Grateful

I never did get around to writing about everything I'm grateful for. I feel like I should. Here's the short list:

1. I'm grateful I didn't expect BYU to beat Utah this year. It makes the heartbreaking loss a little easier to handle.

2. I'm grateful that Jeff put a dvd player in our van last year, which makes it almost pleasant to travel to Las Vegas and back with 4 kids.

3. I'm grateful we got to spend Thanksgiving with some of my favorite people in the world--my whole family, minus Jonny, who is heating up in Argentina.

4. I'm grateful for weather forecasts (especially when they are right). We came home Saturday before the storm and woke up Sunday morning to 6 inches of snow in our front yard.

5. I'm grateful for Taylor Swift's new album that has gotten me through a lot of hours of cleaning.

6. I'm grateful for second trimesters. First and third trimesters are mise

rable, but second trimesters are nice.

7. I'm grateful to have two pair of non-maternity pants that fit me. Those, and the sweats I can wear, keep me from buying any more maternity clothes.

8. I'm grateful we have four more months before this baby comes. Along with having exactly ZERO names on the potential name list, I'm not even close to being ready.

9. I'm grateful that winter means we don't have to mow the lawn or pick weeds for at least four months.

10. I'm grateful for hard wood floors that hide dirt so well, and keep me from having to mop them daily.

And the REAL list, lest you think I am entirely superficial.

11. I'm grateful my mom is healthy this year. Life just wouldn't be the same without her. My kids adore her (Kyla prayed over breakfast one morning, "Bless I love Grandma Karen"), and I don't know what we'd do without her.

12. I'm grateful Jeff has a job he loves, and that we are able to live here close to family. I know we are really lucky.

13. I'm grateful for modern medicine. Without all the advances we have today, I doubt little (HUGE) Carter would be with us right now. He may not have survived birth, and he certainly wouldn't have survived RSV last winter.

14. I'm grateful to live in our dream house. It may be empty for years to

come, but I still drive around the corner and think, "wow. We live there. We're so lucky."

15. I'm grateful to be experiencing my life's journey with Jeff. We have had to really hang together as we have had more kids (lest they figure out how to divide us), and I feel like we are closer than ever.

16. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a mom. I enjoy (most of) it so much, and know I'm so lucky to have such great (and crazy) kids to spend all my time with.

17. I'm grateful that my family is still hanging together. This has been a r

eal challenging year for the Esplin's, both publicly and privately. But I'm so grateful that we will always have each other, reminding each other that "in the end (we) want to be standing at the beginning" together.

18. And finally, I am grateful for my testimony of the Savior. It has grown tremendously this past year, as I have had many opportunities to get to know Him on a personal level. And I know that no matter what is thrown at us this year, or in years to come, we'll make it through, because of Him. I'll always be grateful for that.