Life is good

This year has been really great. I have been thinking about everything that has gone on, and here are some of my favorites:

1. Tyler, Shanna and Kaci... I will start the list with my family. The three people who love me, give me hugs and kisses every day, and rely on me, pushing me to try to be the best person I can be every day.

2. My extended family. Even though we don't live close together, the distance between us doesn't seem to matter and I am so lucky to have a great relationship with both sides of the family!

3. This bump under my shirt, my baby to be....It has been a roller coaster of emotions since we found out that we will soon be holding another little miracle. I am so excited and feel so blessed to be going through this again!

4. The dog. It's definitely a love/hate relationship, but when we boarded him at Thanksgiving, we all realized how much he has become a part of our family. He has been good the past couple of weeks, so I can put him on the list. But, if he dares to chew on the couch again, #4 will be a blank spot.

5. This has been a year of ups and downs for Tyler's work, but I have learned not to worry too much. Everything seems to have a way of turning out ok in the end. (Especially when you are as smart as he is.) I feel so lucky that I haven't had to work outside of the house since the week before Shanna was born.

6. I love to watch my girls dance. The way they feel the music and you can see the joy radiating from their soul to their smile is amazing. (And it makes all of the time spent in the car feel worth it.)

7. I feel so lucky that at the end of the day, it's just me and Tyler. It feels like no matter what has gone on during that day, being in his arms and having a few minutes alone makes it all better. Sometimes it feels like my daily "reset" so the next day can start back normal. If it has been a great day, seeing his smile and celebrating together makes it seem so much sweeter. Every minute together feels like a gift and I am so lucky to be loved by him.

8. It is easy to not think about your health when you are healthy, but I know that each of us in our family are lucky to be healthy. Enough said about that, I don't want to jinx this one.

9. We have a great home. We have a house and yard that we love, we live in a great neighborhood, Shanna goes to a great school, and I love being at home.

10. Hmmm... it is so funny when you get to the end of a list and try to decide what your last item should be. You don't want it to sound insignificant, and you don't want to have to leave anything off the list.... (I didn't start out with a specific number of things I wanted to list, but you can't end with nine things!) I think my last thing is going to be my car. I wouldn't mind getting rid of it and having something else, but I am glad to have transportation. For the first 3 or 4 years that we were married, Tyler and I shared a car. I don't know how we did it, but it only takes one day of having my car in the shop and to be stuck at home to realize how nice it is to have one!

So there you go. It might sound a little sappy, but my life is great, this year has been good, and I can't wait to see what surprises are in store for next year!