The Giving of Thanks

Over the years, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. As a kid I was very into Christmas - presents, duh. Now that I've "grown up", I've realized that I actually like my family, and love the chances we get to be together. I realize how hard it is to plan a time for everyone to be in one place at the same time - schedules and life are hectic. 

This Thanksgiving was such a blessing. 

Josh and Ashley drove up from Texas on Tuesday night, stayed in South Missouri that night, and got to Lee's Summit around 1:00 on Wednesday the 27th. The original plan was for them to drive up all day Wednesday - getting them there late Wednesday night, but we decided to surprise my mom with an earlier arrival. Wednesday was her birthday! 

Those two met me at work - I showed them around Gymboree - and we went to lunch. We had decided to make a video for her. We titled it "Now That You're Old Enough." Mom turned 50 this year and we did not want to make her feel like an old geezer because she is in no way, shape, or form old or a geezer. (that sounds like a type of bird anyway - mom is human.) So the theme of the video was things that she can do now that she's older - like take a long time walking places, use the motorized scooters at Target, and buy lots of knick knacks for no reason. You can watch the video here.

We had a blast filming all afternoon. Then we went to the house and surprised mom. That night we ate out at On the Border and had a great time catching up and embarrassing mom by having the waitresses sing to her. 

On Thursday my mom's side of the family and my dad's mom came to our house to eat food, watch football, and eat more food. Harper came and kept us all entertained as usual. We watched the National Dog Show, we colored pictures with my other cousins Karson and Ashley, and we listened as Harper sang us Silent Night and other Christmas carols. It was crazy to think that Christmas was already less than a month away! 

This year, as every year, I have soooooo much to be thankful for. 

To be blunt - I AM thankful to be alive. If things had gone my way, not the Lord's? I wouldn't be here.

I am thankful for such a supportive family. This past year has been a tough one on all of us. 

My parents have opened their arms, home, and lives up to me and I literally can not imagine living anywhere else during this season of my life. 

I am thankful for my friends - the ones who have stuck with me through this time of confusion and change. 

I am thankful for the Lord providing a way for the love of my life, Korey, to be placed back into my life. We have such an exciting time ahead of us and as I've said before, we can not WAIT to see what God has in store for us. 

I am thankful for a new church family that has also been incredible supportive and surprisingly easy to fall in love with. I feel like I have a purpose there and I have a new group of people who are praying for me and who are interested in my life - that is something refreshing and something I need so badly. 

To sum up, I am thankful for a Savior who is full of grace, forgiveness, wisdom, and love. He has showed me what it feels like to be truly accepted for who I am. He has placed people in my life that have showcased what it means to be a true friend. He has given me two incredible people to be my parents, my leaders, my rock. His mercy and love are never ending - thank you, Jesus for being everything that I will ever need. 

Here are some snapshots from this time with family :)

Monster's "I want turkey face." Mine, too.

I love these two!!

Harper :)

dad showed her the classic "airplane ride"

coloring!

ideal To-Do list :)

I hope your holiday was blessed! I love you!

Hannah

Five Things

Hey, guys!
What a week. Monday seems like forever ago. I hope your week went well :) [if not? there's a new one coming up...how great is that?]

Here's a list of things that have happened since Monday. I know you've been wondering!

1. It snowed more.
        Tuesday gave us about 2 more inches of snow, so Wednesday was another snow day. I was supposed to go to therapy, have more job training and go to an interview but those were all cancelled! I stayed home and watched Real Housewives of Beverly Hills [go ahead, judge.] and looked at pictures of puppies. This, by the way, is my dream puppy. A French Bulldog. Just look at those ears!
        The interview is at Paradise Park, "Kansas City's Premier Family Destination." That has been moved to this coming Wednesday so if you think about it, send good thoughts and prayers my way! It'd be great and a huge blessing to have another source of income.

2. I got to play with lots of kiddos! 
        On Thursday I trained at Gymboree for about 4 hours. I team-taught with Miss Lisa. We had 4 classes, ages 10 months-3 years old. It was a long and tiring morning, but I learned SO much. I got to lead certain aspects of the class, too so that was exciting.
      One moment that was especially special was when I was interacting with a little girl who I have TOTALLY forgotten the name of! We'll call her Natalie. Natalie was very observant, not really participating but not exactly being shy...just super into taking it all in on her own time. I was on the floor in front of her tapping the mat lightly, pretending I was going to come "get her" but stopped right in front of her so she could decide what to do next. I sat up criss cross applesauce [ohmygoodness. I sound like a teacher!] and she crawled up into my lap. I was delighted but didn't think TOO much of it until her mom, who had been talking with another mother, looked down and gasped, saying "oh my gosh! I've never seen her do that on her own! She normally doesn't do well with strangers!" My heart was so filled with joy. Not only because she had "picked" me to be brave with, but because it made her mom so happy to see her daughter's progress. PRECIOUS MOMENTS PEOPLE. These are what fuel life.

Life Lesson: Never take the little things for granted.

3. I got to spend a lot of time with Bradee!
        On Friday me and Bradee went to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. It was really fun. We only had to pay for parking and we got about 3 hours of culture! We took silly pictures and just got to be together! We went to Cheesecake Factory afterward and then walked around Forever 21. I put a ton of pictures on my Facebook but here's a couple of my favorites!

 throwin' snow

being one with art :)

4. I laughed a lot.

        Today after training for another 5 hours I came home and napped/watched the Mizzou game. Then invited Bradee over for dinner/games/a movie [the Morgan house is a fun house.] We had hamburgers, played Taboo, and watched Here Comes the Boom. I would recommend this movie! It had a great message and some great humor. Training was great, watching kids learn and discover makes me so incredibly happy. Playing Taboo with my parents and friends is literally one of my favorite things in the world. I love being silly and making my mom laugh. I just love laughing! [wooooow am I one of those people now?] 

5. [I like having my lists end in a solid number..like 5.] 

I learned a lot about myself.

        Since being home I've been able to take the much needed time to get reacquainted with myself. I honestly believe that during that dark time I lost sight of who I was. Being by myself and at Gymboree, I'm starting to see who I have the chance to become. It's an awful tedious task, but I'm allowing myself to be more open and honest with myself which is helping me become so much more at ease with this path that I'm now on. I'm a work in progress and I'm finally becoming okay with that. 

Life Lesson: It's okay to be not okay. 

        We're human. Sometimes we break. We fall apart. But then! Oh man, then we get to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again. It's hard work. It doesn't happen over night. But once we take that first step, whether it's a huge step [dropping out of college] or small step [taking yourself out on a date, which I TOTALLY recommend.] Once that step is made, the journey has begun! It's your time to renew, refresh, and become who you were MADE TO BE. 

Alright, I'm stepping off my box now. I love you guys. Whoever is reading this. As I've stated before just remind yourself that you ARE loved. and so so so worth that love. 

xoxo,

H