Jumping on the Thankful train

So Facebook is always overwhelmed with Thankful posts during the month of November. A time, when everyone takes each day of the month and thinks of something to be Thankful for. I enjoy looking at everyone's posts and truly see gratitude all over my newsfeed, which is a nice change to hateful football rivalries and political antics. I am so over that drama. I don't ever comment much on that stuff, because in my opinion, you never know who you are hurting when you speak your mind.... facebook can be a hurtful place if you are not careful. Anyways, back to being Thankful.

 I think everyone knows what an incredible year this past year has been. God has blessed Jason and I with the most incredible gift that so many other people are not fortunate to experience. I have friends that have struggled with infertility and it makes me even more appreciative that we have a healthy, beautiful little boy that God has made us responsible for. My heart aches for those less fortunate. Being a Mom has been the most rewarding, exhausting, and amazing I have ever experienced. It has NOT been all rainbows and sunshine and it is a tough job. Your marriage will be strained due to lack of sleep and the overall newness in the responsibility of "your new bundle of joy". However, God has brought Jason and I even closer through this parenthood experience. It has been a hilarious and eyeopening journey thus far, and each day is better than the last. I am thankful for the past 4 months of Blakely and the 10 months of healthy pregnancy before baby B.

photo courtesy of Sunny Jones

I am thankful for a job that allows be to see how privileged I am daily. If you don't know, I work with children in foster care. People always say, " I don't know how you do it", but I will tell you how..... I love the fact that I help children. I help families. And I like to think I make a difference. I am passionate about what I do, and having a child has made me see my job in a whole new light.  I am not going to lie, I struggled with going back to work after baby because of my line of work and the hard subjects that I face in the workplace, but almost two months later I am so thankful that I stuck it out. My job is rewarding in so many ways....... I get to work with kids, I have amazing co-workers that are more like friends and I get state vacation time ( you liked that one didn't you  :)

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I am thankful for our family. When Jason and I got married almost three years ago, I married into an incredible family. Not every bride can say the same about her in-laws, I know that for a fact! Jason and I don't differentiate in sides and see each other's siblings as our own. After all we do have a big ole' family that loves us both the same.... Ready for this?? Together, we have 9 brothers and sisters ( 12 if you count in-laws!) , 7 nieces and nephews, 8 living grandparents, 18 Aunts and Uncles, and countless cousins! We do a total of SEVEN separate Christmases during the holidays, but we wouldn't have it any other way! There is a lot of love within our family, and for that I am thankful!!

I am thankful for my friends. Goodness, what would I do without them...... I am thankful that Sunny is having Sheppard and still knows how to do funny voices, that Jamie still loves me after our college years, that Nic still laughs at my jokes, that Alicia has never changed, that I still  have a deep love for my HS friends *Em, Mel and Thurbs *, that Joy and LB teach me how to be a good Mama, that Meagan aka Bedduh encourages me to be Godly wife ( shout out to Hunter aka Percy, who takes my husband hunting, which I am also thankful for!), and finally I am thankful that Laura keeps me young and allows me to live spontaneously through her  :)  I am thankful for each and every one of you...... you are loved.

I am thankful for my church family. God has showed us love to us through First Baptist Wetumpka...Bart Teel really reached out to my husband when they started coaching baseball together. Bart is the ultimate Godly family father that I KNOW Jason looks up to.... Bart proves that you can be fun, funky and down with Jesus. That's what's up .

I am going to add to this post throughout the month..... That is all for now... I think I hear a baby crying......