I am Thankful

This year I find myself overwhelmed with ideas of what to be thankful for... Every day there is something new and every moment there is something new. I find that in each and every day there is something that pops up... whether it's my daughters smile, Dan's laugh, the smell of the Fall leaves, my warm home, or coffee brewing in 30 seconds.... (I am SO thankful for my Keurig, does that count?!). 

Nonetheless, my point is, we can all find something to be thankful for in each and every day. 

Here is my list starting with November 1st... Enjoy!

1. I am thankful for a loving family that gets together for random occasions. Lennon dressed up in her costume with all of her cousins and the whole family joined together at my mom's house. My Great Grandma, Aunts and Uncles and all my cousins. It was a blast!

2. I am thankful for babysitters (aka, NANA & PAPA). Dan and I finally had a great date night out with our very best friends. We had a BLAST! The night was filled with fun, drinks, lots... of.... drinks... a Haunted House (I was a HUGE chicken) and finally, Denny's at 1:00AM to top it all off. Perfect night!

3. I am thankful for family and packing them all into my small home for dinner. We made yummy dinner for my in-laws and they loved it! Lennon loves the company and we love having our tiny home filled with love.

4. I am thankful for my BIFF! She saved my life tonight. She reminded me that I have to apply for a marriage license. Not that I didn't know that... I just totally forgot! Whoops!

5. This morning I am thankful for sleeping in & Lennon's kisses! Happy Tuesday! Which means, my alarm doesn't go off until 8:45AM and Lennon gets to run into my room to give me a big, wet, juicy kiss on the cheek to wake me up! Then, of course she proceeds to smack my face yelling "mama!" ... 

6. Today I am thankful for being accepted back into college! I got my acceptance letter today and now I am going to start registering for classes! I am so nervous to begin this long journey back into school but I can't wait to finally do it. HEEEEREGOESNOTHIN'!

7. I am thankful that I woke up this morning to my daughter looking at me and clear as day she says, "HI!" with a kiss! .... and I am thankful that our wedding is now only 1 month away! The real countdown begins, WOOT WOOT ! I am so excited but so sad that the fun DIY and planning is over so soon. Maybe I will take up wedding planning on the side?.... or not. Just a thought. Happy Thursday!

8. I am thankful for my little girl waking up at 3AM. You may think I am crazy but... I love it. I hear her crying and sure, I'm so sleepy and so mad that I have to get up but once I get in her room and I see her jumping up and down reaching her arms out to me. I cuddled her for over an hour and she fell right asleep in my arms. I am so thankful for my sweet little girl.

9. Today I am thankful for hot tea, me time, Army Wives and fuzzy blankets. I spent most of my day curled up on the couch... thank for to whoever got me sick! I am absolutely miserable! But thanks to some hot green tea, and my fuzzy blanket I am content watching Army Wives with my man. Love nights like this!

10. Today I am thankful for team work and forgiveness. Every couple has their ups and downs... We have had our fair share of them too! We are under so much stress and pressure pulling off this wedding in the next 3... or 4 weeks (totally thankful November has 5 weekends)! It's been a tension high, sleepless night, busy-busy-busy time for us. I am so thankful that we can forgive each other for when we scream and act like we could pull eachother's hair out. I am so thankful that we are a team and teams play together to win together... We aren't giving up! I am so thankful that we can sit together and have a cup of coffee, make our table seating arrangements for the wedding and not argue at all. It's been a great day! Happy Wedding count down. Woot!

11. I am thankful for Veteran's Day. All Veteran's, My man, and our Country's Hero. I am thankful for all men and women who have served, who are serving this country today and tomorrow, and I will forever be grateful for all they have done. Thank a Veteran today! We have a lot to be thankful for because of them! 

12. I am so thankful for my family! My dad & his fiancé offered to pay for my chair covers for my wedding! Woot! Woot! Woot! Woot!... Woot! Woot! Okay, too many WOOTs? Nah. I am overly excited. 

13. I am thankful for my best friend, her support and true friendship. She guides me in the right direction, helps me up when I'm down and listens to my stories when I'm Chatty Cathy! Hopefully we will be a lot closer in the near future! Keeping my fingers crossed :)

14. I am thankful for spending quality time with my dad and his family. As we are growing and becoming one big, ginormous, hugemongo family it's so great to see the love shared as two families join together to become one! It's been a long, tough journey with my father and I and I am happy to say we are finally getting back to the way things were. It's a great thing! Lennon and her Grandpa have a great love :) 

15. I am thankful for meeting new people everyday and changing lives. I met a young mom today who is so passionate about her children that she wants to be a better role model and change her life for the better. She was so happy and motivated to make a change. It's great to see the sparkle in people's eyes! It's alive and it can be in yours too! :) 

16. I am thankful for my bridesmaids that I chose, because they're true, real friends! I am thankful for the friends that I have and the enemies that are sulking in their sorrows wishing they were invited to my my wedding festivities because, they truly make me realize why I have a small close-knit  group of friends now! I grew up, why can't they? Ugh! Anyway, I had a good time with my ladies and it turned out to be a wonderful weekend. 

17. I am thankful for Wolfgang's breakfast in GR, coffee, Gatorade, WATER, my BIFF, my in-laws, and my man, and my bachelorette party gifts! Wolfgang's breakfast cured the lingering stomach ache from the nasty hangover I had, coffee, water and Gatorade helped my stay awake and hydrated, my BIFF helped me not go crazy in the middle of the night and call a cab to go back home at 5:00AM because I was so sick and so tired of being awake in another city... Homesick? Yup! My in-laws are amazing because they took our daughter all weekend for us! Lennon loves it there and they treat her like a princess, very thankful for the help so we have friends time! And my man... For getting us greasy wings for dinner, for taking a hot shower with me, and cuddling with me before bed! And my bachelorette party gifts... I am thankful for them because... Nevermind. TMI? Gosh, I love my life. 

Oh! And today is the 1 year anniversary of our engagement! Woohoo! Happy 1 year "engagement" anniversary baby! 

18. I am thankful for short Mondays at work! 9-5 is the perfect Monday schedule!

19. I am thankful this morning that my mother taught me how to handle scary situations. Lennon woke up with croup and the poor thing not only sounded like a baby seal but she sounded like a sad baby seal! I rushed her into a steam bath and thankfully her breathing got better! Thanks to my mother I knew exactly what to do! I was so worried! So Lennon got to stay home with Daddy all day and cuddle.

20. I am thankful that my baby slept all through the night and is breathing better this morning. Dr. prescribed her a steroid treatment for at night and t helped her breathe 10x better than she could breathe during the day time. Croup is the scariest thing I've been through with Lennon besides her asthma when she was a baby. I hope this goes away soon!

21. I am thankful for short days at work, my soon to be father in law and Pooh. Today at work was brutal... nothing happened. No appointments came in, not even one.... UGH! We woke up this morning and realized our "putt-putt" had a flat tire. For those of you that don't know, "Putt-Putt" is our little baby car that is 13 years old and looks like a go-kart. It's cute. But, not reliable! So, soon-to-be father in-law to the rescue took it to get new tires on it and brought it back to Dan at work today! WHEW! Then my dear friend Pooh is on Netflix and Lennon loves it! She grabs her blankey and Pooh and lays on the floor with a bowl of popcorn. It sure does keep the sick baby happy!  PS - 16 days!!!! WOOT!

22. I am thankful for working for a company that values their employees and treats them well. Today we had a corporate meeting at our Culinary school and the food was amazing (of what I could taste), they handed out awards to all top performers, they have confetti and balloons... Streamers and music and dancing. They take pride in our company and they stand up to give you a speech on the last mod, not only was that speech great but more than one time our VP says, "we love you guys and girls"!, "we appreciate you"!, "we are succeeding because of you"! Those words of encouragement are amazing to hear from your VP and your CEO. As we were leaving today the CEO gave me a hug and said, "I look forward to seeing photos from your wedding!" I love he company I work for. It's about damn time!

23. I am thankful for Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunts house, a warm house full of warm hearted people, everyone being together and happy.

24. I am thankful for my bridesmaid, best friend and my fiancé. We spent the whole day doing wedding stuff and filling 100's of boxes with a surprise for our guests, filling vases, making place cards, to do lists, etc. I couldn't have done it without them! Thanks!

25. I am thankful for easy dinners with yummy seasoning! Mac & Cheese, my favorite food ever and a little... Or a lot (A LOT IS A LOT BETTER!) of this delicious seasoning Dan & I found while we were in Ohio! 

YUM! YUM! YUM!

 

26. I am thankful for my healthy family. Meeting people who are going through many things in life that I couldn't even imagine, it makes me cry. I am thankful for my beautiful, healthy daughter and thankful God has blessed her with a healthy heart, and a beautiful life. 

27. I am thankful my boss let me have an early day today! Woot! Which means I had time to pick up my chair covers from http://www.chicchaircoverboutique.com/

Check it out! She's amazing! Now the hard part... Figuring out which way to tie the sashes! 10 days to go!!! Woot!

28. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

This morning I woke up and realized I am thinking too hard. I think too hard about what I am thankful for but it's right in front of me every single day! Lennon and I snuggled this morning at 5AM when she woke up crying and again at 9AM when we cuddled in bed watching the parade with daddy. I am thankful for my beautiful life. My family Dan and Lennon, my best friend who is there for me no matter what, my mom, my dad, siblings, everything I own, my warm home, my warm thanksgiving dinner, and my wedding coming up in 9 days! 

And the beautiful 5 generations of women in my family! My Great Grandma, (my grandma in Heaven), my mom, and Lennon! So blessed for this family!

Now let's eat lots of turkey and be happy everyone can get together! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!