Thankful

2003

More than anything in this world, I am thankful for my family.

I'm thankful...

For Zachary, my guinea pig child, who bore the brunt of my ignorance and selfishness, yet loves me anyway, and turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

For Annaliese, with her beauty and her independence.

For Josiah, who appreciates my wit and who I can talk to in the middle of the night, when everyone else is sleeping.

For Samuel, on the edge of manhood, who tempers his strength when we wrestle (cuz we both know he could totally take me!).

For Brianna, my artist, growing and changing leaps and bounds in her first year of high school.

For Eli, no longer my fluffy Bub, yet not quite as big as the bigger bigs.  I appreciate his willingness to help out, his sensitivity to when Mom's had enough.

For Jack, my snugglebug.  It's hard to be the baby with 3 younger siblings, but somehow, he pulls it off.

For Hannah, the child who made me a China mom.  I love your resilience and the way you never let anything slow you down.

For Katie, my sassy girl.  I laugh at so much of what comes out of your mouth.

For Luke, who has taught me a lot about myself, yet continues to remain such a mystery.

And for Paul, who makes it all possible, and who puts up with my crazy ideas, like homeschooling and adopting.

While it's fun to look at these old pictures, from when the kids were all little, I am enjoying who they are now as they're big, as well.  Fully half the kids in my house are teenagers, which is actually a lot more fun that I thought it would be.

Rather than get caught up in making a SALE! SALE! SALE! post for Black Friday, to try to cash in on some commission from various affiliate programs, I'm going to let today be about family.

I'm super excited that Zach and Heather are coming over later, after he gets off work.

Whether you're able to be with family or not today, I hope that you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Thanks for clicking for us!