7 Quick Takes - Things I'm Thankful For

7 Quick Takes AKA 7 Things I'm Thankful For:

1. The ability to use modern technology to talk to friends and family far away from me. Last night I was able to use my computer to FaceTime my brother, Stephen, at West Point to help him edit his paper. I was also able to use FaceTime to talk to one of my best friends and sister-in-law, Maria, who is teaching in Belize this year.

My brother, Stephen (pre-military hair cut ;))

Friends since forever!

2. Financial Aid. We had several larger medical bills that we were trying to get some financial assistance for because paying them really would have stretched our budget. I turned in the paperwork about 2 weeks ago and when I called today to see if they had processed/figured anything out, the lady told me that all 3 bills had been written off and we owed NOTHING. Yep, ZERO dollars. It was amazing! That saved us $750 in bills! I would have been happy with having them cut in half, but apparently God wanted to spoil us :)

3. Joel-Michael passed both the physical and written tests for the Police Academy, which means he graduated officially and can apply for and get a job as a Police Officer anywhere in Ohio :) He started the Academy last August, so it is a huge blessing to have it completed.

4. De-Cluttering. Several Friends recommended a book to me called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Let me tell you - this book is really great for changing your mindset on the amount of things you own. She really helps you to discover what brings joy in your life and help you to keep only those things. Anyway, Mickey and I are on an apartment-binge-cleaning and getting rid of stuff kick and it's been great. More on this another time :)

I highly recommend this!

5. My husband. He works incredibly hard to provide for our little family. He works overtime so we can have a little extra money to cover all our expenses. He is thoughtful, kind, and oh-so-romantic.

Isn't he good-looking? ;) #HoneymoonInDisney

6. Our families. Long-story-short, we are incredibly blessed and very lucky to have 2 amazing families so close to where we live. From being able to drop Monica off for small chunks of time so I can get some work done to having siblings come over to hold her while I clean or organize, we really are spoiled here. I have no idea how people do life with kids without their parents around. Lol. Major props to all parents out there without your parents and family being close.

The Best Families We Could Ask For

7. My Business. In the past couple months I have been trying to figure out what I need to do to improve my photography and design business. I want to get better at what I do as well as increase my pricing and gain more clients. Through joining a few different Facebook groups, doing research, and talking with more than one good friend, I feel like I am starting to make progress. Also, I am feeling passionate about working on it again which is big for me! (I kept putting it off for college, then work, but now I have no excuses! ;))

BONUS:
8. Confession! It's been several months since we have made time to go but last night Joel-Michael and I went to confession and it's always such a refreshing feeling :)

Happy Friday - I hope this list makes you think about what you have to be thankful for in your life :)