Thankful

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I had hoped to write a thought-provoking, inspirational reflection on the holiday, but time got away... We are thankful that this year, we were with our family, our children, and our baby Zachary, at home, healthy, and engaged in such normalcy that we didn't find time to write!

We are thankful for our faith, for our gracious God, who gives us everything we have. He sends the trials that help us grow stronger, and He lends His graces to help us through them.

We are thankful for our Five Little Blessings, for all the funny things they say, for their sweet faces, their sense of humor, their love...

We are thankful for our parents, our brothers, sisters, and family who helped form our character, who support us in all we do, who always step in to lend a hand.

We are thankful that Steve's parents drove fourteen hours to be with us this holiday, to see their grandchildren, and to help us organize the house.

We are thankful for our friends who are there in the thick and the thin, friends since childhood, friends we met just months ago, mommy friends, daddy friends, school friends, church friends, heart friends, blog friends!

We are thankful for Steve's job, his managers, and work colleagues. They have been so understanding this year, especially during Zachary's hospitalizations. At a time when so many families are without an income, we are especially grateful for employment.

We are thankful for the food we eat, our home, the beds where we sleep... So much we take for granted, yet so many people do without...

I recently looked back on Zachary's CarePage from a year ago, when we were staying at the Ronald McDonald House a thousand miles from home. We were still waiting for our baby to be born, and quite uncertain of his prognosis. We are thankful that in two short days, he will celebrate his first birthday. We are thankful for his special heart, which pumps enough blood to his head for extreme hair growth! It warranted another haircut this weekend:
which resulted in our baby looking more like a "boy" with even more striking resemblance to his brothers.


We are thankful that, aside from Zachy's heart, he is otherwise developmentally "normal." He crawls quickly and tirelessly, and also practices daily yoga:

(the "down dog" pose)


We are thankful for all of YOU, and for those who can help us celebrate Zachy's birthday this weekend! Take a break from your holiday shopping and stop by for some cake and refreshments (party details here.) Be sure to let us know if you helped a charity in Zachy's honor! And please continue to pray for our Zachy, so that his special heart will pump away for many birthdays to come.

Comments

  1. Sarah HolthusenNovember 30, 2009 at 7:54 PM

    Awww.....what great pictures!!!! Wow....Zachary's haircut really DID make him look even more like his brothers!!!! I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving! We certainly DO have so much for which to be thankful! Have a very blessed week!

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