Give Thanks!

I am so thankful this year for so much. Life has certainly changed for us since last Thanksgiving and I would not take back any of it. Here are some things we are so very thankful for from this past year:

• Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! Where would we be today without the constant flow of blessings we have received daily from our Heavenly Father and His Son? There are simply not enough words.

•The Temple- we have been trying to attend once a week and have been quite successful. I know that our lives have been blessed so much by attending and making it a priority instead of a chore in our home to go as often as we can. If we can't go together, one of us stays home and watches Sydney while the other goes to the Temple. Once a week. It is possible.

• Gabe- this man works, and works hard. There have been many days where he has come home later then expected just so that these young children and their parents can get the best care given to them from a Speech Therapist. Gabe works as a bilingual SLP for English and Spanish.
He also helped me so much with housework and cooking when I couldn't before Sydney came. He was running the entire show on his own basically and caring for me on probably 6 hours of sleep a night.
• Maternity Leave- I was able to still be paid half my salary when I went on bed-rest with Sydney almost a year ago this December. What a great help it was.
• Baby Showers and gifts from so many people who helped us get ready for Sydney's arrival. We did not need to buy clothes for quite a while.
• John Muir Hospital- best place to have a baby. Period.
• Sydney! Who can say that they have seen a cuter little girl than her? She is so well tempered. She is soo observant and absolutely loves other children. From the get-go she was an awesome sleeper and I am so grateful we were given her for our first because looking back it seemed a piece of cake. (crossing my fingers the next one isn't a total opposite.)
•  Our ward and callings- Gabe is now an Elder's Quorum Teacher, but for the past year and a half he has been the 8 years old teacher. I have been on the Relief Society Committee and both of us have been enjoying it. I am glad I have a calling that I can contribute my creative talents to and Gabe his teaching abilities to.
• Family- We have been very blessed with being able to visit Gabe's family out East at last year's Thanksgiving and also have most of my family so close by. Having a babysitter for Sydney has been great. Thanks you Mom and Dad.
• Knowledge- We love to look for better ways to improve our quality of life. Exercise, food, books, movies, games, the outdoors. I can say we have learned soo much this year and enjoy eating healthy and maintaining a healthy balance between work, family, church, and entertainment. We recently took up playing Soccer and Mom and Dad have let up borrow the Total Gym. We have learned the great benefit that you cant get anywhere else of eating right and avoiding prepackaged foods. Your body is soo important. It is a Temple and only the most healthy food are what we put into it. 
• Employment and Benefits- In these hard times we are so grateful for the work Gabe has. We are even more blessed with the news that Gabe can also make house calls and get extra hours if he so wishes, which is great! Especially during Summers when the programs are short.
•We are grateful for our home. I realized how much I love being in our small apartment when we were gone for only a few days and I missed it. We love our home and being here together.

We are so thankful and love you all!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Drive safe!