Being Thankful While Continuing to Dream

There seems to be a relatively fine line for some people between having hopes, dreams and aspirations and feeling like they're not appreciating what they have enough by aspiring to be or do bigger and better things.  I personally find the line to be quite thick.  You should absolutely thank God (or the Universe or whomever you choose to) for every blessing every day from the biggest (house, family, health, etc) to the smallest (paying a bill on time because of unexpected cash, etc).  You should absolutely appreciate every single blessing in your life because you never know when things may change and you may go from incredible blessing to scared crapless and broke.
With all of that being said, you should absolutely dare to dream.  You should continue to aspire to something great.  The expression goes that if you're not growing, you're dying.  It absolutely stands true.  Even Biblically, it is sound for you to aspire to be bigger and better.  You should be humble in your life but also remember that aspiring to be successful or to get married or to travel the world does not make you a bad person.  Dreams are what makes America a beautiful place.
Because I believe in leading by example, here are a few of my dare-to-dream aspirations....
**Soccer mom:  You could really interchange any sport or major activity in for the word "soccer."  Namely, I aspire to have the opportunity to get my kids involved in sports or activities and have the time to drive them back and forth, be at their games/meets/shows, and have the finances to keep up with it.  This is one large lump with a lot of moving pieces but I'd love it nonetheless.
**Travel Photographer: There is nothing that I love more than exploring.  I love shooting families and it's a passion I'd love to keep forever but there is something about exploring a new place and seeing it from angles that you've never imagined viewing it from that lights my fire.  Will I ever have a career in this?  Not unless God creates a parting-of-the-Red-Sea miracle.  Does that mean I can't aspire to someday do this?  Of course not!
**Own My Own House:  This seems feasible but being a single mama with a limited budget, it's a dream that's hard to achieve.  My ultimate dream would be to own a nice big house where I could host big family gatherings or birthday parties or sleepovers.  The house would have enough space for the kids to have their own bedrooms customized to THEIR personalities.  The house would sit on a few acres with great schools nearby and we'd have a big garden, a chicken coop, and maybe even horses.  I'd also have a media/rec room with an air hockey table and a big ass TV with surround sound to watch sports on.
**Season Ticket Holder:  Again, it's a far-off dream but I'd love to have season tickets to every major sport...Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, and maybe even soccer and some other things.  I'd also love to explore college teams, alternative sports, and other activities such as Colorado Ballet, etc
**Debt-Free with Savings:  This is a semi-attainable goal that I'm working towards.  I would love to be completely debt free and have savings for the kids, college savings accounts, savings for myself, emergency savings, and a retirement fund.
**Month Long Vacation Every Summer:  The first would involved traveling across country to Florida and doing a complete Orlando experience (Disney parks, Universal and Islands, Sea World and Discovery Cove, Medieval Times, etc), a trip to Miami, then Jacksonville and St Augustine.  After Florida, we'd travel up through Georgia and see the sites there and visit some friends.  Then we'd move on to Tennessee, Illinois, and all the way up to the UP in Michigan for a couple of days...then across and back home.  It'd be road tripping and craziness but I'd love every minute.  Years after, I'd love to explore New England and New York, California and the West Coast, the Dakotas, Texas, Alaska, Hawaii and then on to Australia, Europe, and so on and so forth.  I'd love to see how people live and how families are in different areas of the world.
**MAYBE marriage and such: If the opportunity came up and the time was right, maybe marriage and other such matters.

Those are just some of my hopes, dreams and aspirations.  I appreciate everything I have and everyone in my life but I hope to someday achieve at least SOME of these goals.

Family Shots

Sorry it has been awhile since I've posted...it's been a bit of a madhouse. LOL  I'll get back on the wagon but for now, here's some of our family shots taken in Silverthorne, CO.....