Thankful...

This is attempt #2 at being able to post today. This morning when I started, Joshua was playing nicely on the floor beside me, taking breaks to paw at my leg every time he wanted another bite of his banana. And then, as I began to type, he decided to morph into a monkey- attempting to climb his pack and play first, and then disassembling his toy shelf with the canvas bins in it. They are all, still, neatly stacked in a flat pile after he took the bottoms out of them and emptied them of all their toys. After he was done with that (I was still attempting to type through this circus act) he started to help me type on the keyboard. And that's when I gave up and decided to wait until naptime. And I suppose, even as disjointed as I know this sounds, that's what I'm most thankful for this year as Thanksgiving rolls around. The little, magical, silly moments that God has blessed us to enjoy with Joshua.

Thanksgiving is definitely one of my most favorite holidays- running a very close second to Christmas. I guess it's because the holiday is so deeply rooted in two things that are a big part of who I am, tradition and gratefulness.

I love the tradition of Thanksgiving, and I'm settling in to the new traditions that we've started as a married couple and now as a family of our own. I have to be honest that it took me a while to wrap my head around the idea of not being at my mom and dad's table on Thanksgiving day even as much as I love Jason's family and spending time with them. I did a terrible job of adjusting the first year. But now I have come to truly appreciate one special day to spend with Jason's family and one special day to spend with my family without having to run around and travel and stuff your face TWICE in one day. I love that we watch the Macy's parade together, and I can't wait to share that with Joshua as he gets older. I love that we all try to help in the kitchen but mostly end up getting in Judy's way (and sometimes ruining the sweet potatoes). I just love the whole thing and all of the memories of the Thanksgivings of my childhood. In our family, Thanksgiving was always the signal that it was time to start getting into the Christmas spirit. No sooner were the dishes done than we were running trips from the attic to get out the Christmas decorations and start trimming trees. The Kenny Rogers Christmas record was dusted off, and we all enjoyed the transition from turkey to Christmas magic. And we'll still do that, on a bit of delayed schedule, on Friday when we get to mom and dad's. I shudder to think about how quickly Joshua will attempt to "undo" what decorating we've done on mom and dad's HUGE Christmas tree.

The grateful part of Thanksgiving makes me really stop and think about everything I have to be thankful for. And though I try to make sure not to take any of it for granted every day of my life, I don't know that I always do a great job. So having a holiday to think about it and to make sure to show appreciation for our many blessings is a great thing. I am beyond having the words to show my gratitude to our families for everything that they do for us. I have the best friends on the planet- the true kind that don't let life get in the way- and I am so thankful for that. I have been blessed with an opportunity at a career that I absolutely adore. It's a rare occasion that I don't look forward to going to the office, and I know I'm in the lucky minority there. God has blessed us with enough to live a happy life, and I never want to take that for granted.

And then there's home. I am so thankful for our own little family. I'm thankful for Jason and the kind of husband and father that he is. I'm thankful that I've gotten a chance to see the fatherhood side of him. And thinking back to the beginning when we first got to know each other, I never would have guessed where life would take us. As for Joshua and the blessing that he has been, it's not anything that I take lightly. So many of the people closest to me have experienced the hardest parts of having a family and there is absolutely nothing fair or just about any of it. I know that this time of year is so hard on the people I care about the most who have to deal with unanswered questions about why and their feelings of longing. So I do not consider the healthy, happy, rambunctious little boy who moves like a hurricane through our house anything but a God given gift and a true miracle. And I have no idea why we were lucky enough to be able to have him to love, but I thank God for choosing us and I hope that I can always be grateful enough to realize that Joshua is a gift to be treasured. And I pray, every single day, that those of you who are still waiting to love your own little blessings will be experiencing it very very soon.

I truly believe the scripture that says "To whom much is given, much is expected." And I guess that's how I attempt to live my own life- gratefully and with purpose to always be thankful for everything- even the hard stuff. The challenge will be to help Joshua learn how to be thankful and to recognize a blessing when he sees one.

I'll include a picture of Joshua from last Thanksgiving in his little turkey suit. You'll all be pleased to know that I will not be dressing him in anything funny this year...but we couldn't resist last year when he was too small to fight it. It was huge on him, but there's only one chance to wear a "Baby's First Thanksgiving" sleeper. This was his exact position and pose the majority of the day last year.

We wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you love the most. Happy Turkey everyone!