Plenty to be thankful for

I can compile a list of hundreds of things I'm thankful for quite easily, from big things (my employers, reliable automobiles) to small things (my iPod, my heart rate monitor... okay, maybe those things aren't that little...). Anyway, it's really difficult to narrow things down of course. But I have to take time today, on Thanksgiving, to tell you a couple of the things on that list that I am most thankful for.

- My wife. Of course, I'm thankful for the misses... or is it Mrs.? Anyway, she's always been supportive of my willingness to stay home with our girls and my freelance career. It's what makes me happy, and she wants me to be happy. She also had a huge influence on my weight loss, for she was the one who sought out a personal trainer. She actually started a month before I did and although she lost 30 pounds in four months or so, she was not able to maintain the meal plan and workout regimen. I do hope someday she finds that fire that helped her burn off those pounds but I'll stand by her either way.

- I'm thankful that I found my spark. I went running on Wednesday and it was like meeting up with an old friend. I love to run. I love the challenges that each run presents. I can't imagine fitness not being a part of my life. Before, I hardly ever did any sort of physical activity. Now, if I go three days without a run I start to get grumpy.

- Of course, it goes without saying that I am thankful for my girls. I love them to death and I would do anything for them. Although my wife got me into fitness and my trainer helped me a lot, the girls were the driving force behind my change. They were two years old and five months old respectively when I first began seeing the trainer. Once I got going and bought into the weight change, they became my motivation. I didn't want the girls to have a fat daddy. I knew I was going to be around a lot when they started school and I didn't want the kids in her class to tease them because of their dad. Nor did I want the other parents to wonder which kid this great big guy came to pick up. I wanted them to be proud of their dad, wanted to show them that anything is possible if they make goals and work hard to reach them. I am nothing without them and I can't imagine them not being a part of my life.

I'm putting this clip here because it's one of our favorite home videos. It was in the summer of '07 and the girls are in action, as Yvie is trying to boss Kennedy around. To this day, we joke around about the "Fant Farrah" which we still cannot figure out what it is.