Thanksgiving.......

     This year has been such a poignant time for me. I think this year has hit me especially hard because I'm starting to realize that I did not make this life for myself. Nothing Tom or I did, no decision we made, no intelligent move on our part, gave us the marriage and family that we have. Literally, EVERYTHING we have has been a gift from the Lord. We try to keep Christ as the center of our home and marriage, and the change has revolutionized our home. We by no means have the perfect marriage/family (10 days on the road together illustrated that, believe me) but with a Christ focused outlook, our lives have changed. I am hesitant to even publish this because there's such an opportunity to appear hypocritical. And I know there are times when I haven't lived out my faith. I know it and it makes me cringe. But I hope that anyone reading this will realize that those flaws are mine alone and not those of "the church" and certainly not those of the God I try to serve.  But realizing what's been done for me has made me very thankful for all the blessings in my life.
   There is another reason this year has been so special. It's the first time I've every been able to focus almost exclusively on my family.
                                                        These three people.

My days are centered on their care and I love it more than I ever could have imagined.

So, let me sum up our trip. TEARS.

     This little darling was not a happy camper. I think we finally figured out why. He's allergic to dogs.  Almost every place we stayed had a dog. His nose would be running, he was coughing and sneezing. But as soon as we would move someplace without a dog, all of it would stop. Granted, he probably would have been a little grouchy anyway because he had a cold (and found out yesterday he had an ear infection) but the difference in the nose and coughing was dramatic. This is a bummer. He's an animal lover and we assumed we'd get another dog when the boys are older. I realize it's not a huge deal in the scheme of things, but it's disappointing for him.  When he's 2 we'll get him tested to confirm and see what else is going on but for now at least we know about it.
     Even with Walker's drama, the trip was good. We got to spend good time with our family. It is such an undertaking to in new places with little ones but I'm glad we made the effort. Things will be low-key around here while we recover. We got home Sunday afternoon and by Sun night, everything was unpacked and put away and almost all the laundry was done. It was an unpacking/cleaning/folding FRENZY. But now we're settling back in our little routine and it's so nice.

"Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people." 1 Chronicles 16:8