Today I am thankful for..... Family

I am so fortunate to have all my family so close. JJ gets to grow up knowing his grandparents and his uncles and aunts and cousins. We get to have lots of family gatherings throughout the year. (It is also great for babysitting and Grandma Daycare!) My family and I are pretty close, and it is great to see that Gary's family is just about the same. Whether it's Gary's family or my brother's fantastic new wife, I feel like I lucked out in the in-law department. Just this year (a month apart) I got two new sisters-in-law and I love them both.

So whether I'm with my little family of four (including Dakota of course!), the Webers (born or married into), Craigs (born or married into) or any combo of the bunch, I know I am surrounded by love.

Today I am Thankful for... My Husband

I have the greatest husband. Sure, he makes me mad sometimes, like when he doesn't put the dishes in the dishwasher or just leaves stuff lying around. But those are little nothings.

When we first met, I was done with the random dating and was ready for a long-term relationship. He was done putting in the effort of a long relationship only to have it go nowhere and was just looking to hang out. The problem was, neither of us told each other our plans and for that I am thankful. It was the best result from a lack of communication ever! :0)

He loves me and our son and never takes us for granted. He is smarter than he gives himself credit for and he is extremely handy around the house. He is my biggest supporter no matter what I want to do. Marrying him was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I have a lifetime with him ahead to be thankful for.

Today I am Thankful for.... My Son

This is an easy one!! I am so beyond thankful my little JJ! (The pictures below speak for themselves!) He has been the biggest blessing I could have ever imagined. I didn't even know it was possible to love someone so much and to experience the unadulterated, unconditional love of a child is just overwhelming in the best way possible. He is so smart and funny and so sweet and is growing up so fast. He has the entire world and all its possibilities in front of him. He can do anything he wants and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for him!

Today I am Thankful for....My Job

When I was in college, I worked for a coffeehouse for 4 years (three years at It's A Grind, one at Starbucks). By the time I graduated I was done slinging lattes and making coffee. I met some pretty great people and I met some pretty terrible people and it was all a great experience, but I was ready to move on and get a grown up job. After graduation, I started sending out resumes. A lot of resumes. I went on a few interviews that lead to nothing. It seems silly now, but I was worried I wouldn't get a job at all! It was only two months that I was searching, so I was definitely being over dramatic. In July I got called in to an interview with Business Wire. Then I got called into a second interview. Then I got the job. I was so excited. I didn't really have a full grasp on what the company did, but I was happy anyway.

That was almost five and half years ago and I've never looked back. I'm now a Senior Editor for the Global leader in the industry. I work for a company that is owned by the man himself, the Oracle of Omaha, Mr. Warren Buffett.

I am thankful for the flexiblity of my job. My bosses are great and understanding and are willing to work with you to figure out the unexpected or arrange time off when needed. In 2007 I broke my foot and I couldn't drive. My husband (boyfriend at the time) had to drive me to work on his schedule, which was not even close to mine. It was no problem for me to work a different shift.

As a working mom, I am also extremely grateful for the hours I work. We are a 24-hour office, so there is always someone here. I work from 5am to 1:30 pm. The early hours sometimes suck when I want to sleep more, but it is always worth it to get home early enough to spend most of the day with my son. It'll be even better when he is in school because my husband can get him off to school in the morning and I'll be home when he gets out.

I have a job I enjoy, co-workers who are fantastic, and benefits that are hard to beat. We saw the recession in 2008 and we pushed on through. Sometimes the customer service aspect of the job is tough. People can be mean and rude and just angry for no reason at all. This job has definitely made me jaded in respect to how I view other people, but for every cringe-worthy client, there are a handful of great ones and that balances out nicely.

In this unsure time in the financial and job markets, I'm so thankful for my job and my husband's job and that we've never really had to worry about security. And we are doing what we enjoy, which is all the better.

Today I am Thankful for... Health

Today I woke up with a sore throat and a little bit of congestion in my sinuses. I felt pretty yucky most of the day, but that got me thinking. Overall, I have been very lucky when it comes to my health.

I had a pretty severe case of the chicken pox when I was a child (back before there was a vaccine); a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst remnant removed when I was 5; I had shingles and pneumonia when I was 11; I was diagnosed with G.E.R.D. when I was in college. None of that was great, in fact it was pretty awful (not that I remember having Chicken Pox). But when all is said and done, those health issues aren't really issues at all.

My husband is healthy, my son is healthy (I think he's been sick twice since he was born!), and I'm healthy. We have a history of hypo- and hyper-thyroidism, heart disease and cancer on both sides of our family, but it seems like everyone these days has a history of that or something so much worse.

There's the old cliche "At least you have your health." Well, to me, that's a lot. We wake up every morning, breathe easy and live our full and happy days. And I'm thankful for that.

Today I'm Thankful for.... Dirty Dishes

Dirty Dishes? What the...?? :0) I found this sign on Pinterest and I'm going to let it do the talking...

Today I am Thankful... to live in America

On this day, The Marine Corps' birthday, I think it is appropriate to say how much I am thankful that I live in this country. We experience great freedoms that we take for granted everyday. The fact that people can protest the very thing that allows them to protest is a testament to that. We have the freedom to live how we want, believe in what we want, say what we want. As F.D.R. once said, the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear.

Not everyone in the world can say that:

- 79 per cent of the indigenous people in Peru are poor, and more than half live in extreme poverty.
- Some 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are currently working, according to the International Labour Office (ILO). Of this total, some 120 million children are working full-time. Some 61% of child workers (153 million) are found in Asia; 32% in Africa and 7% in Latin America.
- 2 million girls each year are at risk of genital mutilation - approximately 6,000 per day.
- Many people in many countries live under the extreme control of their government. The government controls everything from the news they hear to the shows they watch on television.
- Dirty water kills 5000 children a day in sub-Saharan Africa. According to The Guardian, "Many sub-Saharan Africans get less than 20 litres of water a day and two-thirds have no proper toilets. By contrast, the average Briton uses 150 litres a day while Americans are the world's most profligate, using 600 litres a day. Phoenix, Arizona, uses 1,000 litres per person on average - 100 times as much as Mozambique."

We have it more than great here in the good Ol' USA and I hope that, no matter how much that is taken for granted, it is something that is never forgotten.