Thanksgiving

It's time for the annual thankful post and while the faces of my blessings haven't changed much over the last 365 days, the joys have only multiplied and for that I am so grateful. This has been a hard year in some respects for our family and we have struggled with change. Me in particular. My parents divorce has been a challenging turn of events for us and has really changed the landscape of our extended family. In turn, while the world outside of our little house has been turned kind of topsy turvy, for the four of us inside, it has never been a better year. I am so grateful to have three people in my house that have kept me grounded and focused on what truly matters, so this post is dedicated to them as a type of love letter to the men I am so blessed to call my family.

My oldest child. Connor has really grown up over the last year and I have really come to appreciate having a child old enough to talk to about really important things. We have had amazing talks about life, God and the oh so very important Kenny and Stuart. I also really appreciate our conversations about super silly things because as a grown up, I forget how important silly conversations are to my soul. His imagination is endless and I know I have talked before about his absolute ability to find joy in life, but I don't think it can be mentioned enough. I love that he sees things in a totally unique way from the rest of the world, even if I don't always get it. He is smart and creative and every day is truly the best day of his life. I don't think I have ever had that mind set and I should. He loves the color pink and baseball in equal measure and can't wait to grow up to be a veterinarian or an artist or an astronaut. He is a fantastic big brother and loves his Mushy more than we could have ever imagined and I love to see them interact with each other every day (with the exception of the occasional slap fight). Hudson wants to be just like his brother and he couldn't have a better example.

My youngest son. He is a whirlwind. He has really come alive over the last twelve months and has been endlessly entertaining. He tolerates his family treating him like a baby even though he knows that he is a big boy. We know it too, but it is hard for us to see our little one giving up the last vestiges of babyhood. It has happened so fast. Hudson is hilarious. He hears five seconds of music on a commercial and it sends him into a dancing fit. He loves to break it down Wiggles style and has a groove like no other. He is can veer from complete and total stinker to sweet, snuggly boy so fast it almost gives me whiplash, but he always keeps us laughing. He is gifted at so many things, the least not being his ability to strip out of all his clothes in the blink of an eye no matter the time or place. Really, it is a talent. He has big dreams, even at the tender age of two, and so far those dreams consist of being a drummer and eating ketchup. Possibly being a drummer while eating ketchup, but I'm not positive. Joy. He has it too. It runs through his veins and I am so eternally thankful for it. He keeps all of us from taking ourselves too seriously and goodness knows I am guilty of that. Now, I just have to keep him from growing up and joining a nudist colony and we will be in good shape. I think I will tell him that they don't allow naked people to eat ketchup, that might work.

My husband. I thought I should probably save the best for last, especially since he gets some grief in this blog pretty often and never complains. He actually thinks I am funny, which is extremely generous of him. I love this man. He has been a rock for our family this year. He has dealt with my instability and roller coaster emotions and he has never once called me crazy (although I clearly was). He loves me enough to agree with me even when we both know I am wrong and supports me fully in my endless list of self-decreed hurts, offenses and one restaurant boycott (which is still going strong, by the way! It's been two years : ) He has shared my hurts and always finds a way to make me laugh, even at his own expense. Have I mentioned how he described our house to a realtor (whom we had known all of five minutes) as a "great baby making house?" It was both awkward and hilarious and classic Matt. He works about 5000 times harder than me every day and is fantastic at his job. Under appreciated, but fantastic and I always forget to give him enough credit (besides this annual blog, which if it were me, I would have circled in red on the calendar in order to make myself feel good, but he isn't like that). Matt is a great husband and a great Dad and I am so thankful that he is leading our family in the right direction, because if it were up to me, I think I would have us all on the road to crazy town by now. I love seeing the glimpses of my husband in both of my children and knowing that they are better for being like their dad.

So thanks for making it through my annual Thanksgiving brag about my boys post, we truly have so much to be thankful for this year. We have family that love us and friends that are like family and that makes us feel immeasurably blessed. Happy Thanksgiving!