I cant believe its already NOVEMBER!! Where has this year gone? What a YEAR, I mean seriously from start to almost finish it has been insane every step of the way. Starting the year off with a crazy pregnancy aka: bed rest, neighbors and friends serving our family in every way possible, then going through all of our struggles with Tallin: NICU-RSV-PNEUMONIA , then having Ryker start ALL DAY SCHOOL (my helper is gone), MOVING (to grandmas and then to our new house), and of course our sealing is coming up at the beginning of next month, and those are just the MAJOR events!! That doesn't include potty training, recovering from surgery, flour and cereal spills, Kaj getting settled at his new job, WATER DUMPING EVERYWHERE, and soo much more... It amazes me how much can happen in just one short year... This will be a year that I will never forget, I have had some serious struggles this year. I can remember feeling sorrow and pain to a level that I have never felt it before, I can remember feeling moments of loneliness that literally left me on my knee's pleading with my Father in Heaven, but I can honestly say my testimony has "DOUBLED" over the last year. I have a LOVE for my Savior that I don't think would have come without all of those lonely nights I spent in the NICU and PICU. I have a testimony of service, and how it can change someones life, IT DID MINE! I never would have made it through this year if I didn't have the love and support from my friends/family members/ward members/ and neighbors. They literally carried the weight of my family (with there own family weight) at times and I will never be able to thank them or repay them in a matter that would even come close to what I owe and the beauty in that is they don't expect me to. I know off of the top of my head a list of 5 people that would tell me they were grateful for the opportunity to serve, because that's just who they are! They are amazing inside and out and I know that it would mean more to them for me to "pay it forward" then it would for me to try and monetarily pay them back.
So all of this got me to thinking I should participate in this "grateful game" as I like to call it, that everyone has been playing. It's where you list 1 thing you are grateful for everyday in the month of November. I have a lot of friends that are doing this and I thought it would be fun to write my thoughts on here so that I can go back and share them with the family at a later time:) I am going to write down what I am grateful for everyday and then update my blog every week with my list:)
Day #1- I am grateful for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for its teachings.
Day #2- I am grateful for a wonderful Husband, who puts up with my bad cooking and zumba addiction.
Day #3- I am grateful for chocolate
Day #4- I am grateful for the best helper in all the world Ryker. He always does everything I ask him to do no matter how big or small. I can always count on him to play with the kids whenever I need a break. He is the best big brother anyone could ask for.
Day #5- I am grateful for my super Strong 3 yr old, Bri Bri. He is definitely in his terrible 3's but he still loves to snuggle with me and I love having that time with him.
Day #6- I am grateful for my little Dugi boy. He is such a sweet little spirit, he loves babies and WATER, and he is INTO everything.
Day #7- I am grateful for my Kyn Kyn girl!! She is my only girl what can I say:) She is soo much different than the boys, she is quiet and sweet. She smiles all the time and loves to give hugs. She likes to play by herself (the boys are WAY TO ROUGH for her) and she is super sensitive, which I am totally not used to:) And I don't know what I would do without her..
Day #8- I am grateful for my little miracle baby!! TUI*** He is the light of our home right now. He has grown SOO MUCH over the last couple months, you would never know he was a 3lb NICU baby just a couple of months ago. He loves to hear his name and he laughs every time you say it without fail. He is awesome with a schedule, he eats and sleeps exactly when I want him to during the day and that is SOO HELPFUL!! He doesn't love to cuddle as much as he used to but if I'm lucky he will let me rock him to sleep and enjoy those precious moments more than anything.
Day #9- I am grateful for Roman noodles and cheese sandwich dinners.
Day #10- I am grateful for the men and women that serve our country.
Day #11- I am grateful for Sunday FAMILY dinners !
Day #12- I am grateful for Wednesday nights and our new favorite show Duck Dynesty!! Never laughed soo hard in my life..
Day #13- I am grateful for the amazing examples I have had in my life.. my parents, my bishop growing up (Bishop Hargrave) touched my life more than he will ever know, my young women leaders, my last bishop who did everything he could to help us get our papers in to be sealed, my WONDERFUL visiting teachers ( Sis Jones, Sis Martinez: she is soo much more than a visiting teacher to our family & Sis Jensen), and AMAZING relief society presidents CHERYL SMITH!! They have influenced me and changed my life for the better!!
Day #14- I am grateful for TIME OUT FOR WOMEN! I am still on a spiritual high from this years event and I cant WAIT to get the DVD!!
When Dad heard about the game he wanted to play too, so here is Dad's list that I copied and pasted from the email he sent me:)
I am grateful for several things…
1. That my cell phone has a flashlight! Tripping at 3 am for baby feedings is horrible!
2. That my daughter smiles every time she sees me!
3. That my father taught me the value of hard work…
4. That I am employed and can provide for the family
5. That I have a family
6. For sidewalks! Serious, cause in the mission you walk in muddy streets!
7. That my office changed the dress code to shorts and flip-flops! I tripled my wardrobe!
8. For Rockstar energy drinks! Cuz seriously… after 11 pm, 3 am, and 6 am wake up calls/feedings… enuf said!
9. That I live so close to my in-laws… they truthfully help with so much!
10. For being “large in stature”. Honestly couldn’t have moved without it!
11. For the gym! I need the out and glad I am addicted! It’s like my heaven… away from home, and church!
12. For my loving wife, who urged me to think about this… its making me understand all my lifelong blessings.
13. For scars. They all have a meaning and remind me of lessons of life… but wow they hurt at the time!
14. For the gospel, to give direction, focus and direction in my life.
I seriously love this MAN!!
I am going to have Ryker and Briyler list something that they are grateful for every week, (start off small, right:)
Ryker is grateful for: Snow boots, we had a huge storm last night/today so that's a good thing to be thankful for.
Briyler is grateful for: Hot dogs, yep that's it.
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