Gratitude Attitude

During this Thanksgiving week, my family is full of anticipation.  Halloween may kick-start the holiday season in our household, but Thanksgiving is when relatives fly in from out of town, sweet aromas fill every crevice of the house and wish lists suddenly show up next to my computer.

Upon reflection of this past year, I'm thankful that our photography business is thriving (who said you couldn't go into business with a friend), that our blogging really went into high gear with yet a new blog (Moms Who Click) centered around our photography business.   Plus we've become Yahoo! Shine and Technorati contributors. 

On a personal note, I'm am thankful for SO much.  Most of all, I'm incredibly thankful for my husband's continued good health.  After being diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year, he's been given a clean, cancer-free, bill of health.  A mere seven months after having a radical prostatectomy, he's had two tests confirming he is cancer free, no sign of any remaining cancer cells in his system.  I'm thankful that my eldest daughter is thriving in her first year at college.  She took a "Gap Year" (rare in the U.S.), that just flew by and is coming upon her first set of finals.

I'm thankful that my second daughter is having a great sophomore year in high school.  She's got a great set of friends and good head on her shoulders.  My youngest daughter loves middle school and has a passion for baking and most things cooking related (except cleaning up).  She can't decide between being a teacher or a chef when she grows up.  She loves to share her thoughts so I'm thankful we have an open dialogue going on and we know what she thinks about the world around her.

We have our wonderful, 5-year old golden retriever, Koa, who we are most thankful for.  She provides all sorts of love and companionship.  And we have a new addition, Rally - an eight-year-old black Labrador retriever who we adopted after far-too-early passing of a dear friend.  Rally has brought love and happiness to our family.  He's a great watch dog and voracious eater.  It's all about food and protecting our family for him.

Last but not least, I'm thankful for being an American.  We live in a country where we have so much freedom.  Having lived and visited countries where the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and women's rights are still being fought over, I truly appreciate our form of government.

On that note, I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving - and a wonderful holiday season!