Happy Thanksgiving!

Amy already wrote about what she's thankful for this year. I thought I'd take my turn and make a list of all the things that I am thankful for in 2008.

• String Bean. She's a constant source of joy and my love for her gives me a small glimpse of God's great love for me.
• Mr. Bean. I know I am a lucky woman to have a man who cooks, cleans, does laundry and chauffeurs us around. My friend Amy (the other Amy) reminds me of this on occasion. She's right. I'm lucky and thankful for him not because he's my husband or because of the things he does for me, but because of who he is.
  
• Marriage. Having a guy like Mr. Bean has made marriage such a wonderful experience. I'm more in love with him now (6 years after our wedding day) than ever. Not only do I have a great guy. I have a great marriage.
  
• Met needs. With the economy in the toilet, I am constantly reminded that having food on our table, all our bills paid, and money to go to Starbucks occasionally while staying out of credit card debt is truly something to be thankful for. *Knocking on wood that our cars (that are paid off!!!) continue to be healthy.*
  
• Employment. Mr. Bean and I both love our jobs. Mr. Bean is living the dream having a job he looks forward to every day. My job is not always exciting. It is rarely glamorous. However, the people I work with are fantastic and I enjoy having the flexibility to work from home occasionally, flex my hours as I need to, have my summers off, and do a variety of work. I also enjoy the freedom Mr. Bean has given me to keep my pinky toe in the workforce (I only work 12 hours a week during the school year). I have much respect for moms who are able to stay sane and be stay-at-home moms 100% of the time. I'm at 92% and that's about my limit to keep from going insane. Mr. Bean saw that I was hard wired differently than other women and would be a better mom by having some adult time every week. Thanks, Mr. Bean.
• Friendship. This year I've struggled with friendships. It is quite a long story, which I won't bore you with. Here are a couple highlights: My friend Aimee moved to Jerusalem which was sad for me, but with her moving it brought me closer to my co-blogger, Amy and the other Amy. All my friends are named Amy. I met a visitor at church on Sunday named Amy. Is it wrong that I immediately thought, "Oh, this girl could be a great friend to me!" I've also had the chance to reconnect with some old friends this year (Thanks, Facebook!) and look forward to rekindling those relationships.
• Family. My in-laws live in town right now (usually they are all the way over in Hawaii). It has been so great to have them in the area (for reasons other than free babysitting, too). My parents have been able to visit a lot this year. I think it has something to do with String Bean, but I'll pretend they just want to see me. We've also been able to connect with our cousins this year (Thanks, again, Facebook!) and have felt their love. It has been a good year for family.
  

There are lots of other things I'm thankful for, but these are the big ones. You are probably tired of reading this post now and you have better things to eat do. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all enjoy your turkey (or tofurkey) and the love and fellowship of friends and family today and (hopefully) this weekend!