In A Time of Thanksgiving...

We are headed to Florida tomorrow, so I likely won't be posting again until Monday, but I wanted to wish y'all a very wonderful Thanksgiving and may you realize and be thankful for all the blessings in your life.

I am thankful for so many things in my life. Life is not always easy, but I know it for sure could be a hell of a lot harder...I know I am blessed and I don't want to focus on the negative because there is truly so much positive that outweighs it.

{one}
Thankful for two precious little boys that remind me every day why life is worth living. They try my every last nerve, but at the same time tug every heart string. I try to live vicariously through their carefree attitudes, hopeful eyes, playful laughter and innocence. I couldn't imagine life without them...I pray I never have to.

{two}
Thankful for this miraculous baby growing inside me. I can't wait to meet this little person and I am so excited for the bountiful blessings and joy he/she will bring to our lives. If it's even half as wonderful as what the other two have brought, I'm in for something special {and I know it will be well more than half!}

{three}
Thankful for a loving, devoted husband who tells me I'm beautiful, even when I'm being "ugly". He loves me and all of my imperfections. I am grateful for our strong bond. And his looks ain't too shabby either.

{four}
Thankful for my family - Dad, Mom, Jared & Jeff. Though the miles be long in between us, the love I have for all of you never fades in the distance.

{five}
Thankful for my inherited {in-law} family...so wonderful, loving and giving. Our family wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for all of you.

{six}
Thankful for true friends, and even special acquaintances...I pray our friendships only gain strength through the years and please know that you've benefitted my life and I am so grateful.

There are of course so many more things I have to be thankful for, but I'd never be able to end this post if I tried to name them all. That's how blessed I am...I feel it's endless.

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

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Happy Thanksgiving & An Anniversary

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you...I hope you are able to be surrounded by loved ones.

I think it's important to stop and be thankful every day. It shouldn't have to wait to be said until this one day each year.

Food for thought: Try to start each day on a high note by being thankful you were given the breath to breathe another day...end it on a good note by praying to God and being thankful for the blessings you have. You may also notice you naturally become a happier person. A thankful heart is a happy heart.

This is the last post in my Thankful series...and seeing as how it is Thanksgiving and also my husband's and my 5th wedding anniversary, I am dedicating this thankful post to my loving husband.

I am thankful for Jake, the love we share, the family we've built and the life we have together. We are far from perfect; we have ups and downs, but we always make it through in the end and that is what a real marriage is all about.

It was 5 years ago, on Thanksgiving of that year, that we exchanged our vows:

We had a quaint little private ceremony at Breach Inlet on Sullivan's Island.

Six months later, we had a reception with family and friends.

Thank you, my sweet husband, for five amazing years...looking forward to many more. You are the most wonderfully perfect man for me. Happy Anniversary, I love you. ♥

I hope y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with loved ones and good food. It is just Jake, the boys and me this year, I am running the Turkey Day 5K downtown and then, since it's our 5th anniversary, we plan on making some small portions of our fave Thanksgiving foods and heading out to Breach Inlet on Sullivan's Island where we were married to have a family picnic. Hoping it goes as planned!

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Thankful Series: My Sweet Boys

For this Thankful series post, I am sharing what I am most thankful for:

I don't know if this post needs words...

Nope, just pictures I think...

I thank God every day for these beautiful boys of mine.

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Thankful Series: The First Family I Knew

Today's Thankful post is dedicated to my immediate family - my dad, mom and brothers. I am so far from all of them...and I miss them all very much every day.

I am thankful for my dad because he was always a hard worker for our family. We never went without and we were blessed with the privilege of growing up in a beautiful home; each having a room of our own. We were able to afford extracurricular activities...such as my dance classes. Dance outfits and competitions were always paid for without issue. When I was in college, there were so many times I was strapped for cash, or something big would happen, i.e. my many car break-ins and wrecks {thanks, SoCal}, and he would help me out no questions asked. I also love that I got my spitfire wit and sarcastic disposition from him {my husband is not so thankful for that}. I love you, Dad!

I am thankful for my mom because she is always there for me...I can count on getting good advice whenever I need it and she willingly lets me vent when I just need someone to listen. She also managed not to kill me during my bitchy & self-absorbed teenage years. We have become close over the last decade and I consider her a best friend. She loves her grandsons and makes the effort to visit us from all the way across the US at least once a year. I love you, Mom!

I am thankful for my older brother, Jared. We have had our share of periods of closeness and periods of distance, but no matter where we are in life, we can always come back together and find our common ground. I enjoy talking with him and just shootin' the sh&t. He has always been able to make me laugh...and even though he teased me relentlessly when we were children, he always stood up for me if anyone else tried anything. He has a good heart and he will always have a place in mine. I love you, Jared!

I am thankful for my younger brother, Jeff. He has a heart of gold. Some people might see raggedy hair and too many tattoos when they first look at him, but if they don't get to know him, they are most certainly missing out on knowing an awesome person. Jeff has a wonderfully quirky sense of humor and is very generous. Just like with Jared, I enjoy our sarcasm-filled conversations and how even though we've lived apart for years, we can always come back together and it feels like we are adolescents again. I love you, Jeff!


 Because of my wonderfully sarcastic upbringing - this e-card perfectly describes my own parenting mantra:

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Thankful Series: Bread & Butter

I am continuing on with my Thankful series for Thanksgiving today... I am so thankful my husband and I both have a jobs...and a decent-paying ones at that. With our current economic state, there are so many people out there struggling to put food on the table, pay their mortgages or are just barely getting by. Some have lost their jobs and are still looking for new ones...which are slim pickin's at the moment.

Sometimes it feels as though we'll have a couple months where we're living paycheck to paycheck, but for the most part, we have plenty...with a little leftover for non-essential items...such as home decor and my wardrobe {hubby considers non-essential, not me}. We can be ungrateful at time and complain that we don't have enough for this and that...but truly, we are in such a good position compared to many...and I like to sit back like this and actually gain real perspective on it...to realize how blessed we truly are.

My job can be a drag sometimes...and I know my husband's job requires a lot of hard labor at times...but I am so glad we have paychecks coming in on the regular. It's nice that we know where are next meal is coming from, as I know some aren't so lucky, and my heart hurts for them.

So today, I know it's Monday and you are probably sitting at your desk with a case of "the Mondays", but try to instead be grateful for having that desk. xoxo

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Thankful Series: A Place To Call Home

In spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I thought it appropriate to dedicate a the next week of blog posts to the things I am most thankful for.

Today, I am writing about my home. I am thankful, for one, that my home is in the USA. We have it so good here...and even though the economy is on it's downturn in the cycle, we are still very fortunate to have the freedoms we do and the laws that protect us in so many ways.

Now as for my real home...I am very thankful my husband and I are able to provide a {not too shabby} roof over our sons' and our heads. The decor and aesthetics are ever-changing, but we are happy to call it home.

{Forgive my pathetic garden. It needs some love and attention.}

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11 Days of Thankfulness: Day Ten

11 Days of Thankfulness: Day Ten

I am thankful for: My Beautiful Sons

Where do I begin to explain how grateful I am for the two wonderful little boys I have been blessed with? I feel like the luckiest mother - my boys are handsome, sweet, smart and so special in their own individual ways.

Tanner is my eccentric little artist and philosophical thinker. He is so imaginitive and unique in the way he thinks about the world. He is so smart. He loves to be loved and brightens up a room with his sparkly baby blues and wide-open grin. He loves to laugh, sing and play. He will never know how much he truly changed my life for the better. He is the reason I have changed and improved. I wanted to be better for him because he deserves the best. I love him so much and I make sure to tell him every day. We often butt heads because we are so much alike, but I know we'll be great friends in the future because of it. Tanner is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

Breckin is the happiest baby I have ever known. His giggle and mischievous grin just makes my heart melt. I can't help but crack up with him. His eyes are always full of wonderment when he sees something he wants or something he's never seen before. He wants to stay a baby as long as possible because he's over 15 months and won't let go to walk unassisted (I know he has the ability!) But I don't mind, because I want to cherish his last few months as a "baby". He's very much a boy - he loves to be outside and play wth anything that is or can be used as a ball. He gives hugs, kisses and sometimes little love bites (he saves those especially for me). He has been the most wonderful addition to our family.