thankful.

my favorite time of the year is over.

and we now move on to the month where we celebrate what we are thankful for.

and today, I am especially thankful for many things.

a warm bed, a loving family, great friends, an education, good health.

all the wonderful blessings I have in my life.

there's so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful today for my dad.

I've blogged before on how much I love and appreciate my mom.

but today, I want to express that love and appreciation for my dad.

before I was born, my parents couldn't quite give me a name.

my mom wanted Nicole Erin..

and my dad wanted to name me Erin Nicole.

my dad won.

I guess my mom had to agree that I looked like an Erin.

ever since I can remember I have always appreciated my dad.

he works so hard to provide us a comfortable life.

he has sacrificed so much for us.

I truly appreciate that.

he has given me the greatest example by strengthening our home with the priesthood.

I have always been able to turn to him for a blessing

whenever I have needed it.

I am grateful for my dad's strength in the gospel.

without it, who knows where my family would be.

my dad was baptized as a convert to the church when he was young

and has always remained faithful and diligent in the gospel.

he served a full time mission in the Micronesia Guam mission

and he and my mom married in the salt lake temple for eternity.

unfortunately, my dad did not grow up knowing his biological father

other than occasional visits and mostly letters. 

I am grateful that he has overcome difficult circumstances in his life

and took those experiences and become a stronger and better person.

I have never been under the impression that I was not loved by my father.

I know he loves all of us, and he is a great dad.

I am sorry for my dad's loss.

my grandpa elhart passed away a couple weeks ago.

and I think it has been difficult for him.

we were blessed to have the opportunity to meet him a year or so ago.

and my dad was able to see him again this summer.

I'm grateful that my dad was able to have those opportunities before grandpa died.

I can't imagine a life where I didn't know my dad.

it seems almost impossible.

I'm so thankful for him.

I'm so thankful for my beautiful mom.

and I'm so thankful to have an eternal family that I love.

though at times life can be difficult and we endure hardships,

it truly is something to appreciate.

life really is beautiful

and the gospel is true. 

our Savior loves us.

I know He does.

remember to always be thankful.

because we have so much to be thankful for.

Love, Erin