Dexter Residents Thankful for Health, Family in 2012

As Dexter residents prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving today with friends and family, a few shared all they have to be thankful for this year.

Resident Mark Olexa said he is thankful for faith, family, friends, love and respect from others, and good health.

Margaret Govaere Steptoe said she is thankful for the safe birth of her new, healthy twin granddaughters.

Susan Thompson said she is most thankful for having all of her grandparents still in her life.

Mary Sobecki-Pierce expressed gratitude that no lives were lost in the Dexter tornado.

"Our community is forever changed, but stronger," she said.

Jim and Sue Carson said they are thankful for their five grandchildren.

"They all live close enough to us that we can be part of their lives on a regular basis," Jim Carson said. "We know a lot of grandparents that do not have the opportunity to do that."

Christy Vander Haagen, a local resident and Patch.com contributor, said she is thankful for a healthy family, gainful employment and her "loving and loyal friends."

Mary Marshall, superintendent at Dexter Community Schools, said she is thankful for "the amazing staff who give so much to support the children of this community and the families who work in partnership with us each day."

"I am thankful to spend each day in a community that is proud of its heritage and looks to the future to find ways to improve its service to all," Marshall said.

What are you thankful for this year? Tell us in the comments.