Just Thankful

It's Thanksgiving week. Schools are closed, no one is really working unless you're in grocery/department store supply chains, and onions continue to be out of stock at Walmart.

I'm hosting Thanksgiving again this year. Family and friends will join my family of four. I even bought a new roaster pan to cook the turkey in. With the beginning of the holiday season, it's a time to share what we're thankful for. Mine will always be my kids. They light up places inside my soul I didn't know were dark before them.

My girl is 6 years old now and tonight when her brother was about to run off to his room for his bedtime, she asked him for a hug goodnight, to which he happily agreed to. He loves his big sister so very much. But it wasn't just the hug that gripped my heart. I watched my girl lean over slightly and kiss her brother on the forehead and tell him good night. And another light shone bright within my soul to see such a sweet moment that you can't script.

In the last two weeks, I've noticed my kids are getting up around the same time in the mornings and talking to each other. They are developing their own routine that involves a morning ritual. They come down the stairs together now. They are becoming sidekicks, and it warms my heart to see them getting along now more than they argue.

There's still drama here and there, but they are bonding. And I'm so grateful and thankful that my kids are just siblings who are growing up together in a home I hope they know they are loved beyond measure. I hope they feel that love whenever they are with each other and with my husband and me.

I'm thankful that my husband and I can provide for them the life we want to give them. And it's not always about what we can buy them. It's about how we spend our time together.

It's a good week to remember to be thankful for what you have.

--Amber