Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Month of Thanks.

This year has for sure been one of the hardest, but it has also been jam packed with blessings.

First, my husband. When we were engaged and first married I remember blogging about how much I loved him and being married. I still feel that way. I feel like I hit the jackpot with such an amazing husband. I thought it was impossible, but I love him even more than the day we got married.
In my opinion, being married is more difficult than being single. It takes more patience, compromise, and more effort. However, the blessings outweigh the difficulties tenfold. Clint is the patient, loving, understanding kind of person I hoped I would be lucky enough to marry. He is a fantastic father and an even better husband. He totally loves me. He stuck by me when I pretty much went insane after Ainsley was born and through my nightmare of a pregnancy. He takes such good care of me. He has wiped away more tears than I care to admit. I love that boy more than life itself and I can't believe how lucky I am to be married to him. We are each other's greatest support. 

You know what's coming next. Ainsley. I fall more and more in love with her every day. She has me wrapped around her chubby little finger. 
This perfect little girl has taught me so much. She lights up my life with so much joy. She made me a mother, and for that I will always be grateful to her. I feel like all my words are falling flat. I can't articulate how blessed I feel to be Clint's wife and Ainsley's mother. There are no words.

Third, the gospel of Jesus Christ. My faith has carried me through the difficult times this year. Knowing that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me and loves me has lifted me. I'm grateful to know my purpose. I'm grateful to be sealed to my family forever. I'm grateful to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the peace and assurance the gospel brings in my life. 
(to learn more about my incredible religion, visit mormon.org.)

I'm grateful for my health. My body and I haven't been on such good terms since it decided to turn into a pile of squish since lil A was born, but I'm grateful for what a miracle my body performed to bring a new life into the world. I'm grateful for a body that allows me to live my life and do what I need to do. What a miracle these human body things are.

I'm so grateful my brother is alive and kickin. 
The threeish months he was on life support were some of the most heartwrenching months of my life. And to have a newborn on top of that and all my family a state away? It was a nightmare. But I'm grateful for the miracle of life and my brother's fighting spirit. The journey to recovery isn't over yet, but I can't believe how blessed we are to have come this far. He really is such a great brother. 

I'm grateful for Clint's job. My eyes fill with tears every time I talk about it. Before, we didn't know where our next meal was coming from or how we were going to pay the rent. We still don't really have a surplus, but we have what we need and that is an amazing blessing. Plus, Clint loves his job. He comes home almost every day and excitedly tells me what he worked on that day. I'm also grateful it brought about the move to California. It has been hard to leave everything I knew in Arizona, but it has been such a blessing. I've grown a lot and the fresh start was good for me. Plus, it's gorgeous here. 

I know that I have a million more blessings and I know they're all from the hands of a loving God. I have so much to be grateful for. My heart is full of thanks. 

And for good measure, another photo of my beautiful babe.
Life doesn't get much better, friends!

2 comments:

Brooke said...

Okay that first picture of you is beyond stunning. Motherhood looks amazing on you! And Ainsley is just to die for cute. Thank you for sharing this list... it's so good to read this kind of stuff, especially this time of year :)

katilda said...

I love this. And it validates my own hope that random small income will find its way to me right when I think I'm going to run out of money. Because this is the story of the last 5 months of my life. Isn't it great that it brought us both to NorCal??