Blessings

I thought today I might just make a quick post about how blessed I am. No pictures, just a thought or two.

I have to tell you that I have the most amazing husband! I know I don't tell him nearly enough, but George is an amazing person, and a wonderful husband and daddy. Madeleine and I are lucky to have him. I was thinking about this earlier today when my boss, Corlyn, and I went to lunch. She and I were talking about a myriad of topics, and one question she asked was, "What would you do if George ever left you?" Now, you have to understand the relationship that Corlyn and I have before you pass judgement on this question. She and I are very candid with each other. We're open books. I respect her, and she respects me. And I am proud to call her a friend, as opposed to simply saying she's my boss. Okay, so back on topic. The very first thing that came to mind was that I'd probably hurt him. Okay, okay, I'm kidding. The first thing that came to mind is that I KNOW, unequivically, that he would never leave me, just as I would never leave him. I know that if George were in a room with thousands of women of all shapes, sizes, colors, personalities, etc. he would go straight through them and find me at the other end without so much as a glance at the women in his way. How do I know that? When you find your soul mate, your eternal companion, you know it. And you know that the vows you share are serious, not just an opportunity to jump at and then decide to amend later. So, for all who read this, I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

Second, I have an amazing family. I am in the beginning stages of remodeling our living room. Oh, what a chore! It needs insulation and rewiring of the electrical, so we have begun the process of tearing out the walls so we can replace and replenish. :) Though George has kind of dragged his feet for a bit, he is now fully engulfed in the spirit of improving our home's comfort. I asked my mom if she would come over and help me paint when we do that in a couple of weeks and she didn't hesitate to say yes. She and Mike, my step-dad, are taking time out of their schedules to drive 3 hours, stay here and work a lot, and then drive back home when it's done. Now, I know that my dad would also be willing to come help, but I figured I'd let him tend to his duties, which include finalizing plans for his big move to Florida in a couple months. More on that when I decide I'm okay with talking about it. Right now it's too painful to even think about.

Okay, moving on...

I have a wonderful job that I love going to every day. Sure, it has its ups and downs, and some days are more annoying than others, but I've landed in a job that I never thought I would do, and I love it. This is the first job that I've not layed in bed and thought at 7:00 am, "I don't want to go to work today." The thought simply does not cross my mind. I have great friends there, and we have a great time at work. It's so incredibly rewarding to work with the elderly and make them feel loved and special. You'd be surprised at how many people just drop their family member off and then never show up again. I tell you, if I could give them a piece of my mind they'd come visit purely out of shame! Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I can't do that. So I make up for it by loving each of our residents and making them feel special. Do I see myself in a nursing home forever? We'll see what Heavenly Father has planned for me, but for now I'm perfectly content.

Speaking of friends, I have amazing friends. Jon and Maryanne are perhaps our closest friends. They've experienced married life in the same time-frame as me and George, and George and Jon have this unexplainable knack for getting into trouble when they're together. We just celebrated Maryanne's birthday on Sunday with our daycare provider and their family (because we're all family anyway!) and we got on the subject of dreams that we'd had recently. Maryanne said she dreamt a few nights ago that Jon divorced her. Oddly enough, I had a dream about a month ago that George left me for a co-worker. (Yeah, Corlyn's question couldn't have been more appropriately timed!!) Without hesitation, I said that there is not another pair of women on this planet that could/would put up with our husbands. :) And I know they took it as the joke it was intended because we all know each other well enough to know that it's all in fun. But seriously, Jon and Maryanne have been wonderful to us, and we're lucky to have them in our lives.

One final note before I go to bed... our daycare providers, Mike and Paula and their daughter Adrianna, are wonderful. If you're ever looking to put your children in daycare, I highly recommend them. They make each child feel special and loved. I can tell you that Madeleine has been richly blessed by being there. She's their little "Sugar Plum." How cute is that??! A provider who cares enough to nickname every child she's ever had. And they're positive nicknames, chosen with love! Madeleine's not treated as an inconvenience, and even at her worst (yeah, can you believe she has an ugly side??!) she is loved unconditionally. I know I don't tell them enough how much I appreciate them, and I don't think I ever could! Even when Paula and I butt heads (yup, we're both stubborn, Type A's!! LOL), at the end of our "discussion" we hug, tell each other we love her, and then we move on. I love relationships like that.

Okay, one more final note. My parents are awesome. My mom and I are two peas in a pod. We're pretty close to identical when it comes to personality. And as far as looks are concerned, I change my hair style every so often, whereas my mom still has the same hair style from when I was born. The Farrah Faucett hairdo... yeah, it's her, alright! We can, and often do, finish each other's sentences. She is, by far, my best friend! My dad is pretty reserved and just sits back and listens. Believe it or not, I do that sometimes. :) I'm a lot like my dad, in that I get my stubborness from him. I love my dad! He has always told me I could be anything I wanted, and he never tried to deter me from doing what I want to do. He has been nothing but encouraging, and I love and appreciate him for that. Let's just say that it will be hard to see him to go Florida, but I already told him he can be gone no longer than one year. :) Now, my step-dad Mike is wonderful. He treats us all like we've been his family all along. Mike does not fall short of his grandfatherly duties to Madeleine or Tamieka. And Robin, my dad's girlfriend, the one he's moving to Florida to be with, is a wonderful lady. I've met her twice and I've talked to her on the phone, and she's a great match for my dad. She's deserving of him. :) So I'll allow it.

Okay, so just ooooonnnnnneeee more final note, and then I'm done, I promise! Hey! You can never be too thankful, so just keep reading and know that I'm really blessed! Okay, so I have two brothers, Brandon and Jeff. They are great people. Jeff and I rarely talk because we have polar opposite schedules. But when we do talk, we pick up right where we leave off. He's always been a hard worker and a go-getter! He loves to travel and he's currently working for a restaurant chain where he travels the country opening new restaurants. Combining his two favorites in life... food and travel! :) Then there's my little brother Brandon. I must say that with all of the adversity he's faced, I'm so proud of him. He's hit some rocks in the road, but he does not falter when it comes to being a daddy. Tamieka is his life, and she knows it! :) As she should! He is picking up the pieces from heartbreak and moving forward. But he has always been my protector. He would not ever let anyone so much as look at me wrong and he'd be right there calling them on it. We actually just discussed this recently. It was emotional, to say the least. I love them both!

Okay, I'm done for the night. I could go on and on and on, but for the sake of getting up on time tomorrow, I'll cut it short here. So, if you take anything away from this long-winded post, it's that I'm a very lucky girl!

Have a great night!