thankful.

tomorrow is 37 weeks. Full term-- ish. We did it. And I am so thankful for that. 

this weekend was my second baby shower and saying I left feeling thankful would be the understatement of the century. Not only did all of the presents not fit in our car, friends and family drove from miles to come support me and this precious little boy. It was truly overwhelming, and I felt nothing short of loved.

It's funny how has kids you really don't appreciate much of what your parents do or teach you or how you really have no idea how their influence on your life is shaping you into this person that you might someday be. My parents are wonderful, supportive and always loving who have taught me more than I could ever write a blog post about, but it hasn't been since being pregnant that has made me realize the things they taught me has stuck with me and how thankful I am to them for their hard work in raising us.

I know, pretty cliche..but really it's true. 

My mom has always taught us to be thankful, count your blessings, and to have a Pollyanna attitude. 

( For those of you who haven't seen this movie, please stop what you are doing and watch it now, dorky yes..but fun and worth your time..very much so.) Her attitude in the movie is simply to see the best in life and in every situation. Though I'm not always very good at this being raised with my mom I can usually hear her in the back of my head constantly saying " My pollyanna attitude is coming but..." and she would name one blessing or positive thing in whatever circumstance we were in. I think being thankful is a choice and we must choose it, even in hardships. So as I thinking about that this morning and  I was praying that the Lord would make me a more thankful woman, wife and mother. I was praying that my child would grow up in a thankful home that chooses joy and love, even when we don't want too. 

God works in beautiful ways because as I was praying for that I got an email from my mother in law who sent me the link to this blog

A Holy Experience

and of course what was the topic: thankfulness. 

Some days I'm thankful for the bigger things, electricity, good health, running water, shelter and warmth, my family...

Some days its easy to be thankful for the "small" things, coffee and tea in cute mugs with good books, warm fuzzy socks, the beauty of winter, chocolate, fun movies and baby socks.

Today, I am just thankful for it all.. Life and joy, the cross and my salvation, the assurance I have in Christ and the hope of an eternity with Him. I'm thankful for a messy house full of baby supplies, those strong baby kicks which make it impossible not to use the bathroom every hour. 

I know my days will soon be so different, filled with new things, dirty diapers and so much of the unknown. I want to be thankful for it all, I want to embrace this new change and find grace and beauty in those hard moments. I want to snuggle my baby and thank God for him everyday. I want to love my husband well while learning my new role as a mother. Above all I want to glorify God and praise Him each day for this beautiful life He has given me.
my prayer today is that my home will be filled of thankful hearts and spirits that choose joy, even though we fail everyday.

today, I'm just simply thankful. And I'm thankful for a mom who has continued to show me what it looks like to have a "Pollyanna" attitude.