Thankful

I am finally getting a chance to post my Thanksgiving thoughts. I was pretty sick on Thanksgiving, the preceding and following days and couldn't muster the energy to sit down and type what I didn't need that day. But we are so grateful this Thanksgiving for our many blessings and it's so important we acknowledge all the good in our lives.

• For my hubby's job and the good insurance that comes with the job - not everyone is so fortunate



• For my two beautiful boys and my loving husband who make this journey so worth traveling



• For my baby coming home from the hospital just in time for Thanksgiving



• For our gracious friends who have helped us deal with all the medical chaos and help us take care of our older son we run out of possibilities



• For the wonderful care at the children's hospital and all the nurses and doctors that take care of our son



• For our friends who planned a Thanksgiving meal for us and brought it over as well as for our friends who invited us to join them in their celebrations



• For such a loving and caring church community



• For wonderful parents who do what they can to help us out, even across the miles



• For all those who pray for us on a daily basis



• For God taking care of our needs



• For such loving families who stay in touch even though we are so far away



• For the invention of wireless Internet (yes I am serious about this - I can still take on jobs even when my baby is in the hospital)



• For all the beautiful children in our lives, including our children, godchildren and nieces and nephews - life wouldn't be as fun without them



• For the little things that make a world of difference



• For all that we have been blessed with

There is so much more, but those are the most important things right now. We are so blessed and we are so grateful we have been giving the abilities and opportunities we have in our lives.

Loving Our Bodies Just The Way They Are

I was reading Good Housekeeping (yes I know I'm getting old:), but truthfully I have been reading it regularly since I was about 10) and I came across this column by Geneen Roth.

She recounts a very interesting story and it reminds you, many things in life are just a matter of perspective.

She talks about women hating their bodies and getting down about having large thighs or not being able to lose the baby weight. Then she recounts the story of a graduate student she knew who had been misdiagnosed with a brain tumor. She points out that during the time the woman thought she had a brain tumor, at no point did it enter her mind she wished she had spent more time getting the "perfect" body.

I have struggled with this tremendously over the years, as have many in my family and many friends as well. I spent a summer as the director of an art program at a camp on the East Coast during college and for the first time in my life, the idea of the perfect body wasn't a 100-pound blond haired blue-eyed girl (which I'm not). Not long after that, I spent time in Mexico and both experiences together gave me a broader perspective on beauty and helped me become more grateful for the body God gave me, even with all its imperfections.

I love articles like this that put "problems" like a crooked nose or a little bit extra weight into perspective.

My body, flawed as it may be, has carried two of the most precious gifts, my boys, into my life, not to mentioned nourished them and helped them grow into babies for nine months in the womb.

My body has helped me travel around the world, helped me hike around Europe, study in Mexico, live in several states and experience many new communities. My heart has worked hard to keep pumping. My cells work hard to repair themselves when I clumsily fall and sustain injuries, usually in an effort to save my camera:). My muscles built themselves up so I could play soccer, tennis, basketball, run and do scuba.

I know many people can tell you it just takes a serious illness to make you really appreciate normalcy.

How cool is it that God created our bodies to know what we need, when we need it? I know I can often think about what I don't like about my body, but when I sit down and think about it, I am so grateful it works and has given me the opportunity to live life. I challenge everyone to take a moment and thank God for our bodies and the way they were made. I love the column made me remember what I love about my body. Hope it does the same for you.

Thrifty Thursday (On Saturday)

So I am still a little behind with having a new baby and Thanksgiving adn everything this week, but I still wanted to sit down and write this post for all of those Christmas shoppers out there.

A new site I am totally loving is Price Protectr. You can input any items you buy and if they show up cheaper within a certain time frame, the site will email you with the new price and may save you money.

I tried it out with a new camera I bought and over the four weeks, I got emails detailing more than $20 in savings. Unfortunately, the company I bought (I bought it on Amazon through one of their vendors) did not give money back and I was not sending my camera back because I wanted to have it when the baby arrived, but the point is they do a good job tracking the prices for specific items. With big ticket items, especially around Christmas, you could potentially save a lot depending on all the factors that make retailers discount prices.

Happy Shopping!

Thanksgiving Blessings

We have much to be thankful for this week, much less this year.

This week, I am so thankful for my mom, who has helped me out tremendously with my newborn and my toddler. Without her, I don't know how I could have possibly made the transition so smoothly. She has years of experience to offer after raising eight of us and has such a love for babies it's not difficult to sneak away for a quick nap. I am going to miss her and all the good cooking when she takes off. It's a rare treat we get a whole week with her and our family always relishes it.

I am also so grateful for a woman at our parish who offered to watch our son as we headed to the hospital. It's difficult to find people who are available, much less willing and offering. She came over at 4am and spent the whole day with him. Without her, I am not sure what we would have done. God really places the people and resources you need when you need them in your life. My mom arrived that afternoon and was able to take over for her.

Of course we are thankful for the birth of our second son. Over the years we have learned not to take anything for granted, especially the blessing of children. After this summer of bed rest and several scares, it is wonderful to be at home recovering from the birth of our son and to realize he is here happy and healthy.

We are also thankful for so many other things, here are a few:

• my husband's new job


• a place to live


• the ability for me to stay home


• selling our house


• friends all over


• family


• our health


• the health of our babies and those we love


• the ability to travel and visit those we love


• opportunities to take photos, write and share


• health insurance


• proper health care


• money for medicines we need


• strong faith


• church community


• new friendships


• old friendships


• everyone in between:)


• freedom to practice what I believe


• freedom to voice my opinion


• freedom to live how I choose

So on this day of Thanksgiving, I am very blessed and grateful for all the gifts God has bestowed on us. May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving as well.