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Holy smokes, it's FRIDAY already.  Where has this week gone?  For us, it's consisted of unpacking/re-packing/organizing, Bill going back to work, a Lowe's trip, family meals, walks, ice cream and cupcakes, and a whole lot of laughter.

 

So, what am I most thankful for this week? 

 

1. My Girls.  They really are the best part of me.  They are and will always be my greatest contribution to this world.  The growth that I've seen in them in the past 8 months (especially in Ava) blows me away.  When I look at them and see the happiness, security, and love they feel, I know that I am doing right by and for them.

 

2.  E.  Few people in this world know me as well as she does.  She knows my heart and she knows when to 'read between the lines' into what I can't find the words to say sometimes.  She's been by my side through every joy and hardship I've faced over the past 13 years.  Never judging - just loving.  Having her by my side while I married the man of my dreams was the best gift I could have been given.

 

3.  My New Family.  I truly feel like the girls and I hit the jackpot.  Bill likes to joke (well, really they all do) that they are a little crazy.  According to him, the less of his family I met pre-wedding, the more likely I was to go through with it.  All joking aside, he, and now the girls and I have an amazing family.  They have welcomed us with open arms, love, and a lot of laughs.  And I'm very grateful for all of them.

 

4.  iPhone Pictures.  What did we do before we could take pictures with our phones?  I guess we had to actually practice some patience and wait to get them developed.

 

We had several family members who took pictures with iPhones before, during, and after our ceremony (even though we had two professional photographers taking them as well), and I can.not.quit.looking.at.them.  Our day turned out so much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined and I am so thankful for all the photos that captured it for us.

 

5.  My husband.  It feels almost surreal to be able to call Bill that - my husband.  But according to the state of NC, it is official.  He's mine and I am his.  We received the email from the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds, yesterday, telling us so.  We both have had points in our lives where we've questioned why certain things have happened, but I know now that each and every one of those things directly lead us to each other.  I say it often, but before Bill, I never knew life could or should be so easy, and happy.  I never knew it was possible to have someone love all of you, faults and all, and to not be afraid to tell them because you know they will still love you anyways.  And where he really gets me - he loves my girls with every ounce of his being.  So often I catch myself just staring at him, and thinking, "Wow...this is really my life.  How did I get so lucky?"

 

To put it simply...next to God and his Momma, no one will ever love him more.