Thankful November and Day 1

I love Thanksgiving! Love it! It truly is the perfect holiday to lead us into the Christmas season. I relish the opportunity to express my especial thanks for the things I have been blessed with in my life. For the past few years I have participated with so many others in expressing one thing that I am thankful for each day during November via Facebook. This year, I decided that I would pay a little more attention to those things and pay them a small tribute each day here on my blog. While I plan to cover all the wonderful big things, I have been working hard this past year to try and recognize and appreciate the small blessings in my life or just my day sometimes. This has helped me to be more positive through my trials (I'm not saying it always works), and so you will have to forgive me if some days my thanks is for one of those tiny blessings we don't normally think about.

Today I will start with a bigger one though.

November 1st: Today I would like to express my thanks for a special lady in my life. My sister-in-law, Kara.

Kara has been around and then a part of this family for quite some time now! I do believe she started dating my brother almost 14 years ago. (Am I right?) The poor girl started dating the boy with five sisters--all fiercely protective and loyal to that brother. His older sister (yeah, me) in particular. The road was never easy, but she/me/we all grew up and into a more wonderful family because she a part of it. I am jealous of her wickedly creative mind and her ability to create and/or duplicate the most beautiful things! I think that every time she says, "Oh, I can do that!" my brother rolls his eyes, but then she just DOES whatever new project/home improvement/design/craft she set out to do.

Kara is the best aunt! She takes care of my girls as if they are her own, and Q and T love her! She has come to my rescue a time or two when I needed help with these handfuls of mine, and I will never be able to thank her enough. She is also the most wonderful mom and a really great wife to my brother.

I love you, Kara! Thanks for sticking around and thanks for being such a wonderful sister to me.