Well. I have a new member in my family. My step-brother's fiancee just gave birth to my beautiful nephew, Albert Jackson (first and middle name) Now before you start knocking the name, remember all the other weird names out there, and the fact that right now a good percentage of the female population is going gaga over the name Edward, which is from the same time period. Albert has an amazing older brother, Wilson, so he's definitely a lucky boy.

And on to other things:

Since Thanksgiving is in 2 days I thought I'd make a little list of things I'm thankful for (sometimes I need to remind myself how lucky I am--especially at this point in the semester)

1) I'm thankful to be (relatively) healthy. I went through a period of time a couple years back where my liver was failing. I'm thankful that I'm alive today and that my liver seems to be doing well.

2) I'm thankful for the education that I'm receiving. It is expensive and is very stressful most of the time, but I'm being given the opportunity to do something that I love: art. And I'm also being given the means to make a good life for myself and my family.

3) I'm thankful to live in America. I have my fair share of complaints about our government and such (as does everyone I'm sure) but I live in a country where I'm free to be as obstinately opinionated as I am. I guess you could say that I'm thankful that I'm not being repressed.

4) I'm thankful for my art. I don't know where I'd be without it.

5) I'm thankful for my wonderful pets. I just found out that one of my cats has diabetes, but I'm glad that we caught it and that she's going to be OK.

6) I'm thankful for my friends. I don't know how I'd function without them. They've stuck by me through all the ups and downs of my life and they've held me together when things were tough. They are amazing and I love them all.

7) I'm thankful for my family. My family is large, loud, and infuriating, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. My family members are all wonderful and they've made me who I am, good and bad. This includes my step-family as well. My step family has blessed me with an extraordinary 2nd mother, an amazing little sister, a kind and intelligent older brother, a fun and lovable future sister-in-law, and two beautiful little nephews who will always bring a smile to my face.

8) And last, but most definitely not least, I am thankful for the most wonderful fiancee any girl could hope for. He's put up with my (mostly school-induced) mood swings, my overbearing opinions, and my complete and utter refusal to act like a "girl." He is my very best friend, and my partner in all things. He's made me understand the dumb little phrase, "your better half" because he's mine.

Well there's eight things I am truly thankful for (I was originally going to go for twelve, but the list was getting loooooong lol)

Sorry for the long ramblings, but I thought I should express how I feel in this matter ^^