I'm grateful..

I know that I am ridiculously behind on my blog but I needed to post right now about how blessed and grateful I am for all I have been given because I am feeling very spoiled today.

I am grateful for my dear husband.  I don't tell him or show him enough how deeply I love him.  I am so blessed to have a man that sets an amazing example of hard work, love, dedication and service.  Just a few examples of the type of man Derrick is that I adore...

Several months ago the EQ was assigned to clean the church.  Derrick showed up and cleaned.  He stopped to help bring in projects for our super Saturday and then went back to work cleaning.  No one else showed up to clean until an hour and a half after Derrick got there.  I would have been so annoyed and been calling the presidency after about 15 minutes of no one coming to help.  Derrick, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all, didn't complain or even tell me that he was there by himself.  Instead, the lady he had stopped to help told me. That is just one of his amazing examples of service.

Last night the kids and I were playing in the water.  Derrick was mowing the lawn and Easton saw him and said "Daddy, in there" and patted the water in the pool.   I reminded Derrick that they are only little for a minute and even though he was totally embarrassed about the way our yard looked, he took his shoes off and sat in the cold pool with us.  He puts his family first and I love that.

If I have had a rough day or been down, he is there to cheer me up.  Even though he wakes up early and works hard all day he comes home, helps with the kids, makes dinner, picks up the house and spends time with me, sacrificing the sleep  I know he longs for to support me.  He is willing to sacrifice and live a modest life so I can stay home with our beautiful children.  I am glad that we have the same goals for our family and each other.  He honors his Priesthood and fulfills his callings and duties in a way I am sure Heavenly Father is proud of.  He is an amazing friend and husband and more than I ever dreamed of.  I love you Derrick, with all my heart, and I am so glad I get to grow old with you.

I am blessed to have such sweet, loving kids.  I am thankful every moment of every day for Mindy and the love she has for Madi and Easton and the choices she made for them. I am blessed and humbled to be their mom.  All I ever wanted to be is a mom.  I am far from perfect at it.  It is the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I have ever done.  (I am going to do Madi & Easton updates later today, I hope, so I'll save more for that.)

I am blessed to have the family that I do.  I have three amazing parents!  My mom is a great example of service and charity.  She is a hard worker and does so much for everyone around her.  Mom and Dad Hawkins are so welcoming and loving.  They are so willing to help and so good to our sweet children.  Both of my kids LOVE going to grandma and grandpa's and ask to do so often.  I love having them close by and that we are able to share special occasions with them.

I have an abundance of siblings, both natural and in-laws, and I love them all!  I love being from a big family and the people that have joined it.  I love Derrick's siblings and the friendships I have with them.  I wish we could afford to get together more often or that they lived closer.  I am so excited to have two of my brothers and their cute families moving back to UT.  I love my nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins.

I am so so so blessed to live where I do.  I could not have asked to live in a better ward.  There are so many amazingly talented people that freely give and share and teach. I am uplifted and edified each Sunday as I go to church.  I have never been in a ward with so many people that are willing to serve.  It has truly blessed our ward and I am so grateful for the examples that are  set for me.

I am so very thankful for my awesome friends!  They lift me up, sympathize with me, show me more love, service and compassion than I deserve, cry with me, laugh with me and everything in between. 

Most of all I am grateful to know that I am a daughter of God.  I know that He knows me, that He hears my prayers, that He comforts and strengthens me when I am weak, that He forgives me when I do wrong and that He loves me unconditionally.  I am thankful He has given prophets to lead and guide, scriptures to learn and grow from and the gospel to aid me in the journey of life.  How very blessed I am!