Thankful

'Tis the season to reflect on all we have to be thankful for. This should be a daily exercise for us, but I'm glad that a holiday comes around once a year that reminds us to reflect on the many blessings in our life. I usually do a 10-day series of Thanksgiving posts but this year I decided to do one post instead! Here are some of the many things I am thankful for.

1. This Guy

Phil keeps me on my toes and prevents me from taking things too seriously. We celebrated 6 months of marriage this past weekend, which kind of blows my mind! Our first year of marriage is going to fly by!

2. Our Growing Baby

My baby bump at 24 weeks

While I don't love being pregnant due to how hard it makes it to manage my RA (I had to go off my most effective $1,000/week injection), I feel so grateful that we were able to conceive so easily and quickly and that the baby's development has been healthy and normal.

3. Our Sweet Kitty

Yes, she prefers Phil by a landslide, but it makes me appreciate the moments when she will cuddle with me even more. I never thought I'd be a cat lady but Phil has certainly made me one. I can't imagine our house without our furry little friend!

4. My Supportive Family

My beautiful nieces and nephews!

My siblings and their spouses

My dear mom, who is looking at my dad with such adoration and love

My dad during his very funny and sweet speech at our wedding. Phil is a lot like him - they have a strong sense of humor, hate attention, and have the softest hearts.

I don't know what I'd do without the love and support of my family!

5. The Amazing Wedding We Pulled Off

Our wedding was all I had dreamed of and more. I'm especially proud of the fact that I DIY'd so much of it - with the help of family and friends. Of course the most amazing part was marrying this guy!

This is one of my favorite photos from the day. You can see how happy I am wrapped in the arms of Phil!

6. The Travel Adventures We've Had

From hiking in Southern California...

to skipping rocks on the beaches of San Diego...

to hiking in Maui...

to hiking in Northern Minnesota...

to hiking in Western North Carolina!

We packed a lot of adventures into the past year! I guess you can tell how much we love hiking since we tend to hike on every trip we take!

7. Friends

URL  turned IRL friends

College friends

I'm lucky to have so many wonderful, supportive friends who have been there for me through good and bad!

8. A Warm House and a Fridge Full of Food

Through my involvement on my company's United Way Campaign committee, I've become even more aware of how many people are struggling in my community - 25% of the people in the broader Twins Cities area live in poverty. That is such a sad statistic. I thought about how very fortunate I am when I was loading up my grocery cart with food for Thanksgiving weekend. We have a warm house and never have to worry about how we will pay the heating or electricity bills.

What are you thankful for? To all my American readers, have a very happy Thanksgiving!