"I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL"

That is my new favorite saying! I never got around to listing the things I am thankful for and as I was reading everyone's posts during the week of Thanksgiving I thought I should try it. So many of you had posts full of wonderful blessings and hope. I've been going over my blessings and decided that I would work on one too. Here is my list which is more of a lifetime of thankfulness:

1. I am thankful for being born to two of the kindest people I have ever know.
2. I am thankful that my parents were amazing Christians.
3. I am thankful that my father loved my mother unconditionally.
4. I am thankful to have an older brother and sister whom I love.
5. I am thankful for my grandparents who spoiled me and for all the members of my family.
6. I am thankful to have been my fathers "peanut" and that he still calls me that.
7. I am thankful that I never had to be without food or shelter.
8. I am thankful that my parents went above & beyond at Christmas giving me a deep love for it.
9. I am thankful that I got to experience a summer home and they joys of being there with family.
10. I am thankful for my teachers who really had to have patience with me.
11. I am thankful for having lots of friends and never being teased in school.
12. I am thankful for having the experience of losing a dear friend as a child because even though I didn't fully understand it then I do understand now the deep loss his mother felt and the gift that God had given to her when he left the house that day saying to his mother for the first time "I love you mom."
13. I am thankful for the teenage accidents/happenings where God had kept me safe.
14. I am thankful for falling in love with my high school sweetheart, marrying him, having a sweet wedding and the town home we were able to buy.
15. I am thankful for having two beautiful healthy children, the seven years we enjoyed together before having them and the beautiful home we were able to buy before they were born.
16. I am thankful that my husband has provided everything we needed to live comfortably always.
17. I am thankful that when my mother passed away I knew that she would be whole again and happy in heaven.
18. I am thankful that I have been strong enough not to follow in the family history of alcoholism.
19. I am thankful that I learned a huge lesson when my husband walked out on me, making me the person I am today.
20. I am thankful that I was able to experience being a single mother giving me a greater appreciation for the strength within a woman.
21. I am thankful for the jobs I had that gave me great confidence in myself and the day care centers that watched my children, loving them as if they were their own.
22. I am thankful that my children had the opportunity to enjoy a summer cottage during their youth giving them wonderful family memories.
23. I am thankful to have my high school sweetheart back in my life for the last 20 years.
24. I am thankful that when the wheel was repaired incorrectly on my sons car that the tire flew off the car very late at night on an empty side street and he was safe.
25. I am thankful that my son got caught the night he lied to us about staying at a friends house when they went to one of those midnight illegal races. Thankful that he was safe and that appearing in front of a judge taught him a lesson.
26. I am thankful that when my daughter fell asleep on her way home from LAX, dropping off her marine boyfriend, that the tire rode up the divider bringing her back down to safety.
27. I am thankful the morning my daughter came home safe after we tried to reach her all night when she wasn't answering her phone.
28. I am thankful that all the horrible fears that have run through my mind when it comes to the safety of my children have all been blessings from God and pray that His protection will always surround my children keeping evil out of their way.
29. I am thankful to God for His protection at all times and especially during the scary times.
30. I am thankful for the day when the results were negative, the day I couldn't even speak, nothing would come out of my mouth as the tears flowed down my face. Happiness at its fullest.
31. I am thankful that my children have experienced more good than bad and that they were able to move forward after the storms.
32. I am thankful for the love of all our dogs who loved us unconditionally and taught me just how short life can be giving me the understanding of making sure we love to the fullest each day.
33. I am thankful that we were able to put our son through college and that he graduated with honor from U.C. Santa Cruz and that he has been blessed with wonderful jobs.
34. I am thankful that we were able to give our daughter a wedding at the beautiful Mission Inn in Riverside, CA.
35. I am thankful for our son-in-law whom we love deeply.
36. I am thankful that our son-in-law came home safe from the war in Iraq. We are extremely proud of him and his service to our country.
37. I am thankful that our son-in-law loves our daughter through thick and thin.
38. I am thankful that our son has the most wonderful girl to share his life with.
39. I am thankful for all the company we had this summer, even though I stressed, it turned out better than I could ever have imagined and taught me a lesson that all that matters is that we have each other to love.
40. I am thankful for all the family and friends we have living near and far.
41. I am thankful that my father is 86 and still doing well on his own.
42. I am thankful for an aunt and uncle who left their life savings to my father, brother, sister and I.
43. I am thankful to have had the experience of being a mother because I saw an emptiness in my aunts heart because she was never able to have them.
44. I am thankful for the experiences in my life that have given me compassion and understanding.
45. I am thankful that I am able to give donations to those in need and the feeling it gives within my heart to help where I can.
46. I am thankful that even though I can no longer do things that I use to be able to do (because of my asthma) that I am still here on earth.
47. I am thankful for the movies that bring me joy and take me away from real life. (that goes for books too)
48. I am thankful for my computer and what I have experienced here in the blog world for the last 8 months. Especially all the friends I have made, the women who have touched my heart and the hearts I have touched because of God hands in my life.
49. I am thankful for all the wonderful meals we have been blessed to receive.
50. I am thankful for my husband who continues to love me through it all, for our puppy Skye who brings me joy, the happiness of our children, the beautiful house we live in and the life that God has so graciously given to me.

I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL

I want you to know that without God forming me in the womb and knowing me before I was born that none of this would have been possible. Also that many of the above mentioned situations were extremely painful for me and it is only through the years of time that I am now able to be thankful for them.