Many, many thanks

Since today is Thanksgiving I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a few of the things I am the most thankful for. I managed to narrow it down to the top three things (and boy was it hard):

Family

They are and always will be the best thing in my life, what motivates me, and what I thank The Lord for every night. 

No matter what I've got going on I can always count on Matt to be excited for me, patiently listen when I complain and volunteer to shoulder any burdens I may have. He is an excellent role model that the kids (and I) look up to, and he makes me want to be the very best that I can.

One look at these two is all it takes to brighten my day. 

It's hard to be gone through the holidays, especially because their birthdays are around this time too, but I am so thankful to hear their little voices tell me they love me and that they, "want me to come back from gan-ganstan today".

I can never say enough just how thankful and how blessed I am to have them. On top of that I have the most wonderful parents, siblings and in-laws that are nothing but loving and supportive throughout everything. 

They say that life's a game and if that's true, I've got the best team out there. 

America

Land of the free, home of the brave. I am so incredibly thankful for our beautiful country and it's patriotic people. There is never a shortage of cards, letters, and care packages for our troops in Afghanistan and the majority are from people we've never met. Ten years of continuous combat and our citizens have never waivered in their support and care for us.

Matt had the neighbors (that he had never met) knock on the door just to tell him thank you for his service. Only in America. 

I cannot express just how thankful I am for the kindness of strangers, and that of my wonderful friends and family! 

Social media

In the age where everyone has something to complain about it seems like everyone is either complaining about the electronics they have/want or complaining about how "kids these days" are glued to their phone and Facebook. 

I for one am thankful for the leaps and bounds we have made in the last 20 years. We all know how much harder things were in the world wars (I'm going back further than 20 years I know, stick with me) and in Vietnam. When you said goodbye to a loved one you really might not hear from them until they returned. If you were lucky you got a few letters, weeks after they were written. As recently as the early 90s communication was still quite difficult. When I was a toddler my father spent a year in Korea and my mother only got to talk to him once a week for about 30 minutes. That wasn't even in a combat zone! My father was able to surprise us by coming home early and making it in time for Christmas morning. He knocked on the door and my brother (about 4 at the time) and I (2 1/2) opened the door, then closed it in his face and shouted, "mom, uncle Leon is here!" 

There wasn't skype or FaceTime available. We couldn't see our daddy each night before bedtime or even once a week. I am so so thankful for all of the technological advances we have made. They are the reason I can see pictures of my family every day and see my beautiful children as they grow. Long distance families are closer than they have ever been because you can follow current events in someone's life on their Facebook timeline and send them an encouraging text or catch up via FaceTime. 

After reflecting on my many blessings I will leave you with an update on Thanksgiving, Bagram style. 

The dining facility employees and chain of command here really went above and beyond to make this day festive and special. There are all of the typical thanksgiving treats out for everyone to enjoy, the dining halls are decorated to the max, the employees are in pilgrim and Indian costumes and even our holiday servers (the Commanders and Sergeants Major) are wearing festive hats and serving with a smile! 

While nothing can replace family, and it is especially important to contact your loved ones on this day, they have done a great job at providing the other two staples of Thanksgiving: food and football.

Thank you all for taking the time to follow my story. I hope you're able to spend this day and many others surrounded by the warmth of family and friends and able to fully appreciate and cherish what you have been given. God Bless.