Thankful

The months are flying by...I wish time would just stand still....

Since November is a month of thanks I thought I would share a few of the things that I am most thankful for....

So much has happened this year, and as it draws to a close soon I am hoping that it was our most challenging for a while. Maybe until law school. We have had the worst of times and some great times this past year. My mother in law passed away suddenly, and the grief still lingers in our hearts. I wonder how excited she would be with Noah on the way. Everytime Mati does something hilarious I tell Josh his mom would have loved this! I try to keep her around as much as possible. I reference her when I can, but we also have to be careful. Madelyne really only remembers the last week I think sometimes. Grey's Anatomy was on and there was a middle-aged woman sitting in a hospital bed, she passed by and asked if that was grandma. My heart skipped a little and I reminded her that grandma was in heaven with Jesus. She gets upset sometimes because she wants to go see Jesus and see grandma. It comes in waves but there will be weeks where she will reference Susan all week. I miss her too Mati moo...we are just so thankful for the week we had with her in the end. She taught me more about life in that last week than most learn in a lifetime.

This year I also started back to school, and boy was that a challenge. I have passed points of stress and exhaustion with flying colors, but it was hard. This December will be the close of my first year down. Although I have a long road ahead of me, it was a year of credits that I didn't have. It was all worth it and I am farther than I have ever been.

This year Madelyne turned 2, and everyday we are blessed with a piece of heaven. She is so smart, funny, and a ball of sass. She is such a sweet natured baby, and melts my heart daily. Honestly we didn't know what we were doing when we decided to get pregnant a few years ago but wow...what a blessing we received.

This year we also found our we would be receiving another blessing in our household. Noah Grayson Kozel has been one of my biggest challenges. My pregnancy has been rather rough on my body this time. I have had moments of questioning our decision to get pregnant again with all the stress our lifestyle comes with, but then our amazing little girl will walk up to me and say "hey beautiful" and I can't wait to meet our little man to hear the things that will come out of his mouth.

This has also been Josh's last full year of school. When his mom passed away he decided to lower his load to deal with the pain, and that pushed him over to next semester. I am so thankful that after 7 years of being in school he will be done. I am so proud of him. I have been there for most of his journey, and my respect for this man is huge. He has had many all nighters...many afternoons away from his family, but he has managed to never let us feel like we are anything but number 1 in his list of priorities. Thank you honey for taking on the burden to better our future.

I am incredibly thankful for my family. My immediate and my in laws. I have such wonderful parents and although we don't always have the same opinion in things we never let it get in the way of our relationship. They are still my parents and you only get one set, you only get one family so I think you should make the best of anything. I think this comes with maturity not just age; you realize you no longer need your parents approval, you just need their love. This past year I have learned that your parents were chosen for you by a much greater power so trust him. Being a parent is not a walk in the park, and there no one is perfect.

Thank you God for blessing us with a great life. We must be doing something right to have received the gifts you have so graciously given.