I am Thankful (giveaway)

Hey everyone! I hope that you are having a wonderful week. Thanksgiving week is such a bittersweet time for me this year. I am thankful for having time with my family and thankful that I will get to turn another year older (Thanksgiving is my birthday!!)... but its bitter because my mom will still be in the hospital and it is the second year of having Thanksgiving without my dad. I love holidays but I miss him and seem to get depressed this time of year knowing that I won't get to see him wearing his green "Gift to the World" present shirt or get to taste his wonderful and famous pumpkin pie and banana pudding.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of thanks. So I wanted to let you in on the list of things that I am very thankful for this year and every year.

1. Family. I truly believe family is the most important thing. They support you in (almost) every decision you make- even if it is not the best decision you have ever made. They love you unconditionally, which to me is the best type of love you can ever give anyone.
2. The boyfriend. After 4 years of dating, he is still my best friend, my confident, my constant. We have been through some very rough times and very good times. But through it all, even if we didn't see eye to eye on something, we have stood side by side. I told him the other day that I loved him more than I did the day before but not as much as I would tomorrow and even though that is probably the cheesiest line I could have every said, it was the truth.
3. My friends. I used to think that the more friends you had, the better your life was. But as I have gotten older, I have learned that isn't true. What is true though is that you should choose your friends carefully. I have friends that I don't see as much as I would like.... but when I do see them it is like we haven't spent a minute apart. That is what is important. I have friends that I truly believe would have my back in any situation. Friends that are family. Friends that are unique and special in their own ways. I am grateful for the friends that I have.
4. My job. I am given the opportunity every single day to work with some amazing little children. I am not only responsible for their learning, but I am responsible for making sure that they have fun and stay safe. There may be days when I wake up and don't want to go to work because I simply want to be lazy... but when it is all said and done, they make me happy. I told them today that I wanted them to know how thankful I am for each and everyone of them. And one of my little cuties told me "I am thankful for my teacher." It made me smile. Oh! and lets not forget my co-workers. I feel like I have grown closer to them this year.... and that is SUPER important to me. They may look at me like I am a little nuts sometimes... because I am. But they are an amazing team of educators and I am thankful to be a part of the group. The amazing part about this whole thing is I get paid to work with them, to teach them, and to guide them!
5. The boyfriend's job. If you know me then you know just how long the boyfriend looked for a job. It was a tortuous process. He looked for any type of job that he could get and nothing seemed to work out. But finally a few months ago he landed a job that is amazing! Although his hours are not ideal, he gets plenty of hours and his boss is very flexible! However, the best part of his job is that he is able to help support our family unit, taking some of the stress off of my shoulders.
6. Blogging. I may not be the best blogger or the most well-known blogger. I may go MIA from time to time. But the network of bloggers and teachers that I have been introduced to is beyond amazing. I am thankful that you share ideas freely, share products, and share yourself... your story. You will probably never know how important you are to me and how much I have learned from you.

So what are you thankful for?

Leave a comment below telling me what you are thankful for and enter my little giveaway! One of my lucky readers will receive 1 of my TPT products of their choosing. I will choose a winner of my mini giveaway on Thursday!

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