I'm thankful

The last several posts have been a bit too negative. I'm not necessarily fond of that attitude in my life, so tonight I'm going to spend time being thankful.

1. My nephew, Matt. I picked him up about 7:30 this evening south of Gretna. His parents brought him up most of the way and I brought him in to Omaha and took him back to school. I have loved spending time with him as an adult this fall. He is incredibly sensitive and very loving. God gave us all a great gift 19+ years ago and I'm glad to be a part of his life.

2. My family. Good heavens, how can I not be thankful for this crazy group of people that I am associated with! We were raised by the same two people, but Carol, Jim and I are so very different. It's pretty hilarious. I remember Dad worrying about the family splitting apart after mom died. I also remember reassuring him that our family was close enough that it would take more than mom's death to separate us. Jim has extended the family with three great kids and a wonderful wife. Wow, I'm a fortunate woman.

3. My husband. (Just so you know, these are in no particular order). I'm fairly certain that God planned our relationship so that He could sit back and have a laugh. We have the best time together, we are complete dorks when we are together and neither of us could imagine being anywhere other than with each other. Max takes such good care of me and is selfless in every aspect. He never thinks of himself first and sometimes that just blows my mind. It's a good life I lead.

4. My parents. Carol emailed me tonight and complimented me on my writing skills - and commented on the excellence of my brother's as well. She told me that we have mom's writing abilities and that were she alive, she would be writing as fast as possible to keep up with us! Both she and dad gave us a lot of skills and imparted much knowledge along the way. She taught all of us to love words. Both she and dad gave us each different ways of looking at our faith, which ensured we were each quite strong in that aspect. Dad taught us to excel in what we did. He never allowed us to settle for second best.

Tonight I'm very thankful for my family, for my heritage and for the future that I see with them. God has blessed us with each other. It's good to be a part of this amazing group of people.