Thanksgiving

This year was the very first year that I haven't spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my family and while I had fun staying at school with some friends, it was hard not to be home with my family. Thanksgiving isn't one of my favorite holidays, I often feel like it is just an excuse for people to be glutinous and overeat. However, I realized this year that Thanksgiving (or any day for that matter) is what you make it. And, being away from my family and reflecting on things I am thankful for really made me realize how grateful I am for my family. Yes, we are slightly disfunctional and there hardly goes a day where there isn't some type of conflict, but we love each other and I honestly can't image my life without them. Because there is so much adoption in my family, I think I am extra grateful for my family - each and every member. I am so grateful that my mom opened up her heart and home to me when I was little and needed someone to love me and take care of me. I am so grateful my parents chose to do foster care and adopt my four younger siblings. I am also grateful for the foster care experience because it exposed me to such special children and made me a better person. I am grateful for each and everyone of my siblings - they all teach me so much through their examples and their loving spirits. Most of all, I am grateful to my Heavenly Father. Grateful for His love and guidance that has been abundant in my life and in my family. I know that each member of my family was meant to be together for eternity and Heavenly Father helped us to all find each other. Even though we have a our fare share of problems and difficulties in our family, I am able to have such a positive outlook because I know that we are so blessed - and I am so grateful for that knowledge. I love my Father in Heaven and my family more than anything else!