November, A Month Of Thanksgiving

November is one of my favorite months as it is a month of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that me and my family truly cherish even above Christmas. Yes, at Christmas time we celebrate Christ's birth and yes that is an important holiday to recognize. However, Thanksgiving is the holiday where we get to give thanks to our Lord for all that he has done for us in our lives. Darein was born this month and therefore I feel as though it is an extra reminder from God that I need to remember to give thanks for all that he has done in our lives.
They say, what doesn't break you will make you stronger. They also say, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. I find myself thinking, I don't really care if I'm that strong and wondering why I have to be so strong when so many seem to have it so easy. Sometimes, I just want to have one thing good after another happen and then I will be happy.
However, no matter how bad or good the year has been I am reminded every November of why I am so thankful. The one constant thing in my life besides God is my children. No matter how difficult life is, no matter how many obstacles face me I can always count on my kids to make me smile. They may have their ups and downs and I may have my ups and downs with them but we always find a way to get through things together and nothing makes me smile bigger than sharing in their good fortune and the things that make them light up. They are the one bright spot in an otherwise very dark world.
Darein has overcome many obstacles with her chronic health issues but she grows stronger every day and it makes my heart smile. Damein may not have those same obstacles to overcome but he has his own set such as being the oldest and being a role model to his sister. He also meets high expectations from his parents who constantly push him to be all that he can be so that he can live an incredibly happy life with as few issues as possible. No matter what your circumstances in life are I hope that you have reflected on this month to truly and sincerely be happy for everything that you have. You may not have a perfect marriage or perfect children or the perfect job, etc but your life is the way it is on purpose and for a reason. It is up to you to trust God and live your life the best way that you can, the good along with the bad. Sometimes, it is important to take a day, a couple of days or a week to get some downtime, reassess your priorities and prepare to face the world head first. November is the perfect month for this kind of self reflection as the holidays can be very depressing for many for a number of reasons. I hope you will be able to find some time out for this to help get through those "winter blues".
An update on my kids this month: Darein is doing well and enjoying her volunteer time at the zoo. She is done with bowling now with her Champion Athletes of the Ozarks group but will be attending the Shepherd of the Hills show along with me and her bunch from Champion Athletes Saturday night as well as being in the Springfield Christmas Parade next Saturday with her Champion Athletes group. She will then be taking some downtime from this organization while she focuses on trying to get her 16 hours a month in at the zoo. She doesn't have the stamina to work a whole day so therefore it takes up more days for her to get her time in and with the cold it will make it more difficult as well. She is enjoying Art Club and Poi after school each week. She has taken some time off from some of her church activities as she is trying to adjust but is hoping to pick that up more now that she is taking a break from Champion Athletes.
Damein is doing well in college and enjoying it very much. He has brought his grades up this last week and so hopefully he will do well on his finals to pull out a strong first semester. He is proving true to his values as well as proving his dedication and hard work towards his grades. He has been responsible with his money and we are very proud of how well he is adjusting.
I most likely will not be writing again until after Christmas and so I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you don't make New Years Resolutions try to at least make one to be more positive next year and not to let the little things become such big things. These will be my New Years resolutions for next year anyways as I have struggled in this area this year. Take care and God Bless :)