it's just that time of year again folks...

it's a week until thanksgiving and this year, more than others it feels like, i am feeling so grateful for so many things. this begs the question - is it cheesy to get caught up in what some call the opportunistic commercialism of the holiday season and write about the things that you are thankful for in a public forum for all to see? well...call me cheddar and sprinkle me on a taco because gosh darn it, i am thankful!

i am thankful for another year that i have been given with my partner in life, my husband, matt. man, i love him. there are so many times when i have wondered, even out loud, why are we together?! these moments, thankfully, are fleeting and each day when i settle in at night, i pray that God blesses us with a lifetime of memories together. even at our worst, we are better together than we are apart. matt understands what scares me most and he allows me the validation of that fear along with the reassurance that he will rescue me from anything and everything. and i know that even though he isn't able to save me from what's hard in my life, he will never let me walk my road alone. he knows, too, that each step he takes he has a partner in me and that our future together is bright.

my kids are the most obvious of all of my blessings and it goes without saying that i am thankful for each of them. sophie is as much a miracle as ellee and casey are. it was only a MOMENT ago that matt and i thought we would never have children - to have three now is a gift. don't get me wrong, there are days that my kids, each in there own unique way, drive the poop right out of me. they are loud, they are messy, and they are demanding. but even still - at night when i am cleaning up the mess in the silence of their sleep - i miss them being with me. being their mom is the most valuable job i will ever have and i am energized at the responsibility i have been given. i'm overwhelmed at the thought of me writing a similar blog a year from now when i can talk about our fourth baby - another daughter whose arrival in march is as exciting to us as it is to her siblings. i love to hear them talk about the impending arrival of baby #4 - they are so excited and it makes me feel good to know that THAT'S all they know - that every family member is a BLESSING and is something to be excited about. even when they haven't even been born yet. what a gift - i'm so thankful!

there are tangible things too...matt and i are so blessed in having a house to live in, cars to drive and jobs to drive them to. we have friends who love us and who we love. we have family who have proven that they will outstretch their hands when we need to be pulled back to shore and who will provide for us constant love and support. and what's more amazing, is that we have these pillars both here in minnesota AND far away from us in michigan and in illinois. in case we haven't told you recently, we are thankful for each of you.

so it's thanksgiving time, and i am so thankful!

now...how was your taco?!