Full House, Full Belly, Full Heart

No surprise here, but I can't believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone.

The last week was spent with the people I love the most, doing some of the things I love the most.

A perfect combination.

As I was browsing the pictures I managed to take I once again realized how much I have to be thankful for.

So many of the people, places, and things that I am so blessed to have in my life were right there for me to see, captured in the few photos I remembered to take over the course of seven or eight days.

Imagine how many things that I forget to be thankful for that are right before my very eyes each and every day.

I am so grateful for Ohio.

For the fun memories we have made at chilly fall football games and nights spent looking at Christmas lights at the zoo.

For our friends who are actually family.

For the opportunity Ryan has had to gain an education and move ever closer to a great job that will provide for our family for years to come (yay for passing boards!).

I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for those courageous, faithful Saints who sacrificed so very much to move the Church forward.

We spent a day in Kirtland where we were reminded of these great people and the sacred things which came to pass because of them.  I am not sure I could ever do the things they did.

I took approximately two pictures since church tours with a two year old and nursing baby aren't exactly the same as when you go childless, but we felt the spirit and enjoyed ourselves none the less.

 I am so, so grateful that I have zero worry about the basic needs of life.

I know where my next meal will come from, but more importantly that my children will not go hungry.

We have a roof over our heads that allows us to sleep warmly at night and have fun sleepovers with Nanas and aunts and uncles.

I might daydream about having a half bath on our main floor or feel apologetic for making our guests sleep in our dungeon of a basement, but really, how blessed are we?
We have so much more then we could ever need.

I am grateful for technology and the ways in which it makes being a parent easier.

Okay, I am sort of kidding about that, but I am grateful for technology and the ways in which it enhances relationships that span the country and allow me to document the simple moments of my life.

And of course, I am so very grateful for my family, most especially the fact that we are eternal.

I am thankful for healthy, beautiful children who bring me more joy then I ever thought possible, and for a loving husband who makes me want to be a better person because of his example.

I am learning to be thankful for the ways in which a family changes and evolves.
I am grateful that my mom is happy and for the people in her life who help her to be just that; and that while she may be moving forward she is not moving on.
I am grateful for the perspective and Spirit that are helping make this transition to a life we never expected at least a little bit easier.

I'm grateful for siblings and mothers and fathers who love our children like they were their own and do everything they can to make them happy.
Who so willingly give up time and spend money to fly across the country to sleep in our basement, stay up with our kids, and spoil us with yummy dinners and fun.

We have so very much to be thankful for in our lives.
Life is good, God is great.