My Thanksgiving List

Sorry, I've been a little out of it the past week or two (I don't even have any concept of time--how long has it been?!), and I've been wanting to post but just haven't had the energy. Well, Turkey is asleep, the dogs are asleep, and I have a minute or two to do some blogging! I didn't realize what an adjustment it would be having a baby. I never thought it would be a piece of cake, but I didn't realize how much work a little 7 lb. person can be! I'm totally loving it though. All of his little expressions and the way he just looks up at me with those bright eyes of his and curls his fingers around mine, I melt every time! Life is kind of surreal right now. I can't believe that this is really me and that this is really my life--that the baby lying on the bed next to me is really my baby. If I hadn't been there for the delivery, I would have my doubts! =) He's perfect and beautiful in every way. Well, except for the fact that he is a vampire baby that sleeps during the day and is alert and bright-eyed all through the night. (Any suggestions for that?)
Anyway, here's a little thing I wrote on Thanksgiving while I was in the hospital. I didn't have computer access, so I wrote it the old fashioned way--with a pen and paper! =)

Today is Thanksgiving and the most amazing Thanksgiving ever! How do you describe it when everything on your 'Greatest Dreams' list has suddenly moved over to your 'Things I'm Thankful For' list? My life is truly wonderful! So, in Thanksgiving tradition, here's my Gratitude List: 1. I'm thankful (beyond thankful) for the 7 lb. 4 oz., 20 in. tall, 2-day old miracle in my life. He is perfect and so very handsome. I am thankful for those moments when I'm holding him, and he looks up at me those big, trusting, loving eyes, and he just melts my heart.
He is so much more than I ever hoped for!


2. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who heard my prayers and blessed me to be a mommy. I am overwhelmed, but so excited for this new calling in my life! I'm grateful for the 5 year struggle with infertility, the 9 months and 3 days pregnancy, and the 16 hour labor that it took to get him here. He's definitely worth it!


3. I am so thankful for the love Heavenly Father has for me. I know that He loves me and answers my prayers (though not always when and how I want, but always when and how I need), and I am so grateful for the guidance and comfort this knowledge gives me.
4. I am thankful for my husband, the love of my life, and my best friend. He never left my side during the labor which is just how he is--always there for me through thick and thin. He provides for me, he protects me, he puts up with me, and he loves me. I am so thankful for him! And he is already an AWESOME daddy!

5. I am thankful for my family. My mom and my mother-in-law were there pretty much the entire labor. They are saints! And even before the baby, my family has always been there for me. I am so thankful to have the temple blessings of being an eternal family with such amazing people.


6. I am thankful for so many good friends in my life. I'm not always that good of a friend, but my awesome, patient friends stick by me anyway. They share in my joys and my pains. Life wouldn't be the same without them!
7. I am thankful for my two anxious dogs waiting for me at home. They have been my dog-tourage, following me every where (including the bathroom) for the past few months. They are my boys! I'm thankful for how they love me no matter what and for how they look over me. When I went into labor Tuesday morning, they were so concerned and careful around me. You could just see it in their eyes that they wanted to do something to take the hurt away! Such good dogs!
8. I am thankful for Jordan Valley Hospital--for their wonderful, compassionate staff. I'm thankful for my doctor, for his expertise and especially for his calm, encouraging bed-side manner. I'm thankful for my two labor nurses, Dawnita and Autumn, who took such good care of me, and who stayed well after shift was over to see me through to the end. I love how we were strangers in the beginning and friends crying together in the end. They were angels sent just when I needed them the most! I'm thankful for the hospital's allowing us to stay while Turkey's in the NICU. I'm thankful for the guardian angel doctor and nurses who are taking care of him there.


9. I am thankful for not just a roof over my head, but a home. I thankful that the remodeling is pretty much finished. I love to just sit in the nursery, my new favorite place, where I know I'll be spending a lot of time very soon.

10. I am thankful for the opportunities that have been mine in my life so far. I'm thankful for the opportunity that I had to be a teacher and to interact for eight years with such amazing colleagues and students. I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to go to college and get not just a bachelor's degree but a master's also. What an experience! I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to serve a mission in Italy, an experience that still affects my daily decisions. And I'm thankful for the many opportunities I've had since I got married almost six years ago...going to all the rock-racing/crawling competitions with Clay and the boys, traveling and cruising all over the place with Hubs, meeting new people and finding new strengths through our battle with infertility, going through the adoption process...my life has been so full so far! And I think it's just the beginning! There are so many other things that I'm thankful for. This list could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I am so very blessed and so very grateful! Happy Thanksgiving!