I am grateful for SO MUCH!

So this month, a lot of people on Facebook have been writing '30 days of gratitude' type posts. To be honest, I kept rolling my eyes at them. I've been bitter and cranky about life lately, and seeing these posts made me think 'well, I wish I had 30 things to be grateful for, but all I am thankful for is Paul and my dog.' Harumph.

Then the Darkness of Awful Sickness rolled in for the past 7 days. Maybe it was a way for God to say "Be Thankful!" to me. All I know, is that today, I woke up and I feel GOOD. I feel so thankful for being able to eat again, as well as just being able to DO THINGS, that I am bounding with gratitude-type energy. I even sang in the shower today, something I haven't ton for a few years now. Huzzah for happiness! :)

Enough rambling. Since I missed out on the '30 days of gratitude', I thought I would post all my thankfulness in one post (but it's not 30 things, just the most important). Yes, I know, it's not Thanksgiving and this would be a perfect post for then. But I don't care. I am bursting at the seams with thankfulness and I want to say it now. These are in no particular order.

Here it goes. I am SO thankful to God for...

1. Food
**Oh blessed food, I love you and I am so thankful that we can afford groceries and that I can currently eat. I am so thankful that I am happily addicted to trying new recipes (if you don't believe me, check out my Pinterest board! Yes, we have tried almost all of those items, or we will be within the month!) and that this is more of a hobby for me than a chore! I love eating you, oh beloved food. So many options! So little time!

2. My dog, Achilles
**Achilles, I am so thankful that you love snuggling. I love how intelligent you are, and your antics on the lake make me laugh every single day. If things go right, I hope to give you a puppy-sister before next Thanksgiving to double our fun! (hint, hint Paul!) :)

3. My parents
**I never realized until lately how lucky I was to grow up in a household so full of affection and honesty. I love how easily our family hugs each other and says 'I love you'. I am thankful to you both for giving me a safe, happy childhood. Mom, thanks for being one of my best friends. I love you both.

4. Paul's parents
**Thank you for making me feel like part of the family from the very beginning of me and Paul's relationship. It has never been difficult to call you 'Mom' and 'Dad', I am so thankful that we can play games, fish, and talk about knitting together.

5. My sisters
**I am so thankful to finally have sisters. Thank you Amanda, for being so generous, loving, and so spunky. Thank you Christy, for drinking wine with me and making me laugh with your sense of humor. Thank you Becky, for having one of the most beautiful, authentic laughs I have ever heard. Thank you Katie, for making me laugh and think. I love you all so very much.

6. My brothers
**I am so thankful that I grew up with two brothers that I actually got along with! The more people I talk to in life about siblings, the more I realize that what we have is rare and amazing. Thank you Jon, for letting me tag along with you and your friends throughout our childhood. It helped make me the tomboy that I am today. Thank you Jim, for being lovable and friendly all the time. It is so admirable and I love it.  Of course, there are my brother-in-laws, too. Thank you Chris, for being one of the most dedicated and loving dads that I have ever met. Thank you Michael, for always making me think about the Big Picture.

7. My nephews and niece
**I am so thankful to be blessed with three nephews and a niece. Thank you, my precious darlings, for filling my life with innocent laughter, hugs and kisses, and for renewing my imagination. I promise to never take you all for granted and I love you all so very much.

8. My extended family
**I am so thankful that I grew up with such loving and amazing aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents! I am so grateful that you have all showered me with praise and love. You have all helped shape me into the person that I am today. I cannot come up with the right words to express how important that is to me. Thank you.

9. Paul's extended family
**I am so thankful for all of Paul's aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Even the ones that I still haven't met! You are my family now, and I am honored. Thank you for being in my life, even if only in Facebook-form. You are all important to me.

10. Julie
**You are the only female-friend that I have ever trusted completely and the only one that I have opened my heart to completely. Words cannot express how amazing that is, I will be grateful to you for your friendship for my whole life. You are beautiful and amazing. Thank you for your friendship, thank you thank you thank you.

11. Rick
**Thank you for being my best friend, even though society says 'guys and girls can NEVER be 'just' friends!' Thank you for being generous and loving and awesome to be around. Thank you for eventually moving down and living by us again (ahem). You are amazing and I am so grateful that you are in my life.

12. All of the other people I 'friended' on Facebook
**I am thankful for all of you. I truly and honestly wish that I could spend more time with each and every one of you. You are all important parts of my life in some way or another. I am honored to be your friend, acquaintance, co-worker, etc. I am deeply grateful for you all.

13. Paul
**You already know how I feel about you. What we have is crazy-awesome. How is it possible to work all day and every day side-by-side on the same couch, and when you leave the room, I miss you like crazy?! It blows my mind. There are too many things to be thankful for with you, but here's a few of them: Thank you for being so blessedly optimistic about our future, even when I am not. Thank you for working hard at TWO jobs to keep things stable. Thank you for being so good at making me laugh. Thank you for taking care of me when I am sick. Thank you for having more patience with me then I ever deserve. And, thank you for eventually getting me another dog...(?)  :)


I love you all, and I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.