Giving Thanks

In the days building up towards Thanksgiving, I've been quite emotional. Every time I see a commercial depicting family traditions or special events, the tears start coming. And more times than I can count, I have just held onto my sweet baby girl and told her how thankful I was for her.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Much of it has not changed since last year. I'm still so thankful to have an incredible husband who has really been a rock for me to lean on over the last year, and has turned out to be an amazing father who is so in love with his girl. Still have a great dad, who has turned into an awesome Pop. Still have great siblings and their respective spouses. And while we may not get to be around one another as often as we would like, the love and connections we have are still strong. Last year, I was thankful for my two nieces, Hannah and Sophie. I am so proud of them and so thankful to have been blessed with niece number 3, Annagrace in January. And I would be remiss not to mention my closest friends --you know who you are-- who managed to keep me sane the first part of the year and helped out tremendously during the last past of the year.

I have been thinking a lot this week about Teegen's birthmother and what she is doing this time of year. Without a doubt, one of the things I am most thankful for is the decision she made. What a gift!

And of course, I am most thankful for the beautiful baby girl we get to call ours. What a journey we have had! She has a shaky start in life, but has come so far and is growing and changing in leaps and bounds.

Our very first picture! Teegen at 2 days old! Just the start of our journey

Someone thinks that they're a rock star.

Someone is quite the Daddy's girl

"I don't care what you bribe me with....I will not smile for you!"

Kicked back and relaxed. There's nothing like a good night's sleep!