Things to be Thankful for...

Has it really been two weeks? Sheesh...where does the time go? Well, Thanksgiving was a week ago, and I have been meaning to write this post for about a week and a half now, so here it goes... finally! :) It seems like this has been my life, as of late, always a day late and a dollar short. In reality, I have so so so much to be Thankful for! The week before Thanksgiving, I was thinking about all that I have to be Thankful for, and for some reason, I think because I was in just a funk, it was really hard to for me to actually think of anything. Like I had the basics: a good husband, a great son, our home, faith, knowledge of the Plan of Salvation... you know, the regulars. But for some reason, I just wasn't feeling the emotion of it, it was just yeah....what's the big deal about these things. It was kind of hard for me to really FEEL Thankful for what I have been given. (note: I am 7 1/2 months pregnant, and my emotions are all over the place, that probably had something to do with it)

Anyway...where was I going with this? OH yeah--I have been SO blessed! Since Thanksgiving I have had some great experiences with family and friends that have really touched my (hard) heart and have let me actually FEEL those feelings of gratitude that usually come so naturally, especially at this time of year. I have so much to be grateful for and I'm embarrassed to say that I had absolutely no good reason at all NOT to feel grateful. (I have a feeling that I will be the only one to understand this.) :) Anyway, all is well! I have so much to be Thankful for, and I love this time of year to truly turn my heart to those things that are most important in my life. I'm grateful for a family who loves me and knows when I need a break. I'm grateful for a hard working husband who would do anything for our family and who loves me, because that in and of itself is not an easy task. I'm grateful that he takes care of me and makes me feel beautiful and loved. I'm grateful for friends who know the real me and still like me, even though they know how forgetful and anti-social I am sometimes. I'm grateful that this little hobby of mine, photography, has really taken off. It has been so much more rewarding than I had ever imagined. And I'm grateful that people actually like my photos and want me to take their pictures! :) I'm grateful for a 3 year old little boy who is so smart and funny and loving. He has put up with me over these past few months and still tells me he loves me and snuggles with me whenever I need it. And of course, I am especially grateful for my knowledge that no matter how bad of a mother or wife or sister or daughter I am sometimes, I always have a second chance to better myself. I'm grateful that I know that I can repent of my sins and my shortcomings and try and be better. And I'm grateful for my Savior who made that all possible!
Well... on to the most important part of Thanksgiving: the food! :) Our Thanksgiving this year, was actually very low key. Just Ben, Tucker, my dad and I. But it was perfect! I actually woke up on Thankgiving morning to a big delicious breakfast and my whole family (well, everyone who lives in Spokane) here in our living room. I must have missed the memo that we were doing a Thanksgiving day breakfast. Luckily Ben was on top of it and made us all delicious grits and bacon and eggs. After that Ben and Tucker went to the park to play some football, just the two of them. :) Ben missed out on a Turkey Bowl this year, so he had to make up for it somehow. :) That afternoon we went up to my dad's house for dinner and it was delicious. I was thinking that there would be WAY too much food. Anyone who knows my dad knows that he loves to cook and entertain, and I didn't even think he knew how to cook for anything less than 40 people. But shockingly he didn't go overboard, and everything was perfectly delicious! :) And that was that. It was so great having Ben home for the long weekend. We got a lot of little projects done around our house, watched a lot of football and just hung out.
And since I like to read blog posts that have pictures, here are some photos to tide you over.
Ben and Tucker playing on Thanksgiving day...

Proof that projects were done. :) One of them was putting new molding in our bedroom. I think it looks great and I think Ben did a fabulous job! :)

And here's me at 28 weeks:

The only other thing we did this week was celebrate Tuckers 3rd birthday, but there will be more pictures-with it's very own blog post- to come on that one! Believe you me, it will be a post! :)