God Bless America!

Being the 4th of July, I started getting very thoughtful about the things I am grateful for...so here is a list in no particular order. This list started out by being things I am grateful for because I am American and the blessings that that entails, but it ended up being a list of things in general. So I guess this could be more of a Thanksgiving post? But whatever :)

• My husband. More specifically: the characteristics and attributes he possesses that makes me so deeply in love with him: his ability to put up with me, his ability to reason with me, his extreme work ethic, his ability to entertain me and be patient with me as he explains his medical jargon, the way he gets so excited about things...but barely shows it ("Oh, cool." hehe), the little things he does like takes out the trash without being told, picks up the house just because, is so sweet and tender with Ella, buys me random little presents to show he loves me, the way he tries so hard to make everything so perfect, okay, this list could just go on and on, but I don't think people want to read a sappy paragraph about that - I know I don't like to read it about other couples! Ha!
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• My baby. Yeah, I know, here comes another sappy paragraph, but I don't think its as bad when its a kid :) So here goes a little paragraph to my wittle baby (oh yes...I said wittle). I love how excited she is to see me in the morning, I'm grateful that she has never been sick and is so easily consolable (with an otter pop...or three or four of them...) I'm grateful that she is so beautiful and every time I look into her face I can see part of my husband. I'm grateful for finding her random shoes around the apartment and her random toys in random places after she has played with them. I'm grateful for her babble talk and how it makes me laugh so hard when she gets so excited. I'm grateful for watching Disney movies with her over and over and over and over and over...I'm grateful that she is growing into a smart, yet still speechless, little toddler. I am so grateful for her happy face.
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• My family. I'm grateful for the support they have shown me in my older years, and the tolerance and patience they showed me in my earlier years. I'm grateful they never gave up on me, even in my rebellious stage. I'm grateful that I have so many siblings to call my friends and that we all get along so well. I'm grateful for my older brother for being such a good example. I'm grateful for my younger sister for being an example and for being a missionary. I'm grateful for my other younger sister for being such a shining beam of happiness and silliness. I hope she never grows out of that ;) I'm grateful for my youngest brother for being such a stud and for working so hard in everything. I'm grateful for my family and all the love they show me.
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• My education. I'm grateful that I was able to receive a college education and will have the opportunity to pursue an even higher degree of education (and I'm grateful that my husband supports me in this!). I'm grateful for being able to learn about so many different things that help me understand the way people act and the way people think.
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• My country. I'm grateful that I live (well...will go back to living...) in the most wonderful country in the world. Yes, thats patriotism for you. Even though there are some crappy things in our country, it still rocks. I'm grateful that there are so many freedoms to choose from and so many opportunities for everyone. I'm grateful that I can practice my beliefs without it being against the law! I'm grateful that I live in a country where I can be grateful for living there!

This is just a short list, since I keep getting interrupted and can never finish it! :) Ha! For the actual day of Fourth of July, we kept it pretty low key. On Friday, we went up to Le Galion beach with our friends Roger and Alicia. Ella got sunburnt pretty badly on her back and shoulders, (Yes, I felt like a terrible mother!) so on Saturday I didn't want her out in the sun very much. We slept in on Saturday morning (even Ella slept in until 9:00! WOO!) then just hung out all afternoon until about 3:30-4:00ish when we headed over to Mullet Beach for the Spouses Org BBQ. It was really nice that there were so many people there! There were quite a few couples that I didn't know, too? Weird...I thought I knew almost everyone! Haha! :)

We stayed for an hour or so and had to leave 'cause it was getting really hot and we were just in normal clothes, not swim clothes. The decorations were very cute and everyone brought a side dish while some of the husbands BBQ's burgers and hot dogs. I made a HUGE pot of baked beans that I don't think anyone touched....so needless to say, we will be eating lots of baked beans for the next couple of days! Good thing Ella likes them, too! Haha! :) There was even a pinata that was REALLY cute! Ella even got in on the action and thought it was really funny hitting it with the stick. She didn't quite get the concept of candy coming out though. She kept picking up one piece at a time and putting it down...then picking up another one...then putting it down. When one of the husbands, Steve, tried to hand her a big handful of candy, she just took one and walked away. Haha! Silly girl :)








Later that night after Ella went to bed, Tom and I watched the New York fire works and the Boston fireworks on T.V. It was really nice to just cuddle and take a long easy day together! Tom has been studying like a mad man for his pharmacology class, so it was nice to take a little break :) Anyway, God Bless the U.S.A.!!!!!

p.s. Two more weeks! WOO!