Thankful

This year Ritchie and I have so much to be thankful for! Here are just a few of the many things for which we give thanks this year.

• We have some amazing friends! We spent Max's first Thanksgiving with our wonderful friends, Kirstie and Nick as they prepare for the arrival of their first son, Roman. We plan to make Thanksgiving with them a tradition for the coming years. I can't wait to see the boys play together in that cabin in the snow! Kirstie and Nick are just two of our wonderful friends though! Even though they have moved to Redmond, WA, Kimberly and Pat are still very close to our hearts and we recently got to spend a week with Kim and Quinn who is 5 months old. We look forward to seeing them often in this next year and watching the boys grow together even from a distance. Without these two girls in my life I don't think I would be who I am. I lean on them very much for support, advice, love, and laughter. They both give these to me with seemingly endless abundance. Ritchie has a group of co-workers that he has grown very close with and he really enjoys a job that he probably wouldn't otherwise because of them. Chris has been our "roommate" (though for those of you that know this, you know that he really just uses his room here for storage) for several months now. Although he isn't here often we really enjoy having him around when he is and I know that Ritchie enjoys his time with him at work. Ritchie's two childhood friends, Martin and Anthony are a constant in Ritchie's life and no matter how much time passes he can always rely on them and pick up right where they left off. Our friends are truly amazing and we feel blessed to have them!
• Our family. We really saw the true meaning of family come to life when our son was born. We had dinners provided, our house cleaned, people to give us a break for sleep, and constant love and encouragement during those first few challenging weeks of parenting. We are constantly looking to our family for guidance and support and they never let us down. We couldn't be more grateful that we are close to our families both in proximity and at heart.
• Our jobs. In this economy, need I say more? Ritchie loves working for Apple and is excited to explore some new opportunities in the coming year. Even though I am staying at home with Maxton and loving every second of it, I miss Monticello and the people who I work with. I am very thankful that when I do return I know I will be supported in my desire to be a mother and a teacher. It will be easier to do so since Max will be right there and I can see him frequently through the day. So, not only do we have jobs but we have jobs that we love and that offer us benefits that are very meaningful to us.
• Last but certainly not least, we are most thankful for our precious son. Maxton fills our life with joy everyday. His smile melts our hearts and everyday we marvel at what an amazing child we have been blessed with. I was decorating the tree the other day and found one of my favorite ornaments. It's a book that we write in every year to tell about the events of that Christmas so we can reminisce in the years to come over past Christmases. Anyway, last year we wrote that we hoped it would be our last Christmas without little ones. We feel thankful that our Christmas wish last year came true and we are thrilled to get to center this year's Christmas around Max. We love him so much.

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving this year: