The Barrett Family: Thankful

Thanksgiving may have been nearly a week ago, but I needed to stop and reflect on the things that I am thankful for. With deployment dragging on, though almost done, it's easy to get sucked into the "my life is hard" mode.

I have a strong and amazingly brave husband. I wake up each day and go to bed each night thinking about how incredibly proud I am of him and the important job he does everyday. And, although that job puts us at risk to loose more than we could imagine and keeps our family separated and incomplete for lengthy periods, it is a task that we believe needs to be done and someone has to do it. I am thankful that our family and our love is strong enough to endure these hardships and, in the end, make us better because of what we have gone through together.

We have two beautiful children. Children that are healthy, intelligent, sweet, funny and thriving. I am thankful that I can look forward to a future full of smiles as we watch them discover the wonders of the world around them and grow into amazing individuals.

I have an incredible extended family. Parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that support and encourage me no matter the challenge. The help and love of all these people brighten my cloudy days and I am thankful for all the big and little things they do.

I am thankful that our jobs allow us to provide for our family so that we are not burdened with worry for our future. And, not just jobs that provide, but jobs we enjoy. I am so fortunate to have a job where I can have a flexible schedule that allows me to be home with my kids more than I'm at work. I am thankful that my job is one that challenges me and pushes me to always learn more. A job that allows me the opportunity to work with amazing people. One that allows me to empower others and help them find the confidence to make a difference in their children. It is a beautiful thing to watch a family be the catalyst in helping their children meet their potential and I'm proud to be a part of it.

We are nearly done with our second year long deployment. January is right around the corner and we can't wait. I am thankful that over the past 11 months I can remember more smiles and laughs than tears and sadness. It hasn't been a cake-walk, by any means. Clara has days where all she wants is for Daddy to be home and asks dozens of times how much longer until then. I look at the little boy Colton is growing into and am desperate for him to have his Daddy home to influence him in the ways only a daddy can. But, through all this, I am thankful that I have found the courage, strength and support to make it through this deployment. And, I'm thankful that we haven't just "survived" the deployment. I have grown as a mother, wife, and woman and have watched our children thrive and managed to keep Daddy a part of their life as much as we could given the circumstances.

I am thankful for Battle Buddies, Deployment Pals, Army Wives, whatever you want to call them. I call them Nikki and Rose and without them this year would not have been nearly as fun, tolerable or manageable.

I am thankful that the past 6 weeks have flown by! Seriously! It seems like it was just October and now tomorrow we turn the calender to December. Life has kept us busy and we have been able to enjoy family and friends. I have been to Charleston, SC for a fabulous get away to attend a friend's wedding. We have had visits from my mom, dad, my friend Krista, Aunt Sue and Uncle Leyon, playdates and get togethers with friends, girls' nights out, sleepovers with cousins, a trip to Michigan, and many more simple silly times here at home with just the three of us. Here a few snapshots from the past couple months.