Day 12

I am so thankful for my mom and dad. I have great parents who have done so much for me through the years. I know not a lot of people are fortunate to have two parents who love them but I do. I am so grateful that my parents marriage has made it 38 years and counting. It seems like such a simple thing but if you don't have to go through it then you don't realize what a wonderful thing this is. With Matt only getting his other two children a handful of times throughout the year I know how hard it is for both him and his kids. I'm so grateful that I never had to go through that. With the amazing example my parents provided I know that Matt and I will have a lasting marriage and that our children will be blessed with both of their parents in their home. My parents also provided not only the basic needs but they were able to give us more then that with the vacations and extras we had. I know how hard they worked and I appreciate all the sacrifices they made for me.

Day 11

I am so thankful for my education. I had the opportunity to not only finish a high school degree but to be able to go to college and graduate with a degree there. I really believe that knowledge is such an important thing in life and without it we can't make the world a better place. I love that Matt is also working on finishing up his bachelor's degree and hope that since we place such importance on bettering yourself that our kids will see our examples and choose to take this route themselves.

Day 10

I am so thankful for the house we live in. When we first moved here we were living in a trailer and although it's not something you think would be fun it really wasn't that bad. However it did get cramped towards the end and with us having Chloe we needed more space. We were so blessed to have found this great little home. It's 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom and it's perfect for us right now. We live right down the street from a park with a splash pad in it and it's right next to the library so it makes it very convenient. I guess the only bad thing was because we have this nice big yard that's fenced in Matt decided that was the perfect place to keep a dog which was not my ideal but I must admit Chloe loves her dog.

Day 9

I am so thankful for friends. I have tons of great friends both here and in Utah. When we moved Matt was leaving for Afghanistan and so having some friends here was really important to me. I will say I have found some of the sweetest friends around. I love that Matt and I also have the "couple friends" it's great to be able to go out together with another couple and enjoy sharing fun times with them. Leaving friends in Utah was a really hard thing for me and I still have a lot of friends their that I keep in contact with and when we do go home I get to see them. I wish we were able to see them more often but I enjoy even the little bit of time I get with them. Friends to me are a wonderful gift and I can't say enough for how thankful I am for them.

Day 8

I am very thankful for my extended family. I have great family in my life. My parents have always been there for me and are always willing to step up and help us out with anything. Luckily for me all of my siblings are like this too. I have some wonderful in laws as well. But I don't just limit my family to that. I also have wonderful aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. It's so great to be able to chill with family and laugh at all of the things we remember. Even one of my best friends is now a cousin thanks to us marrying cousins. I love all the time we get to be together and I wish I could spend more time with them. Until we moved away I think we took for granted being able to get together anytime but I still love and appreciate all of them even if I don't get to see them as often as I would like.

Day 7

I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with my children. Yes I work but I work from home. This means Chloe does not have to attend daycare and this is a huge blessing to me. My boss is very flexible with my schedule so I only work part time days from home and then a couple of days a week I go into the office for full days. With my schedule I get so much playtime with her and if I need some extra time off it's never a problem. I know eventually I will stay at home full time and I will be so excited for this so that I can attend the kids after school activities, new sports and be able to help out in their classrooms too. For me I have always wanted this and I think these are the times and moments you can never get back. I don't want to sacrifice and not be able to afford to do things with them either so I am very thankful that I have the opportunity for both because of Matt's job.

Day 6

I am so thankful for the right to vote. I know that men and women died to give us these rights and I do not think we should take them for granted. Whether the person you want wins or loses we each have the right to vote and say this is who I want. I hope that not matter who is elected we are able to get some good done not just for one party but for our country cause in the end we should all be able to have a better life.