el día de acción de gracias.

i love the spanish name for thanksgiving... the whole "action" part of it is pretty amazing... motivating, even.

it's funny, but in a lot of ways, i feel like gratitude has saved me. 

when i first fell ill in 2008, i had no idea how long of a road i'd be in for with this sickness.

but i did know that the word "mononucleosis" did have a bit of longevity to it, 

and so i prepared.

i decided that every day, i'd think about at least one thing that i was grateful for. 

and i've done that, every day since then.

though negative feelings (often) creep in, i've always tried to tell myself that i still have something to be grateful for... that many others have it much worse off.

and my blog has actually played a big role in this;

i blog because i love to document my life and display my work...

i love to connect with others around the world,

 and i am fascinated by this earth and by learning new things,

but really... this blog has helped me to stay positive-- to find the beauty in the little moments and in simplistic, everyday life. 

i love that in the united states, we all get one day off a year to think about the abundance we have all been given. 

because, you know, i think that gratitude is really important... even in the most difficult of circumstances.

so, this thanksgiving i am thankful for jesus christ. for my family, my religion, and my friends. 

i'm thankful for my education, my interests and passions, my job, my health, and the opportunity i had to travel and experience so much this year.

i am thankful for the incredible power the human body possesses to endure and persevere. 

i am thankful for my darling doggie, música, quilts, good literature, advil, and the office.

i am also grateful for today! 

we spent the day with one of our closest family-friends situation and their extended family (who are also conveniently friends).

we ate, and ate, and ate.

and then we played... had some awesome games of football, soccer, and charades. 

it was so fun because everyone got involved, even the dogs! 

maybe some of us got a liittle too much into it... i may or may not have made a spectacle of myself by eating it royally (allll the way down the hill) as i made an in-bound kick. 

my jeggings have the grass stains and my knee has a gnarly bruise to prove it.

anyway, it was a lovely little holiday.

i hope all of your días de acción de gracias were lovely, as well!