Thanksgiving Re-cap

Well ... we made it!

We got to my parents house at 3:30 in the morning on Thursday. It actually wasn't that bad of a drive. But we were very thankful to arrive safely and be able to crash in a nice soft warm bed!

Yesterday for Thanksgiving my mom cooked some yummy food. Man, I forgot how much I miss having someone else cook dinner for me! lol It was nice to just relax (I stayed in my pj's alllll day) and took multiple naps. It couldn't have been any better lol. Later last night my mom and I went over to Michaels because they were have a big sale.

This morning my mom and I woke up waaaaaay too early in my opinion to hit the stores for some black Friday shopping. We found a few good deals ... didn't get the one thing that I was really looking to buy, but it was still a successful shopping trip and a fun time spent with my mom.

So I wanted to post some things that I was thankful for this year. I didn't get a chance to yesterday and I wanted to make sure I got to blog about it. Sometimes when you are in the middle of a storm it's hard to look around you and remember the things that you are thankful for. I don't want to get caught up in forgetting those things ... so I'm praying that this list will stand as a reminder to all the things that God has blessed my life with.

1. I'm thankful for my husband. I'm thankful that he is willing to walk through this crazy adoption journey with me. Not all husbands have such a willing heart to do anything and everything just to become parents. I'm thankful for his patient spirit. I'm thankful for how much of a hard worker he is. I'm thankful for his giving heart.

2. I'm thankful for great parents. I'm thankful for their support and encouragement over the years.

3. I'm thankful for my family ... although we live far away I love and miss them so much!

4. I'm thankful for an AMAZING church family. I'm thankful for the crazy things that God is doing through the Journey. I'm thankful for friends/family that have walked through every part of our life side by side with us.

5. I'm thankful that God gave me a heart for adoption.

6. I'm thankful that He has walked through every step of this crazy roller coaster ride with us.

7. I'm thankful for never being alone.

8. I'm thankful that God has never given up on me, even when I might have given up on him.

9. I'm thankful for the strength He gives me every single day.

10. I'm thankful for the sweet miracle He will one day bless our lives with.

11. I'm thankful for the great state of OHIO! and being a proud BUCKEYE!

12. I'm thankful for my job ... for being trusted with the minds of so many innocent little kids.

13. I'm thankful for my friends. I wouldn't know where I would be without them.

14. I'm thankful for our sweet little home.

15. I'm thankful for our awesome dog Buddy and crazy cat LB.

16. I'm thankful for Alya's full ride to the University of Phoenix that he was awarded this past year.

17. And I'm thankful for you, my bloggie friends who have been a constant form of encouragement and have lifted up many prayers for us through this crazy journey.

This Thanksgiving was definitely a little bit different than we had originally planned. We had planned on sharing it with our newest addition to the family. For some reason that wasn't in Gods plan ... so we keep waiting and praying and trusting in Him during this time. We do have so much to be thankful for and it's important for us to focus on that during this time.

Please keep praying for Alya's mom. We got the phone call on the way to my parents that they found a huge mass in her lungs. They say that she has cancer in her lungs and in her lymph nodes. They will not be doing any treatments on her because the cancer is too far spread and her health is already poor. They don't think that she will be able to survive the surgery. The doctors are giving her 6 months to a year to live.

I hope that you all have had a great Thanksgiving. I am enjoying my time off of work and just getting some much needed REST.