2016 Thanksgiving Day letter

Dear Family and Friends,

I know I am a few days late.. .but... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Between preparing food for our yummy turkey dinner and wrangling our (nearly) 2 year old, the week was total chaos and I have not found a second to sit down with my laptop and express my thankfulness for the year I have been blessed with... and what a year it has been!!!

First I want to express how thankful I am for my amazing husband.  Paul and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in July.  It has been the most amazing 6 years of my life.  I am thankful that we can still make each other laugh and our favorite thing to do is spend time with each other.  Years ago... I'm guessing 9... a dear friend of mine told me that at the end of the day, the person she enjoys being around the most is her husband.  At that time in my life, it did not make sense to me.  Now I understand what she meant.  Paul is my very favorite person.  He is my best friend, my partner, the best dad to my babies and the most amazing provider.  I am thankful every single day that I have eternity to spend with my sweet man.

I'm thankful for the 2 wonderful years I have been Afton's mommy.  I cannot believe she will be 2 on Sunday.  How in the world is that possible?  She is so incredibly sassy and full of energy.  She keeps me on my toes and by the end of the day I am worn out.  She is so beautiful and I know she is a very special daughter of God.  I'm thankful she is mine!

I'm thankful for this pregnancy.  After Afton's birth I very clearly remember looking at Paul and saying "I'm never doing this again".  I can honestly say I am very content with Afton being an only child and I feel very complete... but with that said... I am incredibly thankful for this added bonus that will join our family in May.I told Paul, after we had Afton, that if we had a 2nd baby, it would be because he felt impressed that we needed to add one more member to our family.  I'm thankful he was able to feel that impression and come to me with his feelings.  I cannot wait to meet baby Levi.  I cannot wait to spend those 2 days in the hospital snuggling with him and enjoying the mommy/son bonding that will come during that time.  I cannot wait to see Paul hold his son for the first time.  Levi Samuel, you are already loved so much.

I'm thankful for the memories I have been able to make this past summer.  I have had my toes in the sand in California and Virginia.  I have driven through more states than most people visit in a lifetime.  I have checked so many things off of my bucket list in just one short summer.  I have met amazing people, had amazing bonding time with my sister and sweet niece, made beautiful memories with my mom that will last a lifetime, I have stayed up late chatting with my dad in his living room and realizing that I'm never too old to get advice from him.  I've had strep in the middle of summer for the first time and I had my first 3 nights away from Afton.  It has been a magical summer and I'm thankful for everyone I was able to spend it with!

I'm SO incredibly thankful for my Heavenly Father.  With all of the joy that 2016 has brought, there haven been plenty of moments that have been filled with tears and frustration.  In February, we came to the incredibly sad realization that our dream of moving out West would not be happening and we needed to start making arrangement to settle our family in Virginia.  I'm thankful for the counsel my Mom gave Paul while we were in Utah, dealing with the sudden realization that our plan was not the Lord's plan.  In June, we experienced a miscarriage.  That was such a humbling experience to go through.  It made me feel like I could connect with so many more women out there who had gone through the same thing.  I was in Utah at the time and Paul was in Virginia.  I'm thankful that even with the distance between us, we could still lean on each other for support.  I'm thankful that Heavenly Father was there with us during those difficult moments... even if I felt totally broken and did not necessarily feel his presence at moment the trial was happening.  Looking back, I know he was right there beside us.

I have so much to look forward to in 2017.  We will be buying a house and moving to one of our neighboring counties, Levi will be joining our family, 2 motor competitions for Paul and I am sure we will figure out how to fill up the rest of the year.  I KNOW I am blessed.  We put up our Christmas tree last night and did some minimal decorations in our living room.  It's amazing how a little tree, covered with lights, can bring so much joy and such a beautiful spirit into our tiny apartment.  I'm thankful for the holiday season.  Being able to focus on the birth of our Savior and being able to focus on the upcoming birth of my own son.

Happy Holidays dear friends and family!

EQ