With that said, life has to go on and I need to count my blessings to realize that I have so much to be thankful for, even if it isn't all on the same continent as I am.
In an effort to count my blessings and not be mood killing scrooge I made a list of the things I'm most thankful for. Here are my top five.
1. My salvation. God's love, grace, and mercy continue to amaze me every year! If it weren't for Him, I wouldn't have anything to be thankful for!
2. My husband. I love that I've gotten to watch him grow to become a man. I love that the majority of major events in my life include him. I love how manly he is, but also how considerate loving he can be. I love how great of a daddy he is (even from Iraq). I love how he knows me better than anyone else. I love that he is a patriotic man and loves the country and the people enough to put his life in danger to sustain it. I love that even though he is a man's man, he lets God take charge and trusts Him and obeys Him.
3. My daughter. I love her more and more everyday. She is the perfect combination of her daddy and me. I love that she makes me stop and appreciate the little things in life. These days she is my best bud, my partner in crime. Her recent unexpected hugs and kisses make my day!
4. My Family - meaning my extended family. I would not have gotten through the past nine months of having Caleb gone without their support and constant love. My parents and in laws help keep Emmalyn any time I have to go to work or a photo shoot and even when I just need some "Kayla time" while not being "Emmalyn's mom." My sisters in law help to keep me sane without a husband around. My brother has really stepped up to help with the things that Caleb would usually do (yard work, fixing things, lifting heavy things etc). He is also a fantastic uncle to Emmalyn - and she loves him so much!
5. My friends. There are so many to be thankful for! Crissy, fellow army wife, Emmalyn's Godmother, and the person I come home to at night. She allows me to talk about the frustrations of being without a husband, she cooks for me when I don't feel like it (which is more often than I'd like to admit these days), and she helps me with Emmalyn so much! Living with her allows me to do things I wouldn't be able to do living by myself during this deployment and I was thinking the other day how I truly feel like living with her has been so much better than the alternative of living alone.
My best friends, Katie Beth and Ashley. They call to catch up at least once a week and make sure that I'm doing well. Even though most of my friends haven't and won't have to experience months without their husbands, they make it a point to support me by letting me know they are there for me.
Bethany and her son, Porter have been a blessing on more than one occasion. Emmalyn and Porter love playing together (most of the time) and I can talk to Beth so easily. We were hanging out the other day and as Emmalyn and I were at the front door to leave Porter ran over to Emmalyn, stopped about a foot in front of her, smiled and then kissed her... ON THE LIPS!!! You should wish you could have seen the smile on his face after he kissed her! #littlepimp. (When I told Caleb this story, he was less than ecstatic, but I'm not too sure Porter will know what a rifle is for yet : )
Elizabeth and Ellasyn. I've blogged about our play dates before. Its great when we get together because our girls love to play and we love to hang out. We've even managed to hang out without the girls some lately. I don't think about how lonely I am when I'm with the Neal girls!
Kim. Another fellow army wife who also loves Jesus and co led my bible study. She is the cutest little momma and so sweet and real! I'm cherishing this new friendship.
My small group. This group of ladies makes me want to be closer to God. They are amazing and so special to me!
I guess with so many people to be thankful for, there's no excuse for me to be a scrooge!!!
you dont know how many times lately i've wished we lived in the same town! miss you so much and SO thankful for you.
ReplyDeleteand whoa - we look like BABIES in that pic!