Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I thought it might be appropriate to dedicate my 100th post on this blog to the holiday of gratitude. I've come a long way from being thankful for He-Man and Skeletor and all the other action figures from Masters of the Universe. There are a lot of things I'm grateful for (like Trissy and the cats and Butler and nature and animals and food and movies and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and so on), but I'm going to focus on the really really important things (not that Trissy isn't important, but even if she could read this blog, she'd be re-focused on squirrels in about two seconds after starting).

I am thankful for my wife, who loves me and takes care of me and puts up with me, even when I forget to put her interests before mine. It's hard living with someone who reverts to childishness every now and then, but she is so patient and kind and understanding. I love you, babe!

I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful for my father, who has taught me and given me the best example of what it really means to be a man, to be a worthy priesthood holder and someone who holds all women in respect.

I am thankful for my mother, who taught me the importance of obedience and faith in all walks of life, and who gave to each of us a love for music that spans time and the world.

I am thankful for my sisters, who have shown that no matter where life leads them, it is possible to find happiness and contentment in any circumstance, in any place, and in any thing. I am thankful for the unique friendships I have with each one of them.

I am thankful for Joe, my awesome brother in law who has given me something I have wanted for a long time- a real brother, someone to just hang out with and have fun with.

I am thankful for Tamara's parents, who have taken me in and from day one have treated me as their own, who have given us a roof over our heads while we try to get on our own two feet.

I am thankful for good friends, like Jeff or Scott or Tyson or Kevin or Joe dozens of others, who have helped me when times were tough and with whom I've had some of most fun moments in recent memory.

I am thankful for the Gospel, the source of light and truth which has helped me become the person I am today.

I am thankful for the country I live in, for the freedom we all enjoy here, and for leaders who try their best to give us the best world they can.

I am thankful for my jobs, and for the friendships and associations they have provided, and, of course, for the money I can earn to help support my fledgling family.

I am thankful for everything I have learned, experienced, lived through, suffered through, and endured, and for all I've learned and the growth I've experienced from those situations.

I am thankful for Russia, for the time I spent there, and for the hundreds of wonderful people I was able to meet and interact with, and for all they taught me.

And I am thankful to the Lord, to my Heavenly Father, for all they have given me, for alll they have done for me, and for all they do every day for me. I am thankful that they have given me this wonderful life, with all the wonderful people and experiences to go along with it.