Things to be grateful for...

After reading Megan's post, I got to thinking about living here and all the pros and cons. Since my last post was about how the island can be hell, I thought I would write a more uplifting post about all the things we can be grateful for...now, these will vary per person, but I thought most of these were pretty general, but very important.

I'm grateful for my hunny. Each of us girls down here has one, but you might call them different things. I call Tom, "Honey". He calls me, "Crazy Fat." I know that doesn't sound very flattering, but I know that is only my name and that he doesnt' call anyone else it. :) It's our special little code name. I know he loves me very much and I know he knows I love him very much. Being down here doesn't always bring out the best in each other, but we try and show/tell each other often. I try and make Tom good dinners and keep the house clean. I try to keep Ella cute and happy so when he is around her, she is pleasant to be with...and I only make him change poopie diapers every now and then (Now THAT is a good wife! Haha!) He, in turn, does very sweet things for me. A week or so ago, I had a terrible migraine that lasted three days, and Ella was on this big screaming thing...it was bad. So as a suprise, he came home from class on Friday and said, "you better get ready - you have an appointment at two." I was like, "What are you talking about?" Then he handed me a gift certificate for an hour massage at The Spa. SO SWEET!! I could've cried, but I think that would've made him confused :) So I smiled and went and had a wonderful massage. I came back totally rejuvinated...I really do have the best husband, so all you ladies out there can be jealous :) I could go on and on about Tom and how much I love him...but we'll save that for another post...maybe around our Anniversary.

Another thing to be grateful for is my baby. For those of you who have kids already, you'll know that sometimes you just want to throw them out of the window of a moving vehicle...or put them in their cribs and just roll them down the street!! But for those beautiful moments when they look at you and just beam with happiness, it makes it all worth it. My favorite thing in the world is when I get Ella up from a nap or from sleeping in the morning, and she is standing up in her crib and smiles, laughs, and bounces up and down when she sees me coming to get her. I love watching her learn and play. I have to say, being "Mom" is a very thankless job and sometimes it feels like what you're doing is such a waste of your potential and that you've completely given up everything you wanted to do in life...but then think about your mom and how much you love her...that is what your children will think about YOU! That makes me feel like a million bucks!!!! Yes, its a lot of hard work and poopie diapers and nastiness you have to clean up, and a lot of "NO! DONT TOUCH"es and "Just go to sleep!"s, but its all worth it when they come and want to cuddle or give you big sloppy kisses on the cheek.

I am grateful for my sisters. They are both so beautiful and so smart. I love being around them and miss them so much! I am grateful for Angela's silent strength and how unbelievably intelligent and artistic she is. I am grateful for Kathryn and how funny and crazy she can be. I am grateful for all the times we have laughed so hard we can't breath and for how much we love each other.

I am grateful for my brothers. I am grateful for Daniel's steadfastness and great advice he has given me. I am grateful for Andrew's sweet emails and his cool creativeness and building abilities. I am grateful for the games of War we have played and for how much fun they are to be around.

I am grateful for my parents. This is the understatement of the century, but I am grateful for how much they love me and how much I love them. I am grateful for how hard they work and for the great work ethic they taught me. I am grateful for everything they have done and everything they continue to do.

The next thing I'm grateful for living down here are my girlfriends. Growing up in mostly Mormon areas, I didn't have a lot of opportunities to get to know people of other backgrounds. There are so many interesting girls here that I just want to know all about! I love all my girlfriends that I get to hang out with. I love sitting there at fundraisers and just talking with these girls that are in the same situation as I am. I love our "Bubble Tea" nights where we sit and vent about the island. I love beach days where we can relax, and I know that the girls will help watch Ella, and I'll help watch their kids. I love how important I feel when I get invited to something or am included in some event: i.e. birthday parties, girls nights, move nights, book clubs, etc. It is so fun to do so many fun things with so many fun girls. I really do appreciate each and every one of the girls and what they have to offer! I hope I get to know them all much more by the end of our run here. I have to say, it is going to be a sad thing to leave the girls here....not so much the island, but definately the girls.

I am grateful for our living situations. I grew up pretty spoiled, I'll admit, but I am so grateful for the living situations here. Compared to the island itself, I think we all pretty much live in the upper-level of living situations. We all have running water and electricity (most of the time) and t.v. and internet (most of the time). We all have air conditioning we can turn on (if we want to pay the bill!!) and have a fridge full of food. I am grateful for our second bedroom, so Ella takes better naps and sleeps through the night!

I'm grateful for our health. None of us have had more than a sniffle and I am very grateful for that. I'm grateful that Ella hasn't gotten some weird disease or illness down here, either!

I'm grateful for my religious convictions and the comfort they give me in hard times. I'm grateful for the direction I have in my life and for the sense of well-being that my beliefs give me. I am grateful that my family, both immediate and extended, share in these beliefs.

Anyway, there are about a hundred other things I am grateful for, so instead of writing a novel about it, I'll finish off with a list. These are in no particular order:

1. Good food
2. Awesome shoes
3. Shopping
4. Kisses
5. Swimming
6. The beach
7. Good books
8. Good movies
9. The Food Network
10. Air conditioning
11. Deoderant
12. Showers
13. A car that works (even if it has been named Smokey!)
14. MUSIC
15. Playing the piano
16. Writing music
17. World of Warcraft
18. Cleanliness
19. Friends
20. Holidays
21. Family
22. The internet
23. Email
24. Funny stuff
25. Laughter
26. Sunshine
27. Rain
28. Clouds and/or a breeze on a hot day
29. The mosquito racket
30. Walmart
31. The FDA
32. America in general
33. Religion
34. Faith
35. Inside jokes

Hope you enjoyed this post and I hope this helped you think of all the things that you have to be grateful for!!! :) Love you all!!!

p.s. Angela and Kathryn....WRITE MORE BLOGS! Hahaha!!! :)