A Little Comparison

The other day I stumbled across this blog and I felt very.....small.

Not that my problems and issues aren't a big deal...because they are to me but in the big picture, the BIG scheme of things, they are very small issues.

The blog is called Don't Waste Your Cancer.  This woman sees her cancer as get this....

A GIFT

That's right, you read it correct. 

Libby Ryder is a 27 year old woman who is married with a little 1 year old daughter named Ava.  

This is an excerpt from her blog:

this blog is going to tell our story of some recent news that changes everything. justin and i were talking about this yesterday...we decided nothing will be the same again, ever. but in the best way possible. we are excited for this new path in our journey as a couple and as individuals. i told him this past week that i was thankful this was all happening now and not in 60 years when we were older and had missed out on loving Jesus this much, or each other this much, and everyone around this much. since we never saw this one coming. i guess that is what you sign up for when you decide to give your life...we are talking your life here...to Jesus Christ. it means trusting him with everything. i thought i did though. but now i know that i didn't. i mean i did a little. but not like i do now. this is our story and since we are not writing it, God is...we have to trust that he wanted this part to be in ours.

 

Libby has Stage 4 lymphoma.  Cancer.  

 

She is less than a year younger than me.  So, while I am worrying about when we can move up to north, get out of debt, have kids, get more money in savings; this woman is worrying about having enough energy to make her daughter's Halloween costume, being able to get out of her own bed to put her daughter to bed, being healthy enough to see her daughter grow up, scheduling her life around chemo treatments and trying to find a cute way to cover up her thinning hair.

 

I have so much.

 

Sometimes it is so easy to take your life for granted, to think of the negative and not the positive, to always want MORE.

 

Today I am thankful for my health.

It shouldn't take a diagnosis of cancer for us to be thankful.

So....think of everything that you have in your life, not what you don't.  We can all have bigger houses, less debt, more savings etc...

That doesn't get you anywhere though.  Things could always be better but let's be thankful for how good things are NOW.

 

So - cheers to a new week and hopefully no more snow!!!!  

 

 

What are you thankful for today?

 

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my birthday.

I am 28.  

This is what I wish I was doing right now.

Me sitting on Curtis' bike out by the barn drinking a Stella...in case you couldn't tell!

A few reasons why I am happy on my birthday:

1.  I have gotten to talk to most of my favorite people all in one day

2.  My Mom and Dad got me a Vera Bradley Messenger Bag in purple punch which I have patiently been waiting to open for 2 weeks now!!!

3.  I went on a little Target shopping trip with my birthday money and didn't feel one bit guilty!

4.  I got free BWW for lunch at work from a drug rep.  They also brought me a turtle ice cream cake that I couldn't eat (pecans) but the thought was so sweet!

5.  Shaun is making me dinner tonight.

6.  Our house is clean (which means I can actually feel relaxed tonight as Shaun and I watch a movie and I will not be thinking about the other million things I could be doing instead of sitting!!!)

7.  Nothing tragic happened at my office today!  It was a pretty good day!

8.  So many people have left me Happy Birthday messages on Facebook and it makes me feel very special!  Even though I know they are reminded on their profile page...but who cares, right? :)

9.  I have lived for 28 happy and healthy years - with not much to complain about.

10.  And finally - I am happy today because I feel content.  I am not worried, not anxious, just happy!

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes.  I love you all.

Oh and P.S. As always, thanks for reading my blog :)

Cheers to birthday shopping and Buffalo Wild Wings!

Packed and ready to go

The car is packed, Shower favors and gifts are done, birthday presents are bought....

I think we are ready to go!!!

I am so excited to be able to spend time with my family this Thanksgiving.  Colin and Tracy are being AWESOME and hosting Thanksgiving this year.  Shaun is smoking a turkey...all is set up for a wonderful Thanksgiving.  

We have Thanksgiving and Shirley's birthday tomorrow, a little shopping on Friday, Sarah's Baby Shower on Saturday and little miss Bella's 1st birthday party on Sunday.  It's a packed weekend but full of fun stuff :)

I can't wait!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful so much but especially for my close knit family, my husband (and Bear) and my health.  You don't realize how important your health is until you aren't healthy.  Life is precious and I am thankful.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

 

I am thankful for people

Today I am thankful for my husband who is such a good listener.  He always listens to me - no matter how much what I am saying does not make any logical sense.  when I say blah, blah, blah...you know what I mean?!?!?!  He always says, "yeah I know".  He has such a big heart.  He always looks on the bright side of things and when I am down he always, always, always finds a way to make me laugh - even if I don't want to - like really don't want to.

The reason why I really love/am thankful for my husband lately is because no matter how many times I say that I do not want to live down here and that I wish we could move up north, he says it will be soon enough and we can live up there for the rest of our lives, it will be okay.  Sometimes I can be selfish and only think about myself.  Sometimes I forget about others and just think about why I don't want to live down here and forget about the people who would be devastated if we left.  I love Shaun, I think he is a great person and I think he has an enormous heart and I am so lucky to have him as mine!

I am thankful for my Mom.  She is probably the most selfless person I know.  She cares so much about her family and her children and she always ate the burnt piece of garlic bread when we had spaghetti.  She listens to me complain about life (maybe I should stop doing that) she is happy for me when good things happen and she is really fun to be around.  

I am thankful for my Dad.  He cares so much about all of us kids.  He tells us that he is proud of us.  He tells us that he loves us.  He tells us to watch out for ourselves and he takes me for rides on the back of his motorcycle.  I love how when I call him on the phone he always sounds so happy to hear from me and always says, "Hi sweetheart" (I can hear his voice in my head right now as I write this)  I might give him a call just to hear it :) My Dad would hit softballs to me in the backyard whenever I asked him to.  I know that because of my Dad (and my Mom) that I had a GREAT childhood, full of memories that will stay with me forever.

I am thankful for my brother's.  They always try to hang out with me when we come up to visit.  When we were little and I was afraid of the thunderstorms, I would make them beds on my bed room floor, and they ALWAYS got up and slept on my floor.  When I was in High School and Colin's room was in the basement, I would be trying on clothes for the next day at midnight and Curtis always let me turn his light on in his bedroom (for better light, duh) and when I asked him which shirt or which shoes I should wear, he always told me which one he liked better - he never yelled at me to turn the light off or leave him alone :)  

I am so proud of my brothers.  they are both homeowners and they both have fantastic girlfriends, who I love to death.  I am glad that I have my brothers, I consider them as friends and not everyone can say that.  

I am thankful for my friends .  I could not get through life without my girlfriends.  They are there for me when I am down or don't know how to approach a situation and just need some advice.  They are such good people too.  They are forgiving, they are understanding, they are non-judgmental,  they are crazy fun to be around and the best part is that they accept me totally for who I am!  I have some of the best friends in the whole world.  My friends are REAL friends and I consider them family.  

 This is not a complete list of pictures but you know who you are.  I am thankful for my friends because I know that no matter what happens or where we are that we will always be there for each other through thick and thin.  My friends are a part of me and without them I would not be the person that I am today.  

since this post has been pretty random so far, why stop now?!?!?!

Here are some other random things that I am thankful for:

1. Having the ability to buy and pay the mortgage on a very cute and quaint little house

2.  My job

3.  My arms and legs

4.  The ability to know the difference between right and wrong

5.  Being able to live in such a free country where we can really do whatever we want

6.  Helpful/Supportive Co-workers

7.  Being able to pay our bills and put food on the table

8.  Being able to take trips

9. The list could seriously go on and on.....

If you are having a bad or hard day today, just stop and think about what is good in your life, not what is bad.  Things could ALWAYS take a turn for the worse - in a second.  Be thankful.

Happy September!!!  Pretty soon, it will look like this outside:

  Beautiful, I can't wait... :)  I am ready to curl up in a sweater and sit by the fire with my hubby :)

Today I am thankful for...

So...I was walking into my office today after lunch and my office is located in the same building as the Children's Hospital Rehabilitation Center and this cute little boy around the age of maybe 7 was walking in front of me.  I saw him get out of his mother's car and his pant leg came up and I could see that he had a prosthetic leg.  So often all I do all day is run around like a crazy woman....I walk pretty fast too...and I never even stop to think of how my life would be if I had a prosthetic leg.  Having our two legs is something that none of us really think about...we just take it for granted.  How much more challenging and stressful would our life be if we only had 1 real leg?  So....today I am thankful that I have 2 legs.  :)  It's that easy!