The Art of Having Fun

Shades of Gray: 5 Things I'm Grateful For in 2019

by

4 years ago

Hi Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! I am bursting with gratitude today as I look back on the past year and everything I have to be thankful for. This year has quite possibly been one of THE busiest years yet (especially now that we have the twins around), but it has also brought some of the most exciting opportunities and tons of “firsts” that I will remember forever. Today I wanted to take a moment and reflect back on all the things that I have to be grateful for this year. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with friends, family, and food! (And lots of it.) Here is what I am truly grateful for this year…

Our Children

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/gray-malin/image/upload/c_scale/gray-malin/blog-uploads/1-Screen Shot 2019-11-20 at 5.32.06 PM.png-FZPBzOY)

At the top of my list this year is, of course, our children. This past year with them has been such a whirlwind, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I now understand what new parents mean when they say adjusting to parenthood is, well, an adjustment. However, seeing how our twins have grown and changed over the course of a year has been magical. We’ve been dreaming of welcoming our children into the world for what seems like forever (read about our journey here), so to actually have them with us feels like a miracle. We are so lucky!

Our Family Lake House

Although I’ve been visiting Lake Michigan for my entire life, nothing made it feel more like home than when Jeff and I finished building our own house there. It was quite the journey, but the results were beyond what even I could have imagined. We spent this summer there with the twins and it was the most memorable summer of my life. I’m looking forward to all the memories we make there as a family in the years to come.

My Team

To say this past year wouldn’t have been possible without my team is a major understatement. As soon as the twins came around, we had to pull away from the office a little bit and if it weren’t for all of them, pulling back wouldn’t have been an option. When Jeff and I left for Michigan this summer, we put all our faith in them to continue their hard work and they were amazing. From our team trip to Barcelona this summer to the stressful preparation for the holiday season, we’ve all shared so many moments together. I owe so much of my growth and success to the hard work of this team.

My Parents

I consider myself so lucky to have such wonderful hands-on parents in my life. For living far away, they’ve always made visiting a priority and even came out to LA the week the twins were born to meet them and lend a helping hand. They’ve been such amazing supporters throughout my entire life and I couldn’t be more grateful to have them around.

New Adventures

Due to the nature of my job, I’ve been able to travel to some truly amazing places all across the globe. This year, Jeff and I took a magical trip to New Zealand together, where we swam with humpback whales, visited waterfalls, and really focused on unwinding and disconnecting as much as possible. This was just one of our many adventures! I’ve already started dreaming up some exciting trips for the upcoming year that we can’t wait for. Here’s to all the new adventures ahead!

Hopefully, this post inspires you to spend some time thinking about what you have to be grateful for. We all have so much. Of course, I can’t end without saying how incredibly grateful I am for all of YOU! None of this would be possible without your support for my business, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Cheers!

Xx

Gray