This Says it All

If I were asked to make a list of all the things I'm thankful for this year, I'd have to point to this picture. It's got it all:



The big one, there, buried under the children - where do I start? My marriage, my support system, my partner, my heart's desire. He won't always laugh at my jokes, but he'll always love me; and I, him.

Those four wonderful, affectionate, healthy, sweet children. They're full. They're warm. They're loved. I couldn't stay up late enough to count the blessings just from the five people in this photo.

The futon that got us through last winter.

The walls that will get us through this winter.

The warm clothes on our backs, and the fact that we are blessed with living where we are, and are able to live our lives the way we choose.

I don't know what's up with that towel on the couch, but even that is a reminder of the many things, both financial and emotional, that we've been able to share with the children (it's one we bought for our Florida trip this summer).

The boxes in the background are filled with things to donate - good things that still have "plenty of life" left in them, and I'm thankful that we can be on the giving end for a change.

The globe we use for lessons - our lifestyle, our goals, our life.

The home Miss Emily was born in, and her brothers have helped to make. (I watched her truck down the hall, singing to herself as she looked for Smidge after supper, and I got teary-eyed to know that, God willing, she won't ever have to learn a new home, a new hallway, a strange place to call home while she's little. She won't stand in a dark hall at midnight, crying because she doesn't know which room is ours. I. Am. So. Thankful.)

There are only about eleven years of my life represented directly in that photograph, but they've been an amazing eleven, and have filled my heart and my cup to overflowing, with gratitude and joy.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Kiss those babies!
~Dy