Happy Thanksgiving!

WOOHOO! It's Thanksgiving. You know what that means. Family :)

What? You thought I was going to say turkey, pumpkin pie (or around these parts, Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake - YUM!) and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Well, all of those things, too!

Growing up, I remember distinctly watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my mom, all snuggled up taking in the aromas of the day. Turkey roasting, pies baking, sweet potatoes soaking...I LOVE Thanksgiving.

This year, I particularly love Thanksgiving, since after being able to phase a bit of dairy back in, after today I'm back to completely dairy-free, as it's becoming increasingly irritating to Ava's tummy. She was handling it, now she's not. We'll see what's causing this soon, as her appointment with the allergist is on Tuesday, but in the meantime, dairy-free is back to being the way for me. Wah wah.

Anyhow, aside from all of the amazing traditions, both past and present, one of the things I love most about Thanksgiving is the opportunity everyone takes advantage of to really appreciate all the blessings in their life. This year, I have a multitude!

Things I am thankful for, in no particular order (aside from the first!):
-AVA
-David
-His parents, for making Thanksgiving such a wonderful time to spend with family, and for handling dinner prep :)
-My parents, grandparents, Aunt & Uncle, Granny Wendy, and the rest of my wonderful family. Without you, I'd be lost.
-The D's. There are no words. I consider them as much family as I do David and Ava.
-Our jobs. In this economy, having a job at all is a blessing, but one that I absolutely adore and allows me the flexibility to not have to put Ava in daycare? AMAZING.
-Our home. I love love LOVE it more and more every day, after four beautiful years in it. Here's to another year :)
-Ava
-Our pets, and their surprisingly positive reaction to Ava.
-The many wonderful women in my life who have been role models of what it is to be a mother, a wife, a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a superhero.
-The lovely ladies who have contributed clothes and other supplies to Ava, without whom I would be in the poorhouse from keeping up with this kiddo's style ;)
-The librarian customer service rep (JK, but she was nice!)
-Ava

There are so, so many others. My church, my friends, my writing jobs, etc. I am infinitely blessed, and hope that this day, and the rest of the year, does not go by without me thanking our Heavenly Father for the abundance of riches in my life. I am one of the luckiest people I know :)

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Count your blessings!