Today I am 26 years old

Hello, and welcome to my blog. I have been a long-time fan of journaling, and more recently, a very interested reader of other people’s blogs, so I have wanted to write my own blog for some time now. The problem was, I had no good ideas of topics to write about, and I did not want to begin a blog that would quickly run out of steam. I believed for awhile that my life was too uninteresting to write about, but lately, I am running into more and more everyday experiences worth writing about. However, a few days ago on the bus I got (what I consider to be) a brilliant idea for a blog. The “Kate is thankful” blog is intended to log all of the big and small things in life that I am thankful for. And I invite all of you to post comments about the things that you are most thankful for. I am starting this blog because I LOVE Thanksgiving and also, I love Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah has often encouraged her millions of fans to keep gratitude journals, and I must admit that I have never tried it before. Ever since my fifth birthday, I have kept some kind of a journal. I like to write and reflect and look back later to see where my life has taken me. The one thing I have learned, though, and that which I am expecting of myself in this new blog endeavor, is that it can be difficult to consistently write a journal. I used to beat myself up over this, but I don’t anymore. I write when I want to write. I hate to say it, but I am a busy person (aren’t we all?) and if I fall off of the blog updating track, well… you’ll all have to forgive me. Most likely my life has been consumed with studies and work and church and volunteering and family and friends and leisure, etc. etc. etc. I have no idea how consistently I will update this. But I am hoping that I’ll stay engaged in writing this blog, and that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy reading other people’s blogs. So without further adieu, here is my first thankfulness list:

I am thankful for:

1. Another birthday -- God has blessed me a lot in the past year. I can hardly believe I'm now closer to 30 than 20, but I'm glad I can say that I truly enjoy this time in my life.
2. My friends -- My husband Scott has put together a really fun birthday weekend for me, and in a few hours, my girlfriends from college are taking me out to "Let's Dish." Last night we went out to dinner with our small group. I have terrific friends who I love very much. This is a blessing, indeed.