Thankful

Once again it has been way too long since I have posted a blog.  I know the older I get the faster time goes, but the last month truly feels like a week :-).   I have been watching all my friends and family post on their Facebook pages the things they are thankful for each day this month.  I have had great intentions of getting involved in this, but once again the pace of life has taken over and not allowed this to happen.  I thought this  might be a good opportunity to not only talk about some of the things that I am thankful for, but also share some of my thoughts about how hard the holidays are for me because of infertility.  
As the end of the year rolls around, I always think about the things that my family has accomplished that year and all the ways that things have changed.  Because of this mindset, whenever I think back on the year, one of the many things that bring me down is the thought that I haven't had or adopted a child that year.  This is always a hard thing for me to accept because I always go into each new year so optimistic that this will be the year.  I definitely try to be a positive and optimistic person, so when that desire is not fulfilled year after long year, my optimism starts to fade and wan.  I guess I would love to tell you that I have figured out the way to deal with this and that I honestly believe that this will be that year, but that is simply not true.  So this year, I am trying to have a different perspective and attitude.
I will be thankful for what I have and not focus on what I don't have.  I will be grateful for the child I have!  I will not look at each year as a waste, but as a possibility to do things I have never done.
 In that spirit here are the many things I am thankful for: Jesus (my savior), my amazing husband, my beautiful daughter, my godly parents, my loving and supportive sister and brother-in-law, my loving and supportive brother and sister-in-law, my three sweet nieces, my two mischievous nephews, my wonderful grandparents, my loving mother and father-in-law, an amazing job, my wonderful and supportive friends (you each know who you are), a warm home to sleep in each night, a car that gets me to work each day, a church that is outward focused,  my health (no surgeries in the last year!), never going to bed hungry, and my freedom.
I know that I could go on, but you get the picture.  When we truly reflect on our lives and what we have been given, we have far more than we deserve.  So, as you face a new holiday season and the many hopes and desires that have been unfulfilled, don't forget to also reflect on your many blessings!