Thankful for Struggles

Struggles are not easy and I have been through quite a few, BUT, those very struggles are what made me the 'ME I AM TODAY'! I wish there was a magic answer to speed up a hard time and arrive at the sunshine that lies just on the other side and still gain the mounds of growth that accompanies the trials. The reality is that during the darkness, we have the ability to be reshaped- for better or worse.

Struggles have taught me to rid myself of toxic people, habits, relationships and various other things along the way

Struggles have taught me that no one else is going to do it for me. I have to create my life for who I believe I am designed to be.

Struggles have taught me what is truly important in life: my children, family, friends, and career ambitions and the importance of time.

Struggles have taught me to embrace some of the very qualities that people have had negative issues with like my tenacious, goal oriented, hard-headed energy level to persevere through just about anything.

Struggles have taught me to love in a way that is not dependent upon another person at my side, but a far greater God- the one true meaning of love.

Struggles have taught me to be the friend to those I continue to surround myself with and make memories, whether they are in my life for a season or forever. Some of the greatest memories of my life are with my friends and they have seen me through my darkest struggles.

Struggles are making me the mother I am called to be. I am continuing to learn so much everyday about my beautiful kids and their strengths and gifts. I could not ask for more blessings than I receive through them alone.

Today I am grateful for struggles for sometimes in order to GROW you have to be dropped in the DIRT, covered in DARKNESS and STRUGGLE to reach the LIGHT!

Thankful for Amazing Friends

Today I am thankful for my amazing friends! I have been blessed by the best friendships anyone could dream of! My friends have seen me through A LOT of trials and have encouraged me and helped me along the way. They pick me up when I am weak and cheer me on when I am strong!

My friends have been my strength through my cancer and divorce which happened to strike at the same time, through a major accident that left me in a wheelchair with very little hopes of ever walking again, a lot of loss: loss of a baby, a business, a house, a vehicle, relationships and even the loss of my grandma... and minus the baby, the rest of that 'list of loss' was all in last year! 

True friendship is hard to find in this world. I always strive to be that type of genuine fiend to others! 

Sometimes a friend is there to listen and other times a friend is there to scoop you up and carry you for a while.

But in the end a friend never judges you or belittles you. They never wish bad on you or take you for granted. They are there to call out truth and tell you when you are headed in the wrong direction, but loving enough to walk with you if you chose to take the hard way. Friends are the glue of my everyday life and for this I am grateful for all of them!! 

This upcoming Spring is a very important time for me to be a friend to one of the greatest friends I have known- my friend Jessica is getting married and I have the honor of being her Maid of Honor! I am so excited and hope to exceed all unwritten rules being the best Maid of Honor- ever! 

Thankful for amazing friends!  

Thankful for Food- Especially Healthy Food!

Today I am Thankful for the healthy food options that are available. I love that my kids get excited to try different recipes (for this a alone is a blessing!) and eat at cool places with me, especially their love for sushi- one of my favorites!! I am thankful that they help with the planning, shopping and prepping of the meals. Some of the best memories we have in my house are the ones in the kitchen!

I come from a large Italian family and let me tell ya, they know how to eat!! It just comes with the territory I guess... but growing up this way has taught me that food can be so much more than just food- It can be a reason to gather, sit down and talk, (or if you come from a large Italian family, our talking is what most would refer to as 'friendly shouting', lol!)

I hold the dinner time pretty sacred at my house- cell phones get put up, we sit at the table and discuss our day. Since my kids were very little and could just begin to talk we have shared our 'good for the day ' and our 'bad for the day' over dinner. I love this because when friends come over, as they tend to a lot, they know this as a normal thing to do at dinner- what a great communication tool to catch a glimpse inside a little heart!

Food is essential to life for you can't live without it, but healthy food choices make me feel like I have super human powers! Well ok, sometimes it does... most of the time it just makes me feel much better to eat good wholesome food. I love that our bodies are amazing and the food that we eat really does affect who we are. I am thankful for healthy food!

Thankful for My Faith

Today I am thankful for my Christian faith. I have a God that I can turn to in any situation, ask for direction and go about my day in full confidence that He already has a plan for this crazy 'rockstar' life of mine! He works behind the scenes to help me grow and prosper. I am blessed to have a church family that continues to grow more full of friends everyday that walk along side of me; not in front of me nor behind me, but with me.

Friends and Faith are the key elements to my daily walk... every time I get frustrated with life, as we all tend to do, I know I can count on those two elements to lift me up and help me press on- for there is a goal and the goal is God. Through many of my journals and letters I have written with no intention of ever publishing or sharing, I have learned when you lean on firm beliefs and continue to challenge what doesn't feel right- you are enabled through faith to move mountains.

May everything I do reflect unconditional love and healthy boundaries for world to see my true heart- through my faith.

Dear God, I am so thankful for my faith! Love, Me

Thankful for Goals

So I have been told I am stubborn, persistent, and too 'goal oriented' more times than not. Well here is what I have to say to that:

Either grab your running shoes and join me or get out of my way!

I have a race to run. A race that is set before me and was designed to mold and shape me into the person I am suppose to be. I pray this every night before I tuck each of my children into bed... "mold and shape them in to the person You designed them to be" for this very reason- goals!

We all have them, but it's what we do with them that matters. Do you say,

"oh someday..."

Or do you write them down and let them sit?

Or do you write them down, try it for a day, week or month and then quit?

Well goals are achieved with persistence and endurance. Sometimes it can be a sprint and short term goals are a part of the overall 'marathon' goal. A marathon requires:

DISCIPLINE, ACTION and a SOLID PLAN

So do goals. Sometimes they change, just like the course of a marathon. There are hills and valleys, rivers and desserts, storms and drought... and sometimes even just a silly pot hole that can try to trip you up. But I CHOOSE to stay the course, whatever that might bring and run with endurance! It's not easy and sometimes I want to quit- but being complacent is not my greatest trait- thank goodness!

I am thankful today for the amazing people that have come in and out of my life (both good and bad) to shape my goals and the plan I have to make those goals happen. I agree, I am stubborn, persistent and goal oriented... for I have a race to run that's worth far more than anything this world can offer! I love having goals and hope they work to bring good to more than I can imagine.

Thankful for my project 365- Happiness

Today for my gratitude journal I am Thankful for my Project 365 that I have been posting all year and the positive change it has made in my ability to overcome one of the hardest years of my life. I believe happiness is a choice and is possible for anyone to have- it's all about choices- everyday, waking up and making the CHOICE to be happy!

At the end of each day I post to my Facebook page something that has made me happy that day... and let me tell you, some days are a stretch to think of even one thing. Let's face it, we all have bad days! But we all have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else has- so what are you doing with your hours everyday?

Well I am just running a crazy rockstar race, but I am happy while I run with it!

Thankful for my Family of Me + 3

Today I am starting my November 'Thankful for' Month of gratitude. My family is very important to me and everything I do is with them in mind. My three children have created the first ring of my family and I love them with all of my heart! They are each unique and beautiful in their own way. I get excited when I think of the potential they hold to shape their world and affect so many others along the way. 

We entered the teenage years this year and it has been quite an experience, but also left me with a realization/wake up call that training on my part is almost finished... Most of the choices they make are up to them and hopefully the good morals I have instilled will play huge part. There comes a point in time where you can't just pick up your baby, hold them and soothe them until they quit crying over something, or worse- someone. And when you have to step back and let them learn lessons on their own to grow. It's tough, but such an amazing blessing to have in my life. Watching them grow is so much more fantastic than I ever imagined. So very Thankful!

They have learned a lot in watching me... and boy is that a scary thought! I always say my kids keep me grounded. For I would be a train wreck with out them, ha! Some experiences my family has encountered I wish I could erase, but hold confident that everything happens for a reason and we pull good from each lesson. I have also learned a lot in watching them: the way they react, the way they set up a scenario, the way they refer to others, and their very kind, caring hearts! (well most of the time, lol) 

Families don't come with instruction manuals and all you can do is try your best, to be your best... and God fills in the rest! 

Thankful for my family of me + 3.