A Train of thoughts....chooo chooo

So I was reading a friends blog the other day and she always makes a point of mentioning when she has accomplished something hard. Very inspiring. It got me thinking and coveting her idea. I really like the thought of having a theme or purpose to my blog rather than just a travel log or a journal entry. So I started thinking about stealing her idea and writing about hard things I've accomplished. I immediately got a lump in my throat thinking about how hard this summer was with the death of my brother-in-law. I was then taken back to the first couple days of the nightmare and remembered the pain and confusion and headaches and questions. Those were HARD days! I didn't know if it could really be counted as "accomplishing" something hard because it was VERY unwelcomed. Then it got me thinking...welcomed hard times vs. unwelcomed hard times and what is the difference...is there one? Anyway, this thought trailed to what I have gained from accomplishing all sorts of hard experiences or tasks in my life. Things from death to birth (giving birth is definitely one of the hardest thing I've ever done!), hiking tall mountains, taking hard classes, reaching out of my comfort zone, apologizing, forgiving, replacing fear with faith, and so on and so on. Life provides so many opportunities to grow and for that I am grateful. That's when it hit. From now on I will write about things that I am grateful for! I truly believe that when one expresses a sincere heartfelt "thanks" that the world is changed a little bit for the better. I can't really think of anything that would please the Lord more then if we were all to be a little more grateful in our lives for not only the good times but the hard ones too.

So I'm going to start us out with the cliche! I could not be more grateful for my family! My husband is so amazing! I don't know where I'd be without him. My baby Winn is perfect! He has been the joy of our lives! Also, my siblings and parents are some of the most influential people in my life. I'm so happy that I get to be with them for eternity. And last but not least, my in-laws rock! They are such a wonderful added blessing in our lives and I'm thrilled to call them my family.