I am thankful for...

Why is it that we only stop once a year to think of all of the things that we are thankful for? Shouldn't we be doing that every day or at the very least, once a week? Life seems to keep us all so busy that we don't often take the time to think about all that we've been blessed with, but thank heavens we are given that time at least once a year to reflect on all of our many blessings!

My littlest Indian!

This year I realize I have lots to be thankful for, but surprisingly the thing that I am most thankful for is what to others may seem like a small thing...I am thankful for the ability to breathe, which ultimately allows me to be able to run. For the past month I have struggled with my breathing and so I have been unable to run and the soonest I could get in to see a pulmonologist to figure out what is going on is this next Friday...a full 5 or 6 weeks since I started having problems! Well guess what? Now that my doctor's appointment is now only a week away, I can finally breathe again! Isn't that the way it always happens? As it is, because I am now able to breathe, Hayden and I decided to take part in a fun little 5K race on Thanksgiving day that my friend organized. There were only 12 of us that ran and Hayden and I probably did as much running as we did walking, but we finished and we had a great time! I was just proud of him for even doing it because he has never run more than a mile before...so 3.1 miles was a long ways for an 8 year old in 24 degree weather!

The remainder of our Thanksgiving day was full of the usual festivities and food. This year we spent Thanksgiving day with my family in Logan. We had 24 people at mom and dad's house and for those of you who know how big, or not so big, my parents home is...it was a full house! That just added to the fun though...and the chaos! We ate lots of good food, the kids had lots of fun playing and adding to the chaos, and the adults, well we just sat around and talked and ate some more!

After dinner, there was football for the guys, more visiting for the ladies and pop bottle chokers for the kids to make. I know, it sounds like an activity for the girls, but it was Shari's idea and she had brought along baseballs and basketballs and soccer balls for the boys to use to make their pop bottle "bracelets". The boys actually had no qualms about wearing them as chokers, but if their dads could have seen them I'm sure they would have said "are we raising boys or girls?" At least the kids had fun making them!

Making the pop bottle chokers!

Cate and Nyayla sporting their new pop bottle chokers!

The Carling grandkids (minus Neal's kids and the older Mosher boys)

Aside from the simple act of being able to breathe, I realized that I have lots to be thankful for and if I were to make a list I wouldn't even know where to begin. However, if I'm going to start somewhere, I have to start with my husband and my family. They are the center of my life and I am truly grateful for each and every one of them, from Patrick, Chris and Jon right down to Hayden and Connor. When I talk about family though, I can't stop there. I have to include my parents and my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews as well as my in laws. I have a lot of people whom I love and are grateful to have them a part of my life. In addition, I am grateful for my friends and of course, I'm grateful for the gospel. I could go on and on, but at some point it gets kind of sappy. I'm sure you get the idea though! I am just grateful!