my cup runneth over

with things to give thanks for.

here are just a few of them, in no specific order.

adventures that i get to have...

on my own

with my family

and with my best friend

holidays

really good, loud, live music that i get to enjoy with my favorite people

that i still get to play volleyball...

in the park

in the mud

in the freaking middle of the night

america 

for this guy, who...

is the only person that grandma b remembers and truly loves

loves his family

can still throw a mean fastball

and looks smokin' hot in baseball pants

is a mad hot ballroom dancer...now

makes me laugh harder than anyone else

good food

good friends

good in-laws

the craziest and best family in the world.  hands down.

a famdamily that wouldn't be what it is without:

a dad who knows all things from correct grammar and historical facts

to movie trivia and any kind of handy-man skill you could need.

he'll do just about anything to make you laugh/stop crying

 (if you're his daughter), including but not limited to learning a song

you like on the guitar and making animal noises

(elephant is his specialty).

also note, he knows how to have a good time and he's the funniest guy

i know.  he's the reason girls try to find husbands just like their fathers.

at least for this girl, anyway.  i got lucky.

a mom who knows how to laugh at truly funny stuff, crappy situations,

her family, and herself.  she's the reason our family is so in love with

each other, and the reason any of us ever see the glass half-full.

she makes the best chocolate chip cookies and clam chowder in the world,

and she can accurately predict the end of any movie within the first five minutes.

she's so loving that we "don't even know what yelling is."

but really, i want to be just like her when i'm a mom. 

parents who love their family and each other.

i hope that richard and i can be like them when we grow up.

sisters. its hard to put into words how i feel about these girls.

our personalities are as different as our hair/skin colors, but they're

two of the best people i know.

the probability of laughing to the point of tears, peeing my pants, or having

my drink shoot out of my nose is higher when i'm with them than anyone else.

this one is a lover and a fighter.  she doesn't know it, but she makes me brave...

i see the way she follows her heart without hesitation i'm trying to let

that rub off on me.  now, if only her god-given no-exercise-necessary muscle tone

would rub off on me, too.

i envy this girl's wit and charm - she's funny and beautiful and doesn't

take any crap from anyone.  i still feel like i'm figuring out who i am, but

i swear she's got it all figured out before she's even 17.  i want to be like

my littlest sister when i grow up.

there is beauty all around.