Happy Thanksgiving! 11/24/11

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His court with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

-Psalm 100:4-5

Last year, I wrote a long post (linked here) about all of the things that I give thanks for in my daily life. My list this year remains mostly the same; however, I am able to be more specific about number 10 this year :) 

For the sake of time (having two under two doesn't lend itself to much free time!), I will copy and past most of my post from last year...so don't judge me for being somewhat unoriginal this year!

I am thankful for: 

1. A wonderful, supportive, loving husband who is such an amazing father and role model for our precious daughters.  I love it that we always have so much fun together no matter where we are or what we are doing!

2. Our beautiful baby girls: Lila Elizabeth (21 months) and Allison Neal (4 months).  They bring so much joy into our lives, and we have such a great time watching them grow and learn the world around them. Lila keeps us laughing  and on our toes quite often throughout the day, and Alli is blossoming into her own sweet personality and smiles all the time. God has blessed us with two great ones!!

3. Our families. Josh and I are blessed with amazing parents and siblings, who would give anything for us to move back home! (my mom has been trying to strike a deal with the Coast Guard to put a station on Lake Lanier for almost 4 years now) :)

4. Grandparents! We are so thankful to have 5 living grandparents between Josh and I that are healthy, happy, and able to play with our crazy Lila boo as well as hold and rock our sweet Alli. 

5. The Coast Guard. Even though they frustrate the heck out of me sometimes, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be able to have lived in two great places (Destin and Houston) so far and have met so many new friends in these places.   I also appreciate that they have given Josh a great, stable job that provides us with awesome benefits and incredible insurance. 

6. Our Home (...well technically, two homes). In the midst of the recession and the housing market failure, I'm so thankful to have a roof over our heads, and not just any old roof.  We are so blessed to have a beautiful house that is a home!  There is so much love between these walls, and I just love the busy-ness of the day-to-day here with a crazy toddler, 4-month old baby, and a golden retriever that is three years old, but still acts like a new puppy. I am also thankful that even though our house in Florida hasn't sold yet, that we are able to afford to keep it on the market and are not in danger of foreclosure. 

 Texas home

Florida home

7. Our dog, Chevy! Sometimes I'm not so thankful for him when he scratches off the drywall, drags in clumps of mud right after the floors have been clean, or sheds his clumpy, yellow fur EVERYWHERE...but, we don't know what we'd do without him! He's such a sweet dog and puts up with all sorts of abuse that Lila gives him. He really loves these girls so much, and is the perfect family dog!

8. Our friends that are like family here in Texas. Between our old small group, the Jr League, playgroups, MOMs Club, MOPS, and my women's Bible study, we have met some pretty amazing people that are more like family to us here.  I have met some of the best friends, and it has been so much fun to watch our babies grow up together. They were also so supportive when Alli was first born, bringing us meals and gifts galore! Alli was born on July 13, and we had meals delivered twice a week until September 15th! These friends have been such a blessing to me since our family is so far away!

9. Lila's school: St. Christopher's Mother's Day Out. Without this school two days a week, I don't know how I would have ever gotten anywhere on my schoolwork for my master's degree. Now that I have Alli, it allows me to get more done in four hours than I ever thought possible! Running errands with only one baby (one that stays in her carseat no less) is MUCH easier than trying to get anything accomplished with a baby and a wild toddler! Besides selfish reasons :) , I know that Lila loves her teachers and her friends there and takes off running for her classroom the second we walk in the building. She is learning so much and building her creativity, as well, through the many art projects that she completes during each week. 

10. Our church and our faith. I'm so thankful for our Lord and Savior who gave His life so  that we can live forever in Him!! It is so amazing that he loves each of us so much that he was willing to die for us! I am also thankful that we have a place to worship Him and that we are free to do so in our country!