30 Days of Thanks - The Family

How could I share 30 Days of Thanks without mentioning my family?  Today, on the actual Thanksgiving Day, I am so filled with gratitude for the amazing people in my family.  For some amazing reason, the Lord saw fit to allow these amazing people to be part of my life.  Even more amazing is him giving me stewardship of some of them.  What an amazing responsibility to help amazing sons and daughters of God to navigate this earthly existence and make it back home, to him.  How I fall short!!!   The family is overlooked, under-valued and under attack from every angle these days.  Some people look as children as "accessories" to a successful life.   To me, my family is the most important thing to me, second only to my relationship with God.  These amazing people truly bless my life.  Today I am grateful for:

• Erin slugging me when she was two years old in the K-mart because she did not want to go. (yes, she bloodied my nose) 
• Erin blessing me with three, wonderful, amazing grandchildren.
• Mike speaking like a caveman for years... "Mike...eat... now...." 
• Mike graduating college and becoming a teacher. ( now speaking in complete sentences!)
• Kelly in her "pyro" stage, almost setting the garage on fire.
• Kelly fighting through asthma attacks that nearly killed her and being tough as nails.She has grit and determination I never will have.
• TJ swinging baseball bats at his siblings who teased him relentlessly. 
• TJ who is the most talented, athletic, leader in the family. 
• Travis who it was harder than giving a cat a bath to get him in a car seat. 
• Travis who has the kindest, sweetest most pure heart I know. 

My children.  They have survived me being their mother.  They love bowling on Thanksgiving, eating Captain Crunch and "Whack-em-on-the-counter" Cinnamon rolls, fast food.  They have trudged along when I have had church responsibilities and are first to help when I have a new "project," no matter how overwhelming.  They have seen me at my best and seen me at my worst.  They have seen me strong as nails and weak as pudding.  They know I cry at the drop of a hat and I hope more than anything, they know I love them with every beat of my heart and every breath I take. 

They clean the leaves out of my gutters,  give me wonderful gifts,  mow lawns, vacuum rugs, shovel driveways and clean house when they don't want to, because they love me.    This "family" is an amazing thing.  It is a blessing beyond compare, and one that I will never quite understand how I got, as there is no way I deserve something this wonderful. 

Family is not just a nice addition to life.  It is the meaning of life.  It is why we are here, to learn and to grow, and the family is the test grounds for us to experiment, learn and get better.  We are all part of a family, I am grateful for the amazing people who are in mine.  I love "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"  
http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,00.html  Take a second and read it again, or read it for the first time.  It is an inspired document. 

Today, I am thankful for all the people in all the families, that are making a difference, one random person at a time.