don't do politics so I'm not 100% sure what ObamaCare is gonna do to my career, but I'm trusting God 110% in all of it.

My friends.  I have the best girl friends.  I always know there's a friend I can call when I'm stressed, excited, sad, confused, or anything else.  I don't get to see my out of town friends (or really the in town ones either) as much as I'd like, but that's just life.  Thank you technology for allowing us to connect even miles apart.

Being able to breastfeed.  As trivial as it seems, I am so thankful that it worked for us.  I hope it makes Wilson grow up healthy and strong.  I want to give him the best chance at good at health that I possibly can, and breastfeeding is one way I can do it.

Related to that, I'm thankful for our health.  Our family is full of pretty healthy folks.  Sure, we have a little diabetes, hypertension, migraines, and asthma here and there, but God has truly blessed us with good health.  I try to remember to use that to glorify Him.  I need to remember to eat healthy and exercise to embrace that good health.

Mama.  I still miss my grandma every day.  I'd give anything to see her holding Wilson up in the air and laughing at him.  I know she's smiling at him from Heaven, and I'm so happy she's there celebrating with Papa.  It's amazing how God gives and takes away.  Her birthday is August 14, and Wilson was born on August 12.  2 of my favorite people were born 2 days apart, and I'm so thankful for that.  I'm blessed to have had her in my life for as long as I did.

My home.  We've been in our current house for over a year now, and I'm so thankful for a nice warm bed at night and hot water.  I take those things for granted, but they are truly a gift.  Who knows where we'll be living 5 years from now?  But right now, our home is in Spartanburg : )

There are a million other things I'm thankful for, like the pretty leaves, good food, and cars to travel in, but I gotta stop somewhere.  Thank you Lord for all of the blessings.  Please help me remember how blessed I am every day.