Thankful!

So.... Thanksgiving came and went this year and I never really got a chance to sit down and think about what I am thankful for! When I was little I remember Thanksgiving at my Grandma Rose's house (who is no longer with us) but the whole Harp family used to gather there. Before we sat down to eat dinner we would all stand around in a circle and pray and then each one of us would say a few or one thing we were grateful for. It was really nice to hear what people are thankful for. I remember those times like they were yesterday! No one really talks about what they are thankful for anymore. People say, oh, I'm thankful to still have my job, or I'm thankful to still have a place to live, and stuff like that. But who, still as adults, stands around in a circle and says what they are Thankful for at Thanksgiving? I miss that and I vow to make sure it happens next year! I'd like Alana to grow up being thankful for the things and people she has in her life! So what better time to start new traditions (that are really old one's) then now! So here is what I am thankful for this year!

First and foremost I am thankful to my husband Victor. Last year he worked his butt off so we could have the most beautiful wedding of my dreams. This year was no different. He gets up every day while Alana and I lay warm in our beds and goes to work everyday so I can have the time with Alana that is needed. Every day I am grateful that he has a job to go to. I am thankful that he actually does get up every morning to go (even though sometimes he may not want to). He does it for us and I am most thankful for that. I probably don't always give him the credit he deserves but I am thankful for him in many ways for all he does, continues to do, and all he is.

I am thankful that God blessed us this year with the most wonderful little person in our life. She is amazing and I do thank God for her every single day! She is little pieces of Victor and I mixed into her own little person. You can NEVER explain the love of a mother to a child, but I am so very thankful for our little Alana Rose. I am thankful for every day she wakes up with a big smile on her face.

I am thankful for my family. Every single one of them. My best friend, my mom... she has been there for me through it all and still never judges me. My dad, he is always there to make Alana smile when we walk in the door and to sing her every song from my childhood that I couldn't even begin to remember! My sisters and my brother. My sisters are very important to me. A girl would be lost without them! Julie, my older sister, even though she is in AZ, we still talk all the time and we support each other all the time. Jacquie, my younger sister, we talk every day and are closer now then we have been in a long time. We both share being a new mother and happy that our girls will grow up close to one another. My sisters have always been a big support to me and I am thankful to have two of them! My Aunts, Uncle's, Cousin's, Grandparents. They are all there for me all the time! I am very grateful for the family I have. We do put the FUN in Dysfunctional, but I still love them and am thankful for all of them! I am thankful for my in-laws. Not many people love their in-laws but I am lucky to have great ones! They raised a wonderful man, they can't be too bad right?

My friends... where would a girl be without her friends?? Ashley is in CO and I miss her all the time, but she is there when I need her, and here when I need her! From 2nd grade on, I am thankful she still puts up with me! Crystal, I haven't known her more then a few years but having her here every single day through the most important times of our lives sure did make us become close fast. I am thankful for all of her love and support. I have always needed my friends but in the last couple years they have grown to be more important to me then ever! Sarah, Haley, Jessica, I don't always speak to everyone of them every day, but when I need them they are there and they make my "girls night's out" a blast! I am thankful that I've gotten to know them so well and appreciate their friendship! AND... all the friends I have all over, the one's in LA, Orange County, Riverside, work friends, non work friends. I am thankful for them all!

All the best Family and Friends, what more could a girl need? I am thankful to all of you! Thank you and thanks for listening! (or reading)