Thanksgiving 2014 - What I'm thankful for

1.)  Health.  While I'm sure that medical professionals would say that most Americans, including us, are only in "fair" health, we are doing well.  No injuries or bad illnesses.  And there is an Urgent Care in Glennallen, just in case.

2.)  Happiness.  I can say we are truly happy up here.  There is no doubt in my mind that I am much more happy and content than I was a year ago.  Our lives have completely changed, and while some of those changes bring us pain (being so far from family), the sum of all the changes = happiness.

3.)  Freedom.  We live in 'Merica.  We have the freedom to celebrate Thanksgiving, freedom to worship and celebrate God, freedom to write about what we want to write about or talk about what we want to talk about.  That's something that I will never be able to fully appreciate because I don't know what it's like to not have freedom.  Big thank you to all of our veterans for making Thanksgiving and all of our celebrations a possibility!

4.)  A good internet connection.  Hey, they couldn't all be deep, right?  I don't know if I could have moved so far from family if it wasn't for technology.  Being able to surf the web makes me feel closer to the world.  I can talk to people whenever I want to.  And even though we haven't tried it out yet, we have the computer all set up to Skype!

5.)  Plenty.  We have plenty.  Plenty of heat, plenty of water (even though we have to run and get it), plenty of food, plenty of coziness, and if we run out of anything, we have the capability to get more.

6.)  Family.  We've obviously had a lot of change over the past year, and while our moving has changed our lives so much, it's changed our families' lives as well.  I thank everyone for the encouragement and love during the last 6 months, because without that, without you, we wouldn't be the people we are.

7.)  Coke Salad.  If you've ever had Coke Salad, you know why it's on the list.  I am also thankful that I am too far away for Loretta to actually kill me for giving the recipe to the sample lady at Costco...

8.)  Love.  My love for my husband has grown in leaps and bounds in the last couple of months.  He is my rock.  He is here to celebrate with me, to laugh with me, to hold me when I cry, and to just be near each other in the evenings.

The list doesn't end there.  For all that is good, I am thankful!  So, on this Thanksgiving 2014, please know that as you're saying Grace over your Thanksgiving meal, whether it's the traditional meal or KFC, we are thankful for and praying for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!