My heart of thanks

1. For my family who is so helpful and is putting up with my boxes of stuff and furniture being everywhere over the last few days

2. Having my whole family home this past Sunday.

3. For an apartment to work out in such perfect timing

4. All the side blessings of the location of this apartment (close to the community I work in, to a grocery store, subway station, my bank, the lake shore to go running and an indoor swimming pool for my roommate)

5. The joy of being able to feel sad about moving out of the house and farther away from my brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and parents knowing that I will be missed and that I will miss them, it hurts a little but I would not want to leave any other way.

6. Very thankful for the past three months I have had living closely with my family, restoring, building and maintaining relationships to what they are today!

7. My dad who helped me finish restoring my kitchen set last minute

8. For the many many ways God has provided for so many different needs through so many different people!

Such a mixture of feelings of excitement and arrival of something I have waited for yet the sudden realization of the full reality of what it all entails. Come home three months ago was something that I was quite worried about, it is hard to move home after being independent for two years. I knew it would be a stretch to say that fitting in the routines and schedules of my busy large family would be easy. I knew that there would be times that I would clash with certain siblings just like I did when I lived at home before. At the same time I also knew some of my relationships within my family were at stake, that there was growing frustrations and hurt as well as the destroyer of communication; misunderstanding. It was scary coming home and not knowing if I would be able to hold my tongue, to love regardless or to be bold, honest and authentic enough to work through certain things.

On Sunday my whole family came home for dinner. We typically gather early for thanksgiving and so on Sunday the 24 of us gathered around a table and gave thanks. It's tradition starting with the youngest all sharing one things we are thankful for, with the rule of it being only one thing and no repeats aloud. I love my family and as we sat laughing and sharing conversation I was.......I am  tearing up.  I am very very very thankful for the time that I have had at home. I am soo thankful for the relationships my family have with each other, for the way we stick together and also find our way back home. For the way we protect and can be hard on each other simply because we care. I am thankful for my three blood sisters though different we are to the extremes we work through them, for my extra two sisters who bring life, joy to our family. For my eight tough protective caring each in their own way brothers and the brother in law who fits right in. For my three adorable nephews, my little lady of a niece and my parents who give and give and give for all of us!

I am thankful that this is hard, I wouldn't want it to be easy because than it wouldn't be this good!