Thoughts on a Thanksgiving Morning

It is hard not to think about everything that I am grateful for. I feel as though my cup runeth over. I have been blessed abundantly in so many ways.

I have such an amazing family! I am grateful that through all the craze, divorces and issues we have pulled through it all by relying on each other. Today it is just my mother and I, we are going over to a friends house after we finish baking all the pies. Justin and Brooke are in Logandale with Brooke's family and Jeff and Jenna are in Kalamazoo with Jenna's family. This is the first time that the three of us have been apart on Thanksgiving.

Not to give all the love to my two older brothers, but I am remarkably blessed to be so close to both sets of my parents, my aunts and uncles and all my cousins. I love spending time with all of them and miss them all like crazy when I'm in Utah.

I have to recognize my framily, you know my friends that have become my family. I really have the best friends in the world. I can't express how lucky I am to have so many wonderful friends who care about me. From Grey's to boats to breakups and marriages we have all been there for each other, through our highs and our lows.

I am grateful for the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Last night I got the opportunity to go to the Colorado Avalanche. During the National Anthem I found myself thinking about how grateful I am to the founding fathers who recognized the ideals and truths that have become the foundation of this Country. We might be going through some rocky times, but we will prevail.

I am grateful to be a woman. Not that there is anything wrong with men (well...). Women are powerful beyond anyone's expectations. I hope to retain my womanhood through all my endeavors in. I aspire to be like the strong women who have paved the way for me through the workplace, the political arena, in the home and in communities. I am grateful to those who had to sacrifice so much to design the path.

I am also really grateful to be able to watch my little brother Reggie grow up. I marvel at the world that he will experience, though only 14 years younger than me, his perspective will be remarkably different than mine. He is growing up in a post-9/11 society, he sees the bad with the good that at his age I never knew existed.

I am grateful to be educated. I really feel that knowledge is power. By gaining an education you better understand the world you live in and your place in it. I am especially grateful to be educated in an environment like BYU. I have been able to explore so many different subjects at the feet of brilliant minds, while getting a religious influence in my life as well.

I am grateful for my faith. It has shaped me and changed my heart in so many ways. I never imagined I would be the person that I am today.

There really is so much more that I am grateful for. Things that have shaped my life and things that are small and insignificant. I'm going to list a few without going into detail to spare you before you stop reading.

Sports (duh, did you really think I wouldn't mention that one), My car, Nordstrom, Diet Pepsi/Coke, Pie, Thanksgiving dinner, the recently lowered gas prices, Art, running shoes, airplanes, my work, the experience I had with the Salt Lake Bees and therefore the Angels, Boys who have hurt my heart or who's hearts I've hurt, communication tools, mentors, ugh...the Jazz (just because without them the Bees wouldn't exist J/K Hannah, Go Jazz!), Memories, movies and love!