Thankful for...

I love Thanksgiving. I love what a beautiful time it is to reflect on blessings and the simple things in life. I love what a beautiful beginning it is to the Christmas season which is a celebration of the Saviors life.

It is just a special time to slow down and evaluate what I am blessed to have and what I am truly grateful for. It is also a time for me to regroup and remind myself what a want is verses what a need is.

I am over abundantly blessed in the spiritual, physical, emotional, and material sense of the word. I love my Heavenly Father and know that he loves me, I am able bodied and healthy, I have the emotional support of loved ones, and we live in a nice, safe, warm home.

I love that prior to Thanksgiving I had to have a new table, new boots, new clothes for the girls, a new computer, new furniture for my bedroom and Jayda's, new make-up, gifts for everybody I could think of for Christmas, a planned vacation, etc etc etc...yet after Thanksgiving and after writing down what blessings I have received this year and what I am truly grateful for... I realize that not only do I NOT need them, I don't even want them right now. That's not to say I won't want them again in the future (I do love to shop!), but right now I want to simplify. I want to stop "needing" things that I don't really need. I want to focus on the beauty in my girls smiles, the warmth of my hubby as he lays next to me at night, the furry little friend that is my sweet Riley, and the blessings that come from being TRULY happy with what I have...which is A LOT and then some.

As I reflect on this past year it became apparent that I was more blessed in 2009 than any other year in my life.

Here's a list of what I'm most Thankful for (in no particular order):

I'm thankful to now work part-time. I work about 25-30 hours a week instead of 45-60. This change has brought a sense of peace into my life that I hadn't felt for over 4 years.

I'm thankful for my 12 year old, one-eyed, three-working-legs dog. Riley brings me so much joy...she's happy and healthy and spunky and we're blessed to have her.

I'm thankful for my in-laws and extended family. They rock. I'm blessed to be a Roth. My girls are blessed to be Roth's.

I'm grateful for my friends who laugh with me, cry with me, and bitch with me when needed. All my friends are fantastic. Those in California who make me feel missed and those in Virginia who make me feel welcome.

I'm grateful for little hands that reach up to hold mine and little feet that are always under foot.

I'm thankful for my calling at church. I'm grateful it helps me learn more about the Gospel and our Savior and that by performing my calling I am serving the Lord.

I'm thankful that kids eat free every Tuesday at Chic-Fil-A.

I'm thankful for the health of my children. I'm thankful for their laughter, and their smiles, and their arm dimples, and their big blue eyes that light up when they see me, and their sweet little spirits. You can't look into the eyes of a child and not think about the Love of our Savior.

I'm thankful for my brothers. Austin for his support, laughter, and friendship. Dallas (Elder Porter for 19 more days...but whose counting) for his example, humor, and fabulous penmanship in his letters home which provide me hours of entertainment as I try to figure out what the hell he wrote.

My mom. I'm thankful for my mom. For everything she is. For everything she's taught me to be. For her example of pure Christ like love. For her showing me what it means to truly be a good wife, mother, and friend. For her patience. For her humor. For her. I want to be her when I grow up.

I'm thankful for Spanx (not the naughty kind...the kind that suck your butt in when wearing tight pants)!

I'm thankful for my precious baby girl, Sierra "Bella," who came into this world nearly 2 months early but was healthy. I'm thankful for the doctors who helped me throughout my emergency (and scary) operation and for the NICU staff who loved and held my sweet girl for the first few weeks of her life when I couldn't.

I'm thankful for Jayda. For everything about her. This post is already long so I won't bore you with how cool she is and how much joy she brings into my life. Let's just say that it's a lot. I love her all the way to the moon and back. I'm grateful that when I tell her that she replies: "Well I love you all the way to the freeway and back!"

I'm thankful for my hubby. I could try to detail the reasons why, but it would be impossible. He's my Prince Charming, my Fairytale, my Happily Ever After. He totally got the short end of the stick in this deal. I lucked out.

I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful to be a member of his church. I truly believe that the good things in my life are a direct reflection on my membership within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love being Mormon. I love that Jesus is My Savior and that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and who sacrificed his son for me so that I could have eternal life. It's almost too much to even wrap my head around. It's a love that I can't fully comprehend...probably because I'm human.

Finally, my biggest blessing in 2009 is my dad. I have my dad back. We all do. For over 10 years my hero, the first man I ever loved, was in pain every day of his life. He hurt and took pain meds and suffered. We all suffered with him...especially my mom. But he is now nearly pain free and off pain meds and is back to his old happy self. He talks (non stop...it's awesome!), he laughs, he jokes around, he has energy, and he's truly enjoys his grandbabies. In all honestly I didn't think we'd see the day when we'd have him back. I didn't see an end to his pain. However, the Lord had other plans and proved (once again) that through true faith and prayer... miracles can happen. I'll never understand how come some people are healed and other's aren't. I know the Lord doesn't love one person more than another. I just know I'm thankful for the lessons we all learned throughout this decade of trials and I'm grateful that my dad being healed was part of the Lord's plan. He's back to his old self...only better. It's truly a bigger blessing than anyone could ever imagine.

So, is this a sappy post? Yes. Am I a bit embarrassed to share it with everyone because it's so personal (and quite long)? Yes. However, I would be remiss to not put down in writing the blessings I have been given. I am so thankful for each of them. I am so blessed.