the last thankful thursday of 2010

Jamie gives a hug to her newest cousin... my daughter in law, Marquee...

It's hard to believe that another year has flown by... it may sound cliche to say that... but it's true... and what. a. year. it's BEEN!

I'm going to try to get in the waaaay back machine and put together a Thankful Thursday post that includes the whole year but I have a feeling I'll have to keep coming back and adding things...

I'm thankful for adding to our family this year. I worried about Cody and Marquee getting married so young but they are so perfect for each other and so good to each other. I'm proud to have her in our lives and thankful for how wonderful her family has been to Cody. It's a blessing to see your children so happy.

I'm thankful for Ryan's sweetheart... Sara (with no H)... she's a beautiful girl and she brings him a lot of happiness. She makes Pennsylvania more like home for him.

I'm thankful for our Joshy and Megan... they've been loyal friends to my boys... they've been family for me... I'm proud of how hard they work and thankful for the influence they have on my boys.

I'm thankful that Austin is at home here in Cleveland. He had to move around a lot there for a few years and I'm so glad I've been able to give him a hometown here... he's got a lot of good friends... he can ride his bike up to the town square and knows the local business owners. When we stopped by the bakery to pick up a treat for Christmas Eve brunch, the lady who owns the bakery said, "Austin, I can't believe how much you've grown since you first came here"... to live in a town where people remember your kids like that... and for him, to live in a town where people watch out for him so he knows he can't get away with nonsense... it's awesome.

I'm thankful for Loganberry Heritage Farm... for the hard work of Organic Rose and her helpers... that's my "country home"... and I look forward to going there to share hugs, pick up tips for cooking and the use of herbs... and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to purchase food that I can trust. It has truly changed my life by changing my diet.

Living in a small town has such great benefits. My co-worker's daughter works at a local gift shop... they had these gorgeous scarves on sale... I didn't have time to go by the shop yesterday so when she closed up the shop she DELIVERED the scarf to my office. That don't happen in the city, folks!

I'm thankful for my church. I'm not much of a Sunday morning attendee... I want to change that and I'm trying to get myself motivated on Sunday mornings... but my Wednesday night ladies are my family... there are three ladies who are my sisters... who I know always have my back and love me just as I am. They demonstrate Christ's love to me each and every week and I'm so grateful to God for them.

I'm thankful for the improvements I've been able to make in my health over the past year. I got off a lot of meds... I improved my diet... I stayed much healthier than I had been in years past. I got off of anti-depressants, I didn't need anything to help me sleep at night, I got off high blood pressure meds, I was able to avoid respiratory illness MOST of the year, although doctors had told me that it was UNavoidable unless I stayed on steriods and antibiotics and other preventative meds. I showed them! And I'm thankful for the upcoming improvements over the next year.

I'm thankful that mercies are new every morning... and that we get do overs and do over overs and chances every single day to improve and correct things that aren't right in our lives.

I'm thankful for my fur babies... they bring me a lot of aggravation but they also bring me a lot of companionship. I'd be lost without them... if they weren't here... I'd just be talking to myself.

I'm thankful for a car that runs... that is ALMOST paid for...

I'm thankful for my job and for the co-workers that make those 9 hours a day funny and fun and anything but dull.

I'm thankful for a nice, warm, cozy nest... especially with the addition of the electric blanket.

I'm thankful that Christmas is over and thankful, so thankful that it was the best Christmas I've had since the beginning of the Darby era. It was a great time for me and I'm not just grateful, I'm relieved. It feels like the evil spell he cast has been broken and that happiness has truly returned to my life.

I'm sure there's more... lots more... for me to be thankful for...and I'll come back and add to this...

Thank you for sharing my life... I pray that you find reasons to be thankful... not just on Thursdays but on every single day. Be humbly grateful, not grumbly hateful.

love and hugs!