Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from the Cains!  I hope that all of you are making wonderful memories with your families and friends today.  What a special time of the year.  2012 has been quite a year for the Cains - but honestly, who hasn't had quite a year?!

I'm always grateful for Thanksgiving - it always seems to fall at the time of the year that I need it most - the beginning of the holiday season when all the fun, parties, family gatherings, friends and chaos seem to fill up the calendar quicker than quick.  I'm grateful that Thanksgiving is the kick-off and a reminder to SLOW down and take it all in.

So here are just a few of the hundreds (if not thousands) of things I'm especially thankful for this year:

• My Lord and Savior - is He good or what, y'all?  
• Husband - he's my partner in life, the only person I'd ever want to be in trenches with.  I'm thankful that after 10 years of partnership, love, good times and bad times that he's still in the trenches with me.  Love you babe!

• Daughters - Catherine Ellis and Caroline make my life complete in so many ways.  I didn't fully understand life until children.  What a joy they are!  And equally what hard work they are!  The payoff is mighty though - unconditional love.  Thanks be to God for these precious blessings.

• Family - immediate and extended.  I have the best Mama in the whole wide world, if you know her you know this is true.  Thank you Lord for blessing me with her.  Our family wouldn't survive without her! My brother and sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle, my in-laws and my sister-in-law and all the Cain/Ellis clans.  Thank you for supporting us!

• My job - for the challenges it brings, the way it works my brain, the money I am paid to provide for my family and the passion that it stirs within my soul to make this tiny piece of the world a better place.
• Health - can I get an amen?!?  It's been quite the year for me health-wise and I've never been more thankful for good health.  I'm back to full-capacity and praising the Lord every day that I have my life back.

• My Village - I say it often and mean it more - I have the best village.  I have friends that I consider family that love me in spite of my flaws, co-workers that embrace me and all my crazy antics and people that step up to the plate time after time to help my family live life.  I'm forever grateful.

• My goddaughters - what special blessings Pailet and Frances Grace have been in my life. May I never fall short of the job that their parents have given me to make sure they are part of a Christian community and know God's love for them always.

• Failures - I wouldn't know how to live life if I didn't know how to embrace and learn from failures.  Like most every other year of my life, I've had many this year, but I'm grateful for every one.  

• Mercy, Forgiveness and Grace - Thankful every single second of each day that I receive mercy, grace and forgiveness.  What wonderful gifts.

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits 

Psalm 103: 1-2