Grateful for Family...Need I Say More?

Today I have to share my gratitude for my very own little family.  We are small, just four of us, but we are strong.  I just want to share with you a couple of things today, that have made me all the more thankful to be lucky enough to have a husband like mine, and children who are ever surprising me with their honest and heartfelt personalities.

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the house, my little guy bumped his knee.  Being the hurried mom this morning, I kissed my fingers and patted his knee, hoping that would sooth his bruised self.  Not so. Speaking up he told me, “Kiss it with your lips, it feels better like that!”  How can I say no or stay rushed when his big brown eyes look up at me with total confidence that a kiss from me will heal any hurt?  Oh that he will do this for years to come, when a kiss from my lips will heal a broken heart, or battered soul.  I am blessed to have such a son.

My daughter never ceases to make me amazed at her love and willingness to make someone feel loved and welcome.  She has spent the morning making welcome home signs for her uncle who is visiting from Oregon.  She wouldn’t want him to feel like we weren’t excited for him to be with for Thanksgiving, or that we weren’t welcoming to his girlfriend and puppy.  Signs grace the door, the walls, and her heart.  She makes me want to be a better person, to live up to the expectations she has of me.  Again, I am blessed to have such a daughter.

I am not the best housekeeper, as many who have passed through my front door can attest to.  My dishes may stack up and mountains of laundry seem to require a Sherpa to navigate, but my husband tolerates this with nary a murmur.  He is the man who I can send to the store at 6:00 am because I need something desperately.  He will buy my feminine supplies, on his own, by himself, just because I’m running low and need them.  Right there, tells you what a man he is.  He puts up with my idiosyncrasies and will do what he can to make me happy.  I am lucky to have him in my life, and that the Lord has given us the tools to make this marriage work over the years.  I am blessed.

My children tell me they love me many times a day.  What other joy can I have to be loved by such sweet spirits?  I really don’t know.  They tolerate my irritability, my moody behavior, and love me anyway.  They will hug me and love me, and I love them.  My husband will touch me and I know that he cares.  A sweep of his hand across my back as walk across the parking lot or a caress of my hair, is enough to make me fall into a cocoon of happiness.

Tomorrow I will spend my time with them, and extended family, to celebrate all that I am thankful for.  The top of my list will be these three individuals, who I could not live without. 

Happy Thanksgiving and may you be surrounded by those you love.

*Thanks to Google for the image*