Thankful Friday ....

thank·ful

 

[thangk-fuhl]  Show IPA

adjective

feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.

That is straight from the dictionary friends :)

I have been reading some awesome posts lately about everyone and what they are thankful for ... like Brooke's post yesterday which was so great I read it twice haha, not joking. If you're not a follower, go check out her blog... because it is great and you will love her... she is so genuine and you can tell when you read her "Thankful" post! 

I love that! 

I stole borrowed that from Megan's post about thankfulness that I also loved reading! Check hers out as too! You will love it! :)

So what am I thankful for?

Here is a semi-short list ... even though there is SO much more... of the serious and "not as serious but still thankful for" things in my life! 

* I am thankful first and more importantly for my Heavenly Father and Savior and the grace and forgiveness that he gives me every day, and for the sheer fact that no matter what life brings, I know that He never gives you more than you can bear... and that, like any father, He wants to bless us with all the blessings in the world! THAT is what I am thankful for! 

* For my best friend ... and fiance ;)

I really can't begin to tell you all the reasons I am thankful for Chris... but to name a few... he is my source of normal. In a crazy world where work is crazy, family can be crazy, friends can be crazy, EVERYTHING can be crazy, he is my normal. He grounds me. He protects me. He is my biggest supporter and fan. He puts up with Frankie even when he gets on his nerves ha. He helps me make good decisions. He has helped me overcome fears. He loves me for me. He is appreciative of when I do things for him and tells me often which makes me feel good. He doesn't get upset easy and rarely angers. He is the perfect person for me and I just love him so much and am so thankful to have him! And even more thankful that in 7 months he will be my HUSBAND! Say what?? Craziness. Can't wait!!! 

* I am thankful for my family ... my parents, my brother, Chris's parents, my mamaw and papaw, my aunts and uncles and of course my cousins :) I am thankful that my family is MY family, and I wouldn't want any other! 

**Yes, that is me and my dad when I was a baby and NO, the sunglasses he is wearing weren't mine... apparently those were cool in the 80's hahaha ;)

* I am thankful that my Aunt Cathy is Ovarian Cancer FREE!

Now that is def something to be thankful for ... because she has too much more life to live and Jesus wasn't ready for her yet! She was so strong and I'm so thankful for her health and the way she fought to beat it! Thankful that she is enjoying a vacation right now and relaxing celebrating her 22nd wedding anniversary!

* I am VERY thankful for my career & clients ... I am thankful that I get to wake up every morning and do something that I truly LOVE and have a passion for. So thankful for all of my clients and the friends that put their business with me, and the referrals I get on a daily basis!! So So thankful for them! (Which is why I like to share pics of all my clients, its so fun and I am so thankful to have them!)

Thankful that I can help people and they can rest assured knowing that I will do my best to work hard for them. That I have been blessed enough to be successful during a very difficult economy and housing market, and been able to develop a team I feel reallllly good about and I know that it will only continue to grow! Gentry-Jackson & Associates WILL be a major real estate team in Lexington, KY if I have anything to do with it ;) I'm so thankful for Maria and Leslie ... they are a great asset to my team and I love working with them every day! 

* I am thankful for the normal things that we take for granted: a car that gets me from place to place, our house which we have made a home, my health when so many people are not healthy... 

* I am thankful for my friends ... the best ones who have always stuck by me ... the ones I have had and then strayed from and then had again ... the ones I talk to every single day and the ones I talk to once a month but it's always the same no matter how long since we talked last, new friends who feel like we've been friends for forever... 

and I'm even thankful for the friends who were so so close that have now faded away or lost touch... because every friend who was a friend, was a friend for a reason at the time... and I think it's easy to forget that sometimes :(

* For not normal things, but things that I just love ... like sweet tea, Orange Leaf, television, magazines, bloggers and technology, multigrain cheerios and lasagna (not together ha gross!), pictures and my camera, SUNGLASSES (I could not go outside without sunglasses!) my office that I work out of, google that I use on a daily basis, my Bible that is practically falling apart but I still refuse to get a new one, lipgloss & chapstick, string cheese, deviled eggs, Pinterest, DVR and the sunshine that I miss so much on days when it is dreary! 

* I want to say I am thankful for these sweet babies 

(well not babies really but that is what I call them ha) ... 

This is a different kind of thankful. 

I am thankful they are in my life ... BUT ... I am more thankful of the way they are to me, and the way they treat me and have treated me since day 1. They are so sweet to me, all the time. They always respect me, they always want to cuddle and love me, and they always know that I will do whatever I can to make them happy ... and for that I am beyond words thankful. In the midst of crazy adult fighting, or parents that don't get along, or busy schedules, or days when not everything is cotton candy and rainbows ha, they are the sweetest kids to me and I am just so so lucky to get to experience that. 

They teach me new things... 

(did you all know Pluto wasn't a planet anymore?? I did not and apparently that is what you're taught in school now ha?!)

They make everything more fun! So much more fun! They give me a reason to do arts and crafts which is one of my favorite things to do ;) 

They know I am not their mom, and they know I would never try to be their mom...

(although their new favorite thing to say is step-mom, which totally cracks me up! But I like that they love to say it and think it's so cute!) 

 but they love me as a friend and a care giver and provider, and they trust me, and that is what's most important to me with them... and will always be <3 

They say it is not easy being a "step parent" or caring for a spouses children that aren't you're own ... and sometimes I can see that being the case, but not when it is 3 kiddos like these ;) They make it easy peasy!

* This is a NO BRAINER but I am so thankful for Frankie ... 

If you are not an animal person you won't understand this, and really I am assuming you probably don't read my blog regularly lol 

But Frankie is my first born, period. And I adore him. 

Let me just tell you why I am thankful for Frankie ... 

He is such a mama's boy hehe and I love it, he would protect me until the end of time, he has NO fear, he is the best cuddler on the planet, he lets me do anything to him including opening his mouth and kissing his little white teeth ha, if I was sick and in bed for 5 days without moving he would not move either, like literally he would pee the bed before he would leave me ;) I am obsessed with him and love him so so so much and am not embarrassed to say that some days he is just the little cutie I need to cheer me up! :) 

Ok maybe that was a little longer than I thought ... 

and I could go on and on about everything I am thankful for. I am just thankful, Period. 

Would love to hear what all you other ladies are thankful for too! 

Please let me know if you do a post and link up! 

TGIF! 

Happy Friday!!