Thankful November's final posts!

Day 30 – YAY we made it to the end…well…
I realize I was a little lax here toward the end of the month with my posting.

But today I’m thankful that I have SO many things to be thankful for!

I mean seriously…it wasn’t hard at all to come up with the 30 + things that I mentioned over the month.

I know I have way more blessings than just those!

I am extremely thankful for all of the blessings in my life.

Day 29 – Sydney (and all my nieces and nephews)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYDNEY!

Sydney is one of my nieces.

She’s is too cute for words (as are all of my nieces and nephews).

By the way, I have 11 nieces and nephews! 

That’s a lot of cuteness!

I am thankful for each and every one of them.

They all teach me and stretch me in different ways.

I love to spend time with them.

I love to hear what’s important to them and what new discoveries they’ve made.

They make me smile, laugh, sometimes cry (with joy), and sometimes they turn that Aunt instinct on and I’m ready to go to battle for them.

The Elliott side:  Collin, Isaac, Timothy, Ava, Kaylen, Sydney, Harrison, and Ethan...

 and Mariah (she was still in the womb when the above pic was taken)

Killian and Keegan

I love each and every one of you!

MWAH!

Day 28 – Our house

It’s not new…well it’s new to us.

But it’s ours.

And I’m thankful that we have a warm house with a nice new roof over our heads.

We laugh, cry, and spent time together here making memories.

I know we’ll have many more memories made in this house.

Sure it’s got its downers and there are things that we have to fix ALL THE TIME (or so it seems).

But I do love it…

If for no other reason than the fact that I get to share it with Chris.

Day 27 – Friends

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Chris and I truly do have amazing friends.

I mentioned my high school friends and college friends earlier…but we have all kinds of friends that fall outside of those two categories!

~ Hope

Chris hired Hope to work with him at the Pizza place he worked at in college.  Since then we’ve been fabulous friends!  Hope, you complete me.

~ Dan and Kristin

You’ve seen them around the blog before.  Dan and Kristin are friends we met at Crosspoint.  Dan led our Life Together Group for a bit, and we started hanging out at non-Crosspoint events and became really close!

~ Barbie and Jenn

We met Barbie and Jenn (and their husbands) at our Sunday School class when we went to CATC.  The ladies got together one night to learn how to make jewelry.  I was a smidge nervous about going since we were new to the class, but it sounded fun and I knew it would be a way for me to get to know the other wives a little better.  Barbie, Jenn and I were the last to leave, and so we sat and chatted for a LONG time.  Now, we get together (or try to anways) once a month to scrapbook.  I love these two girls so much!

I know I missed so many of you…I’m sorry.  I promise I didn’t purposefully leave anyone out.  There are just WAY too many people that I call friends to single each one of you out.

All of my friends have a special place in my heart. 

I have learned from each one of you.

And I am so appreciative of the gift of knowing each and every one of you.

Day 26 – Tiffany

 Today is Tiffany’s birthday.

Tiffany is Chris’ cousin.  And we have gotten pretty close with her and her family.

I am thankful for our friendship.

I am thankful to have another nurse in the family.

I am thankful for the memories we share and the laughing that has been a part of those memories.

I love you Friend!

Day 25 – Family

As has been said many many times before…I was born into an amazing family.

I was blessed with so many great people to model after and learn from.

I’ve already mentioned my Parents, Grandparents, and sister…but there are so many more people in my family that I’m thankful for.

~ My Aunt Pam

Pam's on the left holding the T-shirts ;0)

My Aunt Pam has spent years and years devoting herself to helping raise money to find a cure for CF…why?  Because of little ‘ol me, that’s why!  But there’s many other reasons why I’m thankful for her.  She was a huge part of my life growing up, and she still is.  When we went swimming on the weekends, we went to her house.  She was at every single choir performance I ever had.  She gave me one of my favorite childhood toys (a HUGE dollhouse), I spent hours playing with it.  She ALWAYS buys me peanut butter fudge when she see it somewhere.  She loves to give me Longaberger (and until I became a consultant she sold it to me too).  She’ll sit down and chat for hours with me about anything and everything.

~ My cousin Brigette

Brig and Heather have always been close because they're closer in age and life stage...but I love my cousin.  And I've always looked up to her.  I hope that no matter what happens in life, with our family..she knows I love her.  And I'm always here.

~ My Great Aunts and Uncles and all the millions (okay maybe not quite that many) of other cousins have had such an impact on my life.  I'm so thankful that we are a close knit family and can rely on each other for support.

Day 24 – FOOD

Oh…I LOVE FOOD!

Always have and I’m pretty sure I always will.

When I lose my appetite I know there’s something wrong with me ;0)

Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to celebrate food.

And believe me, I had my share. 

Sheila was a happy GIRL!

Day 23 – Breaks from School

I love breaks from school…especially this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my job.

But some days/weeks/months/semesters are just hard.  And having that time away from the kids to chillax and wind down is SOOOOO needed.

So breaks from school are definitely something that I’m thankful for.

Day 22 - Mom

What to say about my Mom.

My Mom is my rock...

My confidant...

My support...

She's my Mom.

She's this beautiful, strong, amazing woman.

And everything in my life I've learned from her.  Okay maybe not everything...but pretty much everything that truly will ever matter.

My Mom has been with me through everything in my life.

And I can't imagine my life without her.

I talk to her every day.

I laugh with her.

I cry with her.

She's AMAZING!!!!

My life is richer because she's my Mom.

Again...I don't know what I did to be so very blessed with such a wonderful woman to raise me and to role model after.

 I love you Mom!!!!!! 
   xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Day 21 - My Daddy

As I've said before...I was born into the most AMAZING family.

One of the best people in my family is my Dad.

The Tromster, Tommy T., Tromma-rauma, T-Bone, if he were bubble gum he'd be Tromiliscious...I'm weird, sorry...moving on!

Okay one more...

El Capi-Tom ;0)

I'm a Daddy's girl!

And I don't know that I really realized that until right before Chris and I got married.

Am I the only girl that felt like they were leaving their Dad when they got married?

I've always thought  I was closer to my Mom...and I am very close to my Mom, but there's something about the relationship between father and daughter that has this closeness that I just can't describe.

And no matter what happens, it's like there's no way to tear that apart.

I have so many wonderful and vivid memories of my life that include my Dad.

*Heather I'm speaking in first person here, but  I know this all comes from you  too.

Some of my favorite memories of my Dad include:

~Playing softball in the school field behind our house.

~Him coaching me in softball and Basketball.

~ Building us the playhouse

~ Teaching me how to ride a bike

~ Putting my dollhouse together

~Teaching me how to ski

~Pulling us behind the boat tubing (for HOURS)

~Percussing me at night

~ Rolling me up into a ball in his arms

~Judging Heather and my towel folding contests

~ Buying me baseball pants  ;0)

~ Holding my hand in the hospital

~ Moving me in and out of dorms and apartments in college

~ Letting me sit on his lap and cry that wedding plans weren't going as I wanted them too.

~ Walking me down the aisle

~Dancing with me at my wedding

~ Coming with me to the gas station and helping me fill up my tank (located on the opposite side of most cars) after the guy at the pump was mean to me and told me I had to pull in on the opposite side because I was screwing up traffic if I didn't.

~Rescuing me when my car dies and Chris is unable to help at the moment.

~Bringing me Captain D's after I had my kidney stones removed

~ Fixing up the Hoosier Cabinet for me.

The list could go on and on.

I have such an awesome Dad. 

A Dad who will do anything and everything for his family.

He's funny and he has such a giving and loving heart.

He can fix anything!

I don't think it's possible to tell you all the things that are great about my Dad.

I don't think it's possible to tell you all the things I love about him.

But I do, I love my Dad!

Happy Birthday Daddy!  I am so blessed to be your daughter and I thank God for you every day!

Catching up on Thankfulness

Day 20 - My Sister-in-Laws
I have some of the best sister-in-laws anyone could ever ask for.

We all have quite a few things in common and we have a lot of fun when we're together.

Plus, we all married great men!


Day 19 - LTG friends

I am so thankful for our friends we've made in our life together group. 

Since we've been at Crosspoint we've been in 3 LTG groups.

Some of the group peeps have been the same and some have been new.

But being part of other people's lives and being in community with them has been wonderful for us.  We've learned so much from them.

Lots of laughs and smiles and some tears along the way.

Thanks for all the fun!

Day 18 - Tiki and Silver

I am thankful for our cars.

While they are both 13 years old they still get us everywhere we need to go.

I love my car...her name is Tiki.

I've had her since college, and this summer we thought we were going to have to replace her. 

I was extremely sad and I would have cried if we'd needed to get rid of her.

But thankfully she was just a little sick and so she's still a part of our family!  YAY!



When I met Chris he was driving Bobbo:

But soon after we got married, we realized we needed an SUV.  So Tiki said goodbye to Bobbo and hello to Silver, our Jeep.

I am thankful for Silver because he gets Chris where he needs to go and brings him back home to me every day!

*Side note:  I realized I have no good pictures of our vehicles, only pics when they've been "out of commission".  I will rectify this soon.  ;0)

Day 17 - Grandparents

Today I'm thankful for my Grandparents.

I was very blessed to be born into the family that I was...and a huge part of my childhood consisted of spending time with my Grandparents.

My Grandma and Grandpa Whetsel...

 lived 10 minutes from us and we saw them nearly every weekend.

We used to spend hours playing in their basement.

Grandma and Grandpa are a big part of why  I love antiques.

Chris and I live in and recently bought the house that they built in 1953.

I have lots of memories of them and spending time in this house when I was little.  I look forward to the memories and traditions that Chris and I will have here in the future.


My Grandma and Grandpa Friedline...

Unfortunately I don't have any pics on the computer of Grandpa...trust me, he was super cute!

They lived in Fort Wayne, and Grandma still lives there.

We didn't get to see them quite as often as Grandma and Grandpa Whetsel, but I think that made it even more exciting when we did see them.

Each Summer Heather and I would take turns spending a week on our own with Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa helped teach me how to ride a bike without training wheels, and he'd always go swimming with us.

Grandma took us shopping and has been such a huge inspiration and confidant.

My childhood is filled with rich moments and love.

I owe this to my Grandparents...for the love the showed me directly and the love my parents learned from them.

Days 15 and 16 - The In-laws and H.E.

Day 16 - My Health and Dr. Eigen
Today I am thankful for my health and for Dr. Eigen...my Pulmonologist.

He rocks.

You see, I was diagnosed at 5 days old with Cystic Fibrosis. 

Dr. Eigen has been my doctor from the beginning.

He knows me!

He knows my lungs, my CF, he knows me!

Now, some naysayers in the CF community might not be too keen on the fact that since I'm 31 years old I still see my pediatric Pulmonologists.

To you, I say BOO!

You see, because he's taken care of me from the very beginning and he knows me so well, he knows what works for me and what doesn't.

He knows when my lungs are about to make a decline.

He knows when to push and when to gently nudge.

He knows what to say when it needs to be said.

He listens...My doctor LISTENS to what I have to say about my health.

And he works with me to come up with the best plan of care.  The one that not only keeps me at my optimal health but works with my body and lifestyle.

I don't go to the Adult CF clinic for a multitude of reasons...but the number one reason is because I have the GREATEST Pulmonologist on the planet.

I get the best care possible from Dr. Eigen, and I don't think the adult CF center can meet or excede what I've already got and been given.

I'm healthy today because of him.

I'm alive today because of him.

I have more opportunities in my life because I listened when I should and I learned about my disease and the best way to manage it...from him.

I'm a very lucky girl to have had such wonderful care from such an amazing physician for my entire life.

So I'm thankful today that I'm here.

That I'm healthy.

That I can run up the basement stairs without hacking up my lungs or getting short of breath.

That I have been blessed with the best CF care possible.

I am thankful for my Pulmonologist and all the care that he has shown me and continues to show me.

Day 15 - My In-laws

I have some amazing in-laws.

I have some friends who tell me that I'm lucky, because I get along with my in-laws. 

And ya know what?  They're right.

I love my mother-in-law and father-in-law.  Partly because they raised the man that I married to treat me like a princess (a pretty pretty princess).

He loves and respects me.

He puts the toilet seat down.

He opens doors for me.

He apologizes when he's wrong.

He tells me he loves me every night and every morning.

He does so many things out of love and respect for me...things that my girlfriends have said their husbands don't do for them, and wish they would.

And while some of these things may have been of his own accord to love me as God asks him to do so...I do believe that he also learned how to treat me as a direct result of his upbringing.

I'm thankful that I have in-laws who treated each other well and taught their boys by example how to treat their wives.

Thank you Dan and Karen!

At Mariah's Dedication - My in-laws are the two on the left ;0)

Good gracious...here's quite a few days of Thankfulness all caught up.

I'm going from today back...because that's how the days would show up on my blog anyhow.

Day 14 - Sam

Ahh...my Wamster!

The little sister I never biologically had...but grew up with like she really was.

I love everything about you!

Your beauty inside and out.

How you know me like no one else.

How your smile and laughter can turn a sad moment into something totally wonderful and amazing.

You are a fantabulous friend!

I hope you know how much you are loved and respected.

I can't imagine what my childhood would have been like without having you right next door.

I love you!

P.S.  *Head


Day 13 - Crosspoint

I LOVE our church!

Love, Love, Love!

If I miss a Sunday, I don't feel complete.

Crosspoint is full of real people, just trying to figure out their lives and God, and how to live out their lives with God as the driving force.

None of us have it all figured out.

None of us claim to be perfect.

And that's what makes Crosspoing so perfect for me.

We have met so many wonderful people because of Crosspoint.

People we can live our life with together.

I am so thankful to have a wonderful place like Crosspoint to call Home.


Day 12 - College Friends

I spent 6 years in college (I know...it's slightly crazy)!

And do you know what one of the best parts (okay, the best part) of College was for me?

The people I met and the friends I made.

When I think back to college, I don't really think about the classes I went to, what I studied, how I did on tests and careplans, my clinicals, or how I never got out much because I was too busy doing nursing (Okay I guess I think a little about that last one).

But what I do think about is the friends I made.

The people who I shared those experiences with:

My nursing girls:  My gosh, we literally grew up and spent 4 years together practically attached.

My girls I met in the dorms:  Life in our hallways were never dull.  There are times when I miss those days...the whole, walking right out of your room and inevitably being able to walk right next door and watch a movie, or just chat.

Chris' roomies and friends:  You were an extension of Chris, and I love everything about him...including all of you (except maybe one...Yep, definitely the one...)!

All my other College peeps:  Some of you I met in classes, where I worked on campus, or just because you lived down the hall (or upstairs or downstairs as the case may be). 

 I am who I am today because I've know all of you! 

Thanks for sharing AU with me ;0)


Day 11 - Veterans (3 in particular)

My Grandpa

My Dad

Jason

Thank you...for the sacrifices you've made to serve this country...and for protecting us all!

Day 10 - Heather

Today I am thankful for my sister, Heather!

She's Awesome!

The best sister anyone could have ever asked for, and God blessed me with her.

Sometimes I just don't know how I got to be so lucky.

She's always been there for me

To make me smile

To make me laugh

To give me advice

To listen

I love you skister! 

Thanks for being awesome!  Thanks for being you!

Day 9 - My Brother-in-laws

I have been extremely blessed to have 4 fabulous brother-in laws in my life.

My first brother-in-law...

Big guns, aka: Shawn
Shawn is the best man anyone could ever choose to marry their sister.
He is a loving husband, wonderful father to my nephews and spiritual leader of their house.

Shawn, you never cease to amaze me, you make me laugh in nearly every situation, and I'm so happy that you're part of our family.

Then, when I married Chris...I got these 3 brother-in-laws:

Jeff, Andy and Greg

I am a very lucky girl to have such great brother-in-laws!