Give Thanks

Today was one of the greatest Thanksgivings I have probably ever had. My parents and brother went over to my in-laws house, and there was a pretty big crowd. Everyone that was there (and their relationship to us):

Mom (MaryJane)
Dad (Sterling)
Clint (my brother)
Nathan (mine ;)
Me (duh)
Sharon (Nathan's mom)
Eldon (Nathan's Dad)
Renae (Nathan's Sister)
Josh (Renae's husband)
Lillian (Renae and Josh's baby)
Kevin (Josh's cousin)
Rebecca (Nathan's sister)
MJ aka Mitch (Rebecca's fiance)
Emil (Mitch's dad)
Deborah (Mitch's mom)
Jack (Rebecca's son)
MaryEllen (Renae's best friend)
Eric (Ives family friend)
Linda (Ives family friend, Eric's wife)
Laura (Ives family friend, Eric's mom)
Rachel (Nathan's sister)
Brian (Rachel's husband)
Camilla (Rachel & Brian's daughter)
Eli (Rachel & Brian's son)

Wow, that's 24!! It was so great though. The food was fabulous, everybody had a great time, and it was so great to visit with everybody. MJ's parents came into town from Denver, and they'd come over the summer too, so we had already had a chance to get to know them. Emil, MJ's dad, is the executive chef at a restaurant at a fancy shmancy hotel in Denver, and I was so so flattered when he said my rolls looked beautiful! I was so happy! It's pretty intimidating to cook for a chef, I'm telling you! I had made 3 different kinds of rolls, and they had turned out SO GOOD! Everybody thought I had bought them... they were Knotted Sesame Parmesan Rolls, Crescent Rolls, and Pull-Apart Blossoming Rolls. Under the direction of my mom (aka the bread master) I have really mastered the bread thing! Love it! (Just so you know, my mom wasn't always the bread master. She attended a presentation by Pantry Secrets and it pretty much changed our whole bread lives.)

Anyway, on to what this post is really supposed to be about; giving thanks. I have so very much to be grateful for, making a list really wouldn't suffice. There are a few things that I must mention, though... First, I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father who gave me the opportunity to come to earth and experience this wonderful, beautiful life. He knows me better than anyone, and he has blessed me with a generous dose of emotion.

Sometimes in comparison to Nathan I feel that I am experiencing life times 10. Maybe it just comes along with being a woman, but often my emotions feel so intense I just have to express them, or possibly blow up. Sometimes this isn't' so nice and I have a meltdown, but other times I am so full of joy that I have to dance or sing or hug someone. What a beautiful life this is! What a wonderful body I have been given, through which I can feel these divine emotions. It doesn't matter to me what triggers them (I cry at every Jiff peanut butter commercial ever made).. I just love to feel them. Maybe this is why I always related to Anne of Green Gables so well.... hmmmm.

I am also grateful for Nathan. I sit here with almost no words to express how I feel about him. He is everything to me... how I caught such a wonderful man, I will never know. He is much more mature, intelligent, and thoughtful than I am. Let me share just one of the more recent sweet things he has done for me. Last Tuesday, I was having a pretty crappy day. I won't go into any details, but trust me, it was bad. After work, I came home to find that the house was clean, the laundry was in progress, the dishes were done, there was a bunch of beautiful flowers on the table, as well as a big present with a card. I don't think he will mind if I share what he wrote, so inside the card it said,

" Katy, I know that you have had a hard day. I can't stop thinking about you. I love you so much. Know that I will always be here to support you and cheer you up! Love, Nathan"

This alone turned me into a mushy puddle, but inside the bag were some of my favorite comfort items. Revealing the contents of this bag to you will probably reveal a lot about me and probably convince you I'm pretty strange.... Oh well, here goes:

Katy's Emergency Meltdown Kit:
1 bag of Salt & Vinegar kettle chips (Made with malt vinegar)
1 bag peppermint lifesavers
1 mamba fruit chews
1 tropical starburst
1 shiny new planner for 2010 with a dachshund theme.. a brand new adorable dachshund
picture every week!! Talk about melting my heart!!

Need I say anything more to convince you that Nathan is the most wonderful man alive? This amazing man went into petco (PETCO!) just to find something with adorable puppies on it. He went in and brought to the check-out a single little dachshund planner. Most men shudder to think of completing this task... but is Nathan embarrassed to go and buy a cute little puppy planner to surprise his #1 girl? Nope. I love him so much.

I love Nathan so much that I even talk about it in my sleep! The other night Nathan stayed up reading in bed for a little while . I had fallen asleep long before him, but when he went to turn off the light, I snuggled up to him and said "Soooooooo much. Sooooooooooooooo much. Baby, you are the best baby ever." Well, I guess that translates to mean I love him. Sooooooooooo much ;)

I am also grateful to have such a great brother. My brother Clint is probably best described by a compliment that was paid to him recently. My friend Mary's older brother Sam is extremely intellectual, and he said, "Clinton is an Israelite in whom there is no guile". It is so true. He is completely without guile. He has absolutely no ulterior motives. He doesn't have a single self-serving bone in his whole body. If you were down to your last dime, he would give you all he had and more. He will drop everything he's doing to help you if you ask. He is such a wonderful example of what I need to be, and Heavenly Father blessed my life so much when he let me be Clint's little sister. We are so different in so many ways, but nearly identical in others, like how we both do this little wheezy thing right before we laugh. He has been my #1 friend since birth. I love you, Clint :)
(p.s. When I say 'I love you' to Clint over the phone, he always says it back. Even if I call him at work. He also occasionally kisses me on the cheek, which melts my heart like butter in the microwave.)

I don't think I will go any further tonight mentioning specific individuals who have touched my life. I've already done plenty of sentimental crying at my keyboard over this post. As refreshing as it is, I think I must stop now. Next time I feel like having a good sentimental cry, I will write you a mile-long post about my mom and dad, aka the best people in the whole world.

Let me leave you with a music video of a song that I heard in the car the other day on the way home from work. The lyrics really spoke to me at that particular moment. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



P.s. I love you too, reader.