I am so blessed!

So this post is about how truly blessed we are.  I just NEEDED to take a minute and count my blessings.  On tough weeks, we sometimes need to do that to remind us how much we truly have.

I'm blessed with:

1. an amazing set of kids that we never would have though we could get.  Though they are still kids and still cause their own amounts of drama in our life, they are perfect for us.  They help us grow as parents so much!
2. an amazing husband!  Words can't describe how lucky I am!  He is a great priesthood holder who loves our family and all he does is for us.
3. a great job for John.  Fender has been such a blessing to have such stable employment at this time in the economy. 
4. side hobbies that can bring in income along with enjoyment in my life.  To have the ability to make cakes and take pictures that I enjoy doing and bring in a few dollars here and there which always seem to come when we need the money the most.
5. great in-laws.  John's family is great.  Though we are sad that things have worked against us to prevent us from getting together this summer like we have planned for the last two years, many are still getting together, but those who aren't are judged for why they aren't able to make it work.
6. great extended family on my side.  All the siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents etc who love and support us and fill our vacation with time spent with others so it doesn't seem so bad that we have no money to do the "fun things" we would love to do.
7. understanding kids, who though very sad that the summer is not going to happen the way we planned are looking forward to the blessings and things we will get and are not whiny kids who freak out when we talk about the things we will likely need to cut back this coming year.
8. a loving Heavenly Father who looks out for us inspite of past poor decisions and blesses us even through our trials.
9. a healthy family.  Though we have some small things like concussions and such that come up with have great insurance that has gotten us through it and overall a pretty healthy family.
10. an amazing ward family.  We have now lived in our house (which we are also so blessed to have) for the last 9 1/2 years with a ward family who is there for us in ways that we never thought possible.
11. people we can trust.  We are blessed with people to work on fixing the motorcycle that we really feel we can trust.  Whatever the cost I feel very strongly that it will be fair.  (We are just praying it's something we can afford).
12. John's motorcycle.  Though it's not running right now it's gotten us through some really tough times when we were a one car family, and once running properly again will get us through this next year as we are a one car family again.
13. The acceptance to walk away from a vehicle that has served us well for many years.  Yes, the main trial in my life right now is the fact that our van has reached the "can't be revived again" stage.  It will be sold for parts as soon as we can get a new copy of the title from California. 
14. Honest people...oh wait did I say that already?  Well, we are.  We were rearended a little while ago.  The insurance company (State Farm) that is responsible for the accident has been honest and forward and taken care of everything without a fight in a way that I feel was more than honest towards us, blessing us with some funds that we needed to put towards the motorcycle repair.
15. amazing friends!  There are so many and so many ways!  I can't say them all here or I will leave someone out.  Those who hang with me to get through the long summer days, those to step in and take care of things when I am doing a cake and need help, those who help me get to the temple each week, those who hang at the pool and park with me and my kids, those who play with my kids.  Those who teach my kids those things I'm not good at, those who let me use their fridge when mine is too full, those who drive my kids or myself places in a bind, those who help me get my kids ready for campouts, etc, etc, etc
16. The Niu's.  It's the only family that I'm going to single out because at this moment in time I know we could not do anything we hoped to do without them!  Her husband drives my husband to work when I need to have the one car, they will drive my husband so I can go to Utah and leave him without ANY vehicle for 2 1/2 weeks.  They will trust me with their kid to drive him to Utah, and drive my kid that I leave behind to Utah for me.  They will provide transportation for my husband while out of town.  They are just amazing and we are so blessed to count them as friends.
17. a loving Savior who loves me inpite of all my issues.  I love my Lord, I love my family, I love my friends, I love the gospel and though we are looking forward to some really tough things, we have the support to know we will get through them all just fine!