Happy Thanksgiving

From our home to yours... Happy Thanksgiving

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I am thankful for the big things: time with all my children and my husband, family who support us 100%, friends who are as family, strangers who shared their lives with us in prayer, kind well wishers who made us meals and offered assistance, nurses who made our lives easier, doctors who gave their all to bring Bobby & Maya safely into this world and made it possible for them to have the best possible start, even when the deck was stacked against them.

I am thankful to be able to have loved ones in our home to share a meal. To be able to drop $200 on groceries, with a fair portion of that going to one meal. To not worry where my heat will come from on this crisp fall day. To go into my fridge and hem and haw over what to snack on as my meal for 20 (but serving not even half that) cooks on my fairly new stove. To search through my closet for what I want to wear not what I have to wear. To be able to relax and know my children are safe and secure.

I am thankful to be able to drink clean water and have fresh air to breathe. To be able to sit on my couch in front of an NFL game on my flat screen as I type on my laptop and utilize my wi-fi connection. To be able to talk on the phone to family and friends from afar.

I am thankful for a husband who loves me (even the not-so-great parts). Who takes my "Irish temper" in stride. Who lets me pout it out when I am pissed off. Who holds me when I dont want to be held and lets me cry when I am afraid I will appear weak. Who has shown me the face of God in his own.

I am thankful for a mother who showed me what it is like to be a mother. For a mother-in-law who showed me that you can embrace a daughter in an instant because your son loves her. For a father who gave me the confidence to fight uphill for what I want. For a stepfather who gave me a sense of self when I was still learning who I was- and who still supports me in being me. For a father-in-law who lets me know that I can always say what is on my mind and not worry about what others think.

I am thankful to be a sister. To have a brother that I watched grow up and who now has a son of his own. To have sisters that I hope to one day know better. To have a brother that I know of but who doesnt know of me. To have friends who are as siblings to me.

I am thankful that I can stare at pictures of Nicholas, Sophia, and Alexander. That I can remember them by smelling their blankets. That I can run my fingers over their footprints. That I am their mother and was able to be there from the moment they entered this world through the moment they left it and beyond.

I am thankful that I can hold Bobby and Maya in my own home. That I dont have to navigate wires or listen to monitors blare or ask permission to cuddle my children. That Bobby weighs over 8 pounds and Maya over 6 pounds. That they are happy children who know they are loved unconditionally by so many.

I am thankful that Bobby takes his bottle without choking (for the most part). That he will still nurse for comfort if not for nutrition.

I am thankful that Maya has found a new love of nursing and has graced me with her presence at my breast for every meal, except one bottle last night and one this morning, since about 8pm yesterday. That she looks up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes and reaches her hands around my breasts as if to say "mine".

I am thankful for each and every one of you. Those I know in real life and those who I dont even know read this blog. For each and every thought you have paid me in my grief and my happiness. For carrying my sorrows and my joys as your own. For every prayer that you thought or uttered for all of our children. And for us. For sharing your own paths with me and allowing me the privileged of your friendship.

Happy Thanksgiving, whether you are in this country or abroad. May you have all the things you are thankful for near you today, and may you be surrounded by love and peace.

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The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord lift His countenance upon you. And give you peace. The Lord make his face to shine upon you. And be gracious unto you. Amen.

(A post about what is going on in our neck of the woods is forthcoming. There are quite a number of updates...)