Counting my blessings on a sleepless night

For all the crazy things going on in my life right now, I must admit that deep down I'm thankful for a MANY things. On this Thanksgiving Eve, I thought I'd remind myself (and share with you) some of my gratitude.

For each of my kids:

I'm thankful S has graduated from high school and is happy. While some of his decisions don't match up with ours, we are grateful he lived with us for a couple of years and shared his life with us. I pray that someday he'll come back to being closer with us. I'm grateful for the gift that he is, for the gift of having him in our lives.

I'm thankful C is doing so well in life and school right now. She's kicked everything up a notch this year, from her game, to her schoolwork, to her friends. She's all about challenges and is taking her time deciding where to go to high school. I pray she'll make a decision that she'll be happy with.

I'm thankful for A finding her niche: Super Saturday (especially musical theatre), band (she plays the flute - the hardest of the instruments to learn but easiest to master), and taking care of things (from her room to her hamster). Her confidence is growing and it's wonderful to see her stepping out of comfort zones to try new things. I pray that she'll learn to like challenges and not be upset that she has to take them on, whether it's in school or life.

I'm thankful for my husband who continues to challenge me to be the best person I can be. He has been my rock for more than 20 years, and I truly don't know what I'd do without him to keep me on my toes. I pray he'll continue learning how to balance all the different aspects of his life.

I'm thankful for my parents who continue to play a big role not only in my life, but also my husband's and children's. They come to almost every activity the kids have and love and support all of us unconditionally. They've shared many things with us, from wisdom to condos, and it's a blessing to have them as a big part of our lives.

I'm thankful for my family: my brothers, sisters-in-law (including one to be), and brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins. They all make our lives brighter.

I'm thankful for my best friend M. It was alway difficult for me making and keeping true friends. She has been there through some of the best and worst times. I'm blessed she's kept putting up with me and can't wait for our annual Black Friday trip!

I'm thankful for my job, and for the people I have the privilege of working with. Each of them has helped me grow in ways I could never have imagined when I started 7 years ago. I'm also grateful for my former collegues (many who are still friends) for helping me grow into the professional and person I am now.

Finally, and probably most importantly, I'm thankful to God for blessing me with this amazing gift called LIFE. It's busy, hectic, fun, stressful, exilerating and distressing, but it's His special gift to me and I'm truly grateful for it.

Thanks for being part of my life and sharing this special time with me. My love and blessings to you and your family!!