Thankful Day #3

Two people who I'm incredibly thankful for would be my parents. My parents aren't perfect, I reminded them of that growing up and still do sometimes, ha ha. Anyway, they are two of the most loving, caring, and generous people I know. They raised me in a loving and christian home and taught me right from wrong. They set boundaries for me and even though I didn't like it then, it made me a person who knew that I couldn't get away with anything I wanted. One thing I am grateful for is for them letting me figure things out on my own, mainly in college, but being there for me when I realized what I was doing was wrong and wasn't going to work. They have always been there for me with a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, and encouraging me to be the person I am today. Being a parent isn't easy, you always think you can do the job better than someone else, at least I thought I could, until I had children of my own. And now with three kids of my own, I can't even come close to being as good of a parent as them. They rock!

Let me share a little bit about my mom. She is someone whom I talk with at least every other day if not every day. 2 hours and 15 minutes may separate us by distance but we don't allow that to keep us apart. I call her often for advice, to vent, or just to chat. She has encouraged me to be the best mom I can be and lets me know that it's okay to work full time cause I have all summer with my kids, winter break, spring break, and many other days in there as well. For that I am thankful, I'm a better mom because I work and she has always encouraged me to do what I love. I love teaching. After my first year of teaching I wanted to quit and it was my dad and my mom who said, no way, you are an excellent teacher and I pursued on. She is the best, she even comes down to help me while my hubby is hunting. Having three kids for 4 or 5 days alone is no fun, but relief from grandma is so much appreciated and the kids loved having her. Teaching me how to make applesauce and strawberry jam, and to sew are things I will forever cherish. My mom is an incredible mom who is so giving and concerned for her children. I hope I can only be half the mom she has been for me for my children.

Now let me share a little bit about my dad. I have always been a daddy's girl. Here's a little story about my dad, I had wanted to date a Senior, I was a Sophomore in High School. I begged to date. My dad always had said I had to be 16 to date. I wouldn't turn 16 till right before my Junior year. Oh man, that was terrible, torture, but he came to his senses and let me date. He came up one Saturday morning and woke me up to let me know he had thought about it and I could date. I think he made a good choice. I was treated very well by this young man, one of the best guys around, but he broke my heart. Anyway. My dad is also someone who has encouraged me along the way. I always trust his advice and I love being able to sit with him and chat over coffee. Since I'm a mom, I'm awake early on Saturday mornings and when we visit I enjoy chatting with him and talking about my hubby, or mom, yup we talk about you sometimes, my sibblings. He always knows what to say and understands me. I think I'm a lot like my dad. We both love to meet new people and are pretty quick to socialize. I admire his abilities to talk to strangers, mainly in church. He'll walk up to a visitor and introduce himself and start conversations. I think that is awesome. It is something that I am always trying to do. My dad is also my little helper. If I want something done at my house I usually ask my dad. He has painted just about every wall in my house, or he probably will by the time we move out. Just recently he asked me if J was bothered by him helping me out, nah, J doesn't care, it's getting done and he doesn't have to do it. He hangs pictures for me, does wall words for me, when my hubby compains. Another thing that my dad does is hang out with my husband, I am so blessed to have this, my dad and husband are great friends and have a wonderful relationship, love it! But the best thing about my dad is how awesome of a grandpa he is. We have a tradition with my mom and sister, a few of them actually. We like to partake in black friday, which was fine before kids but that didn't stop us with Super Grandpa, he has watched my kids for all of our black friday trips. For that I am thankful, he also watches my kids so I can go to the K-Wings craft show each year with my mom and sister. He is a wonderful grandpa to my girls and also to Easton. He even changes dirty diapers. The best was about a month ago when he was wiping Addi's butt on the toilet and she said, "I wuv you Grandpa."

I've rattled on long enough but my parents are the best, I am so blessed to call them mom and dad, love you guys!