Gratitudes, Thanks & Love V

Each Sunday, Nicole at Adventures of a Semper Fi Family hosts a Sunday Gratitude linkup. I love this idea… even if I have a quiet week or a busy week, there is always something to be grateful for. If you would like to take part in the Sunday Gratitude Linkup – and I encourage you to do so – please visit Adventures of a Semper Fi Family.

What a busy week it has been. I feel like it has been ages since I have been able to sit and write about anything, not to mention all the wonderful things that I am grateful for – and there are lots of those!

Where to start!? 




1. I am grateful for a season of love and giving… Christmas to me is not about taking or receiving gifts, it is about rejoice, family, kindness, love, sharing, giving… The spirit of Christmas is in me more this year than it has been since my mother’s passing. Perhaps I have my family to thank for that or maybe it was finding myself over the past few months. Maybe it is something bigger that can’t be seen. Either way, I am so grateful for this festive and happy time.



2. I am grateful for my family… See a pattern here? I have often talked about how much I love my family and what they mean to me. My aunts and uncles… my cousins… my father… especially my father! I have the most loving and accepting people in my life and I am so blessed. We all love and support each other unconditionally. Not one of us is perfect but we are family and wouldn’t have it any other way. 
I love that my family is not just accepting of each other but also to new people… friends and young relationships. Immediately they take a new person in and treat them like they have been part of our family all along. They adore Greg and my father’s girlfriend of a year. They are part of our family. I love that! 



3. I am grateful for an active life… A year ago I was a much different person. I spent most of my time sitting in front of my computer playing games and not going out, not seeing friends/family, not having any hobbies. Through a series of life altering events, I have become a new person – an active and happy person. 

Today I spend time with my family and friends. I take ukulele lessons. I go to mass and am in R.C.I.A. classes. I am meeting new people and building new, lasting relationships. I go on dates with my boyfriend and have a girls night when I need one. My schedule is crowded and will become even more-so when Spring semester starts back up – but that is a good thing! I am doing and growing and it’s wonderful.



4. I am grateful for R.C.I.A. classes… I think I have mentioned it before and I may have mentioned it many times but my R.C.I.A. classes are a highlight of every week. I get to learn and grow my faith in God and the Catholic church. 
It’s been so long since God took the forefront to my way of life. I am not sure He really ever really did, though I had previous intent… but now there is no denying it. I am a changed person because He is always on my mind and in the decisions I make. 
The R.C.I.A. classes along with my weekly mass are helping me shape the way I live and how I interact with other people. Speaking of other people, I have met such wonderful individuals through R.C.I.A. They inspire me and keep that motivation going, even when we are not together in class. 



There is so much more to be grateful for such as prayer, ukulele & guitar jam sessions w/Greg, my health, a warm home, date nights, good champagne, a good review at work, no school till spring, amazing friends… so on and so on. I think that reflecting on these each week help me see how lucky I am and to not take them for granted.



xoxo,
Nichole

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Tagged: Catholic, Christmas, church, faith, family, friendships, gratitude, holidays, JustSomeJane, life, love, mass, R.C.I.A., Semper Fi Family, sunday, ukulele