Much to be grateful for...

In this season of giving thanks, I've been thinking a lot about all the things in my life that are tremendous blessings and have contemplated how on earth I've deserved such things. This post is more of a journal entry than a cool post, but since I'm awful at journal writing, I thought I would document my thoughts this way.
I am grateful for Matt. Although most people would consider us immature, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I'm glad we can laugh and have fun even in times of trial and indecision. I'm thankful he is a hard worker and trying his best to gain a marketable skill that he can use to support our little family. He is going to be a great dad to little Kate and I am really excited to see his relationship grow with our kids.
I'm grateful for a fun family that we can live close to. Matt's family is 5-10 minutes away, and my family is 5-10 footsteps away. I know some people must think we are crazy for living next to my parents, but it has been such a blessing. Our relationship has been strenghtened and our respect for them intensified as we've watched them and interacted with them. My parents are by far the greatest people on earth who couldn't be more selfless if they tried. They are such good examples to us in all aspects of life. I've learned from them that even though life can be thrown into a tailspin at any given moment, life is to be enjoyed, not just trudged through. Their faith has never been shaken and for that reason, neither has mine. I grew up living next door to my grandma and grandpa and have a plethora of memories with them. Riding in the tractor with Grandpa, getting my nails done by grandma, sleepovers, feeding the ducks, eating raisins... I could go on forever! I hope my kids can experience the same memories with my parents. I'm glad both Matt and I have siblings that are friends to us as much as they are family. We have a lot of great people we are able to spend time with and have fun with.
I am also way grateful for the many amazing friends we have! I'm glad that we have been able to stay in touch with our close friends even when they live far away. We talk at least 5 times a day about the great people we call our friends. I'm glad there are people out there who can actually stand to be around us for more than 5 minutes!
Last thing I want to express gratitude about is our home. We are so grateful to be moving into a home in South Jordan, Utah. I know we would be grateful to move in to a home ANYWHERE, but I'm not joking when I say that having a house in South Jordan is a dream come true for us. We always say that if we don't live here on 1055 West, we'll be forced to live somewhere like Elko or Panguitch since everything is so freaking expensive. I'm so grateful for the opportunity we have to take over my sister's house at a rate that isn't too high for us. We were both raised here and love it. With Matt's profession in photo, we aren't going to be moving around too much since his work is based on clients and word of mouth, etc. We're here to stay and couldn't be more grateful for our location.
At the last general conference, Elder Eyring talked about recognizing the hand of God in your life each day. Ever since that talk, I have tried to do that, and I have been amazed at the little things I've noticed that I used to completely overlook. We've definitely learned to be grateful for everything, even the little things.

Happy Thanksgiving next week!