Thanksgiving thankfulness

I am thankful for SO many things. When it gets to this time of year -- when everyone is posting about gratefulness -- I find that I can't actually list them all.

I mean, there's my relationship with God (ever-evolving), my seriously amazing husband and friend, my beautiful boys, my sweet daughter, my supportive and loving parents, my wonderful family, my devoted friends, my awesome babysitter, financial stability, good health, a safe and happy home, a job I enjoy, etc. etc. etc. And those are just the big things. I could go on and on and on and on about the small things (heated seats, helllllooooo!) 

So I usually don't participate in the gratefulness postings. It sounds silly, but I just get overwhelmed by being grateful.

But after spending three days at my Mom and Dad's house this Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to post about three things for which I am grateful (Mom's sweet potato pie is always on the list, so just imagine that item as 1 a, b and c.)

1. I am grateful that my boys so LOVE being at their "Nana's house." All of my sisters' kids have lived with my parents for some period of time. So I always worried that our every-so-often visits to Mom and Dad's would never compare to actually living there, and that my kids would not be as comfortable running around their house as their cousins. Suffice it to say, I was so wrong. These boys think Nana's house is like Christmas, Halloween and birthday parties all rolled up in one. They have so much fun. And my Mom always finds ways to up the ante each visit. This weekend, she pulled out old costumes she had lying around and put them on Cary and Dean. The little dragon and the little doggie were the happiest two critters around! This makes my heart so glad! Just because we're the only ones who live more than 20 minutes away from my parents doesn't mean we miss out on all the fun. Hooray!

Having a very important discussion, clearly.

2. I am grateful that my sister Tahira enjoys doing little girls' hair (because I am still so bad at it). And that Clair sits still for the hair-and-beauty session. I am grateful that my sister, who is one of my best friends, loves my children so much. I am getting teary just thinking about it. (See? Getting overwhelmed!!! Ugh!)

Clair is going to have such a special relationship with her Auntie. It reminds me already of my relationship with my Aunt Fern, who I used to stare at, when I was a little girl, thinking, "She is the most beautiful, most stylish, most fun, most wonderful Auntie ever!"

 3. And I am grateful for my nieces and nephews, who are a loud and wild bunch, with attitudes and sassy personalities and who never, ever, ever sit still. But that's not why I'm grateful for them. I am grateful for them because -- despite having challenging lives and growing up way too fast -- they are still so super sweet. They love C, D and C to pieces. They give us all hugs and kisses and ask a zillion questions and are always so, so glad to see us. And this weekend, when the Davises put all our kids down for a nap (and decided to steal a few winks with them), 6-year-old Alahna put this note on our bedroom door.

Isn't that the sweetest? Good grief, those kids are sweet. (Getting overwhelmed again. Oy!)

We "lov" you, too Alahna. And all the rest of you crazy kids, too. And the whole darn family of crazies. And we're so, so grateful that you're in our lives.

Happy post-Thanksgiving all!