Today I'm grateful for...

EVERYTHING.

I'm in one of those deep and thoughtful moods that, I'll be honest, doesn't hit me all that often. It's not that I don't have deep thoughts (I do! Sometimes frequently!), it's just that I don't usually sit and ponder on them for very long. Most of the time I'm kind of a light and go-lucky type.

(And if you've read my blog for long you probably just rolled your eyes at my statement of the obvious.)

Today I'm pondering though.

About the choices Russ and I have made for our family, marriage, and lives.
About the way we parent.
About the way living in two countries while growing up has, in part, shaped me, and how my children won't have that.
About how glad I am that we've chosen to live differently than a lot of other Americans because of the Financial Peace University course we took for the first time back in 2005.
About how much we have. (So, so much.)
About how my emotions and feelings can get in the way of the truth sometimes, and how helpful it is to step back and be reminded of the big picture.
About my weaknesses and bad habits.
About how God has used me recently even when I've been feeling pretty pathetic about my "usefulness".
About whether I want to get off the couch and hunt down something sweet or whether I'm going to be good and just drink my water. (That one's a toughie.)

And all this pondering has made me grateful, because you know what? I LOVE my life. I'm happy with where I'm at. In my marriage, in my parenting, in my friendships and relationships, in my church, in my 3 bedroom fixer-upper house.

Do I think I'm perfect? Oh, ho ho ho! (Umm, NO.) Is there room for improvement? Tons. Could I be doing more for God, for my family, for society? Yes, for sure. Will I EVER lose the weight I want to lose? It's questionable, gosh darn it!

But without a shadow of a doubt, I am blessed. And that's what I'm pondering.