Week 4: January 22 to 28

Week 4:

I am finding it harder and harder to think of what I want to write next - I am too grateful and too blessed so it is hard to choose. However, today's absolutely was from my day lighting up because of this. I am thankful for the ability to be an aunt. I mean, who else can play hide and seek through Facetime or sing ABC's over the phone. Cutter, my sister's son, is 2 years old. I have been blessed to see him at least between 3-4 times each year since he has been born. This past summer, I got to take off work just to spend the day with him! Tonight, when chatting with my sister on the phone that Cutter was holding, we sang the ABC's. Then I was told I could go to Granny's house to play with him. He wanted to call his Dad and the next thing I hear "Bye Bye Morgan" and a discussion between him and my sister of who could call him. Cutter kept saying he would call. Anyways, this little one LIGHTS up my day and life. Taryn's stories of life with him keep me laughing and you can't help but smile or give him a huge hug every time you see him! I am so grateful to be able to be an aunt and getting to see him grow despite being far away. 

  

L to R: First time I met him, Mountains in October 2012, mimicking me at Thanksgiving 2012. 

Week 3: January 15 to 21

I am grateful for my sister. She is such a support to me.  Even when we shared a bed as little kids, I could always count on her so I could stick my cold little feet on her to warm up! Granted I usually got hit for that until dad yelled "girls." Days I need to vent or cry, my sister is there. When i want to celebrate, she cheers along with me as if something good happened to her too. We have had ups and downs growing up but my sister is truly one of my best friends. Her beautiful son just makes me smile!  She is an awesome person & she just got awarded teacher of the year for her school and county! See, stinking awesome! She is a sounding board when I meed advice and is an awesome one to have on my side if I am mad! She always offers to help tell them off and back me up! We are both in the process if buying a house and it is neat to go through it together, sharing excitement and frustrations.  She is the best sister I can have and I am grateful for her! 

 

Week 2: January 8-January 14

I know I am a date late posting this, but it has been written and thought about countless times! 

January 8-January 14: I am thankful for my parents & their selfless ways. Especially this weekend, they have just been on my mind. My parents are the greatest example I could ever ask for - of a marriage, of parents, of people striving to find their place, of strength, and of wisdom. In my job where I am facing struggling parents and parents who have given up, I just see my parents shine through and I think "I am blessed." Back to their selfless ways - this weekend, Tim's car just died. We ran around, made phone calls, and were trying to figure out how to get to work when we are about 70 miles away from each other during the day. After looking into rental cars, I get a phone call. My Dad called me and said "Mom and I can make it work, borrow our car." Thankfully we turned out to only need it Monday, but they were willing to make arrangements for the whole week, despite the fact they both were working. It saved us significant time, stress, and money. That is only one example. Later in the year I will probably go into specifics with my parents individually - but this week, it is for the fact that they are selfless. They always seek to help others despite whatever is going on in their lives. They serve and expect nothing in return. My parents are my greatest role models and I am truly blessed.

The year of gratitude.

Everyone starts the New Years with resolutions. Most of which fail because they are designed to get to a goal and then be done. However, I have a challenge for myself this year. I loved reading everyone's November Thankfulness entries on Facebook  I have decided to combine that with something I tell client's day in and day out. There have been studies that show thinking and keeping a gratitude journal can boost your mood, imagine that! No surprise there - we are called to be thankful!

This year, I am going to keep a weekly gratitude journal. One thing a week that I am thankful for, grateful for, or love. So to start my new years off: 

January 1-7th: I am so thankful for my husband. He works incredibly hard and is so mindfully focused on making the best and wisest decisions for us. He pulls 13 hour days at work so that he can continue to further his career - not for him, or for power, but for our family. He spends countless hours researching and looking into decisions for our future and making sure I understand all the business stuff I like to ignore. Some may call me spoiled, but he loves cooking and unless he is working a lot, he is usually cooking for me! :)  He spends incredible amounts of time listening to me and making sure that I am happy, that I have someone to talk to, and that I can decompress from my challenging job. He spends time with my family and encourages me to do the things I love in life. The past seven years we have been together have made me realize how lucky I am. I am so thankful and grateful, every day, for my husband and my best friend, and am so looking forward to the future with him...

Change.

"The only constant in life is change."

I will be the first to say, I am terrified of change. I  don't know why, but my whole life I have hated it. When I went through the most recent changes (I'm talking within an hour of hearing them), I was approached for a group I needed to lead. They asked me to lead it on the topic of "Walking the Middle Path."  The quote above is the focus of that topic. Funny huh? 

Later that night, what quote did I happen to find?
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. - Andre Gide 

Here is to hoping that all these changes that don't seem to be moving on are what my sister called "happy changes." 

I am horrible at posting. Life has been super busy, crazy, daunting, and exciting. 

So what's happened since March? To not be SO boring....

Story summed up:

A - Anniversary for four years! 

B - Brothers came to visit

C- Cancer and Chemotherapy

D - Decisions to be making! 

E - Energy of my nephew!

F - Friendships that are lasting. 

G - Grace felt abundantly, God's surrounding arms

H - Healthy living 

I - Investing in the future

J - Jokes all around 

K - Kindness of church members. 

L - Love all around

M - Moments with mom

N - NYC!! 

O - Opportunities to use talents

P - Peace in God's security 

Q - Quiet moments

R - Rambunctious clients

S - Showers for dear friends 

T - Taryn coming to visit! 

U - Unconditional support and love 

V - Visits to Papa and the Mountains. 

W - Weight lost! 

X - Xrays

Y - Yucky

Z - Lost sleep (get it no ZZZs)

Stages...

Everyone says life is in stages. I guess right now, I'm in the "everyone and their sister/daughter/friend is having a baby" stage. I just counted out of curiosity. Off the top of my head 9 good friends/family and 7 other friends are currently pregnant/have infants. That's 16 in one full year September to September, that I know of! Good grief. 

I also am apparently winning the bet for two categories at work. One = The next one to get pregnant & Two = the next one to leave. I don't want to win the first category. Granted, three of my co-workers are getting married this year, so maybe one of them will.

Other stages, Tim and I are finally in the "wrapping up/seeing the end of the tunnel" stage for our licensing. I'm looking to Sept/December area. He's halfway done tests & on to a year experience. Finally, I will be ready to be out of this stage! It's draining! Anyways, if you wonder why (the two of you who read this) I have not written in forever...it's because there is a lot to do and little time. Plus, I'm having trouble concentrating & am really just too tired to write much! That's it for now. Maybe another post in 3 months!