5 on Friday - Thankful Edition #1

2013 has been a really special year for us and we have so much to be thankful for. I think that it is so important to keep in mind how blessed we are, and to give thanks all the time. Not just because of a Holiday, but Thanksgiving is a good excuse to share those thankful thoughts.

I try to make it a point to pray every single day. Sometimes, depending on what is going on, I find myself praying consistently on and off, throughout the day. I am noticing that a lot of the time I am asking for things. Lord, please give me strength. Lord, please... instead of Thank you, God… I am trying to make a conscious effort to express my gratitude not only in prayer but also in my actions. {Believe me this is something that needs work.}

We have a beautiful life and it is important to remember that. Every. Single. Day.

One
I am thankful for my husband. For endless reasons. But really... he gives me butterflies, makes me laugh, makes me feel SO loved and appreciated, and even cooks dinner more nights out of the week than I do. He loves my family, like really loves them.  And most importantly? He puts up with me. My bed hogging, laundry piling, reality TV watching, Candy Crushing, ways are not always a walk in the park. But he loves me a lot and I am thankful for that.

Two
I am thankful for my family. My sister doesn't know it yet, but today, her husband will be loading her onto a plane for a quick 90 minute flight to San Francisco. My mom is driving down and we are going to be able to spend a weekend together for the first time since their wedding in June. I am thankful that my parents are going to be the most loving, sweetest grandparents. That is something that I wasn't fortunate enough to get to experience, being loved and spoiled by a grandparent. {That's a story for another time...} My sister is going to be the sweetest, most loving aunt. Something else I didn't really get to experience. 

 
Three
I am thankful for my husband's family. I have talked about this a million times before, but I seriously hit the in-law jackpot. Nick's family made me their own after we had only been dating a few months. We get to spend so much time with them and I have never been made to feel like an outsider. Not once. They are so welcoming and inviting, loving, and provide so much for us. And, they are so respectful. Of our space, our lives, our plans. Nick's parents are, at times, our favorite couple to hang out with. We have so much fun with them, they like to drink {Husby got his bartending skills from his Pops}, love good food, and are always down for a good time. I got a sweet sister out of the deal too. A sister that wears the same shoe size as me {a microscopic size 5 to be exact}. She's a built in best friend, confidant, and another amazing auntie to be.

Four
I am thankful for our home. Our house is currently undergoing one hell of a transformation. This will be the 4th Christmas in our house. A house that started out as an empty shell, an ex-rental house, a bachelor pad. We had roommates living in the 3 extra bedrooms for the first few years in our house. This helped pay the bills, built our savings, and enabled us to pay off our wedding in full, only months after it was over {another blessing all on it's own.} Anyway, when we had roommates we didn't do much to the house. We kept the décor simple and didn't have any photos of us up or around really. Our house became home, but it still felt temporary. We felt like renters in the home that we owned for the first few years we lived there. For the first time in a long time, we are finally roommate free and are able to start making some real changes to the house. Adding bits of furniture, adding gallery walls with photos, painting, personalizing, making it ours. This is really just the beginning. Once the holidays are over we are going to start some real renovations and I cannot wait to fall even more in love with this home we are building.

Five
I am thankful for our friends. I have always been very particular about who I became friends with. I tend to prefer to have a small group of extremely close friends, rather than a large group of not quite as close friends. When Nick and I started dating, I'm pretty sure I made about 100 new friends. I'm seriously not exaggerating. Nick came with the biggest group of extremely close friends that you can imagine. Many {most} of them are girls. Luckily they liked me and made me their own so quickly. I had never experienced anything like it. They are the most beautiful, sweetest group of girls you can imagine. These girls have never made me feel like they are my friends because of Nick. Of course I have my own amazing girl friends who I love more than life. Each of them is so special to me for different reasons. I wouldn't be me, if it weren't for each one of them. A network of people who love and support you is probably one of the greatest blessings of all.