Family

     I'll try not to get sappy on any potential readers, but how could I possibly write a blog about gratefulness without mentioning family.  Especially after an amazing and special birthday, I feel so lucky and blessed to have all these people surrounding me.  They have been there through the not-so-good moments, as well as the successes.  I am so thankful that God has placed me in this specific family, and he has done just that: place, each and every one of us!
    Granted, we are very dysfunctional.  We all have weird quirks, pet-peeves, and tiny little buttons to push.  Yet, I have found that most of the things about my family that drive me crazy, are the very things that I struggle with myself.  Crazy how God does that!  They act as a mirror, a reflection of who I am and where I come from.  Family is a comforting familiar in this crazy world, that pulls me back to fun game nights and Wipeout on the Xbox Kinect.  Most importantly, my family has shown me the love of God.  My mom, dad and siblings, mean so much to me.  In a sense, they are a driving factor in who I am and what I expect of myself.
     Thank you so much God for these blessings that I often yell at and disregard.  Thank you so much for the loving care they have shown me throughout my life, and for years to come.  And to those family members themselves: I cannot thank you enough.  Perhaps anonymously celebrating you on the internet will suffice :)