Being Thankful on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time spent with family being thankful for all our blessings. I know that the Turkeys are thankful for our Turkey-Free Thanksgiving and I am thankful for life as well. I am thankful for so many things that I have decided to make a gratitude list this year.

- I am thankful for my husband who puts up with my not-so-normal ways..lol He has stood by my side for nearly 12 years now. How great to have a man that is so supportive of my views that he let me remove both TV and microwaves from our life...now that's love! He is a wonderful man that devotes every spare moment to being the family tickle monster,human jungle gym and playground builder all rolled into one huggable Daddy. He works hard so that I can stay home with our little brownies. I am so thankful that I my kids have such a wonderful Dad and that I have such a wonderful husband. 8)
- I am so very thankful for my three little brownies. My life is hectic and sometimes downright exhausting but I would not trade it for anything in the universe! I have three incredible children that love me unconditionally and that is God's greatest gift. They are full of love and kindness and I am so thankful they have such a close relationship with eachother I am thankful for their wonderful imaginations, creative love notes that I recieve daily, their hugs, sweet little giggles, their love for animals and Mother Nature and most of all the pureness in their hearts. When I hear them say their prayers thanking God for their family I am hit with just how blessed I am.
- I am thankful for my health and the health of my husband and kids. I have learned the hard way that without good health nothing else matters. I am reminded of this everytime I see a young child in a hospital bed, a teenage boy in a wheelchair or an older woman wearing a hat to cover a bald head that chemo has left behind. Everyday is a gift and we do not know what tomorrow will bring. So today I will thank God that we are healthy..
- I am thankful for my freedom. I know that it did not come free. I am thankful for those that fought for it and paid the ultimate price so that I can step into a church and pray without fear for my life. I am thankful for all of the men and women that to this day are fighting on a battlefield so that I can lay my head down peacefully at night.
- I am so very thankful for my parents. I am so blessed to have two wonderful parents that love me unconditionaly. I am very thankful for the way that they raised me and the support they have always provided me. I would be lost without the relationship I have with each of them. I have never doubted their undeniable love for me or had to worry about them not being there for me and that is the greatest thing a child could ask for. I am so very thankful for both of them.
- I am very thankful for my Granny, my rock, the woman I strive each and every day to be just like. As far back as I can remember she is the one person that I can turn to for advice. She has never judged me, tried to change me and always knows what to say to make me feel better. I would not be the person I am today if it had not been for her wisdom, unconditional love and her devotion to God. When I think of her presense in my childhood I think of her daily devotionals, her solid faith, and her teaching me about Christian love. She recently turned 86 and is still my rock. :)
I have a lot to be thankful for on this wonderful holiday. There really is too much to list. All thr little things that we take for granted each day. A warm home, clean water, local churches, money for food and clothes. All these things seem small to us but to those without this Thanksgiving they are huge blessings. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving spent with those you love most!! Happy Turkey-Free Day..lol

A tribute to our Honey

All through my childhood I dreamed of having a yellow lab. A sweet, loving dog that I could call my own. As soon as I got married I was beyond excited to make that a reality. We moved into our first home and I set out to find my dream dog immediately. We found someone who had a litter of yellow labs about 2 hours away. I will never forget that cool fall day, it was love at first site.There must have been 6 or more puppies running around, but only one stood out among them. She was the sweetest puppy I had ever seen and I knew right away she was the one I was meant to find. Her belly drug the ground and she was almost white in color. She ran to me on chubby little legs and smothered me with sweet kisses that only a drooling puppy can provide. I scooped her up and declared she was as sweet as "honey". It was one of the happiest days of my life, I can almost smell that sweet puppy breath that only a true dog lover can cherish. My husband got a chocolate lab puppy the next day and our new family was born. Honey and Nestle immediately became the best of friends,and having eachother never cried for their Mommies. I honestly believe that they never realized they were not sisters, and from that day forward they were inseperatable. That was 11 years ago. So much time, so much life, has passed since that fall. We moved from North Carolina to Virginia then back home to South Carolina and created so many wonderful memories. It was just like I had always dreamed. Dog walks, frisbee in the park, chasing seagulls at the beach, keeping me warm while my husband was away at graduate school events. I even won a photo contest with a picture of my beautiful Honey, landing her in the Newspaper. After moving back to South Carolina we had 3 children in 3 years. Life became a whirlwind. We fenced in the yard and the toys and ice cream pops appeared. Honey and Nestle immediately loved the children, especially Honey. This past spring we moved to the country, giving the dogs and the kids tons of yard to play in. After moving here Honey fell even more in love with our only daughter Caroline. The kids play hide and seek daily and Honey could always be found hiding with Caroline. Under the picnic table, crammed into a playhouse,it didnt matter where she would loyally sit with her and wait until the boys found them. Caroline would sing to Honey and she loved it. About 2 weeks ago Honey began to drastically slow down. We began to prepare the kids as best we could. After telling them she was old and that soon she would go to live in Doggie Heaven. My 6 year old somewhat understanding was very sad. I dont think that my barely 4 year olds understood though. Caroline noticed that Honey no longer had the energy to play. She started going outside and just sitting with Honey giving her hugs and kisses and singing to her. It has been a painful time for our whole family. Honey not being in pain, we decided to let her die at home with those she loved. I knew she would want to be with Nestle until the end and vise versa. So we loved her, held her and begged God to grant her a few more precious years with us. Last night, my sweet Honey Bun passed away in one of her favorie spots in our back yard. She looked so beautiful that I had a hard time accepting she was gone. After laying with her sweet body for a long, long time I knew it was really over. Her precious life, my dream of having the dog I had always hoped for, those sweet wet kisses and the thump of that loving tail, all gone. We buried her under a cedar tree while Nestle was contained out of sight. We lost a family member, our special dog, but Nestle has lost her best friend, her sister, her 24hr companion for the past 11 years. She cried all night, so heartbreaking that we could do nothing to ease her pain. Today she has followed every scent she can find of Honey, around and around every inch of our property. I knew this day would come somewhere in the back of my mind, but I never knew the magnitude of pain and heartbreak it would bring. Today when my son returns from school I must tell my 3 little ones that their sweet Honey has left us and will never return. I know the pain they will feel and it will deepen my hearbreak to watch them suffer this loss as I do. But as I hold her baby picture album in my hands, I am so thankful for the 11 glorious years that I had with my sweet dog. She made a childhood dream of mine come true. She was better than I could ever imagined, gave me a love that I would have never known without her. Goodbye my sweet Honey Bun you will never be forgotten. Your memory will live in the heart of our family for all eternity.