Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.  ~Edward Sandford Martin

“I’m so thankful…”  How many times have I started a sentence with this phrase over the past month?  A countless number of times it seems.  It is difficult to express in words all of the ways that my heart is thankful this Thanksgiving.  We have felt the Lord’s hand in so many different situations in our lives recently.  He is so good – and to Him alone we give all the praise and thanksgiving J  

“I’m so thankful…that our sweet baby boy, who was born on October 24^th, came out healthy and beautiful, despite the drama we experienced in our delivery room.  We arrived at the hospital at 8:00pm, and Chase was here by 10:40 pm.  He came so fast that my Dr. did not even make it in time.  (An amazing physician on-call that night delivered him instead!)  I had received my epidural only 5 minutes prior to the time that the nurse was unable to locate Chase’s heartbeat on the monitors.  The numbers dropped from 150 to 30 to zero in mere seconds.  “Controlled panic” (as Erik called it) set in and all of the sudden there were 12 people in our room, including a trauma team from the NICU.  Chase came flying into the world with the umbilical cord wrapped around his little neck not once or twice, but FOUR times.  He was completely blue and silent.  The team worked on him and the Dr.’s commented that they had never ever seen a cord wrapped that many times.  All we could do was hope and pray.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the heavenly sound of his first cries reached our ears and we were told he would be just fine.  They wrapped him up and placed him in my arms as one by one the incredible people who had just saved our little boy’s life quietly left us to revel in the glory of our newest family member.  He slowly opened his lovely little eyes and stared right at me.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  Chase is a perfect gift from above and completes our family in a very special way.

“I’m so thankful…that Ella is a fascinating little human being and that she is not only tolerating a newborn in the house, she is actually loving on him and accepting him into our lives.  She is still very much a two year old at times, however, she will ask to feel his toes, his hair and his smooth face.  She will lean in to kiss him goodnight and talk about what he is doing all day long.  She will find his paci on the table and try to give it to him if he is crying.  She will sing him songs at the top of her little lungs when we are riding in the car.  I can see that the Lord is working in her life as she is creating a special place in her heart just for her little brother.  She understands that our world does not just revolve around her alone anymore, but now him as well – and she is OK with that.  Well, better than OK actually.  She is well on her way to becoming a young lady and given the chance – I would never want to change one single thing about her.  My own life is so much fuller for the privilege of having her in it. 

“I’m so thankful…that the Lord still has big plans for both of my parents here on earth.  Last Friday night, they were driving together not a mile from their home when someone hit a patch of black ice and crossed the center line, hitting their car head-on at 50 mph.  They were taken separately by ambulance to Toledo hospital and assessed by trauma teams.  In an accident where both cars were totaled and according to witnesses could have been so much worse…my parents were blessed to walk away with some broken ribs, banged up knees, and lots of bumps and bruises.   My mom was kept two nights in the hospital with elevated cardiac enzymes, but both are now recovering at home as comfortably as possible.   Thank God for my Aunt Marlene and Uncle Denny who met me at the hospital and helped out as we went back and forth from one ER room to the next, talking to Dr.’s and getting test results.   Thanks to my brother Jeff who drove from Columbus as soon as I called and was able to take my dad home on Friday night to watch over him as he was still in a state of shock.  Jeff is a wonderful, caring, loving person with a huge heart.  What a comfort to be able to rely on your siblings in a situation like that.  We are truly blessed.

“I’m so thankful…for my amazing husband.  For his strength and wisdom in any situation, especially emergencies.  He cares for and he protects.  He is dependable and constant.  When I called from the ER to say I would be spending the night at the hospital with my mom, he was nothing but supportive.  I felt such peace knowing that he would be able to handle our two year old and our four week old all on his own…fixing dinner, diaper changes, bedtime, feeding Chase every three hours, breakfast the next morning, etc.  Even though I am a stay at home mom that watches over the kids when Erik works, I had zero doubt that he would manage.   When I walked in the house Saturday afternoon and saw him coming down the stairs with both of our babies in his arms and a big smile on his face – well, it did something to my heart that I have never felt before.  I loved him in a brand new way that cannot be explained.  Let’s face it – many men just would not have been able to do that for their families.  I’m thankful that I never have to worry about that at all. 

“I’m so thankful…that giving birth to a sighted baby after two years of raising a blind child has been the most natural thing in the world for me.  I waited a long time for it to hit me.  A sort of “A-Ha!” moment, as Oprah calls it.  But…it never came.  The Lord has allowed my heart to accept Chase’s vision as just plain, well, ordinary.  No drama.  No guilt.  No sorrow or jealous feelings of any kind.  In fact, just exactly the opposite.  While I was sitting around waiting for my epiphany, God was allowing me to see and love Ella in a whole new light.  As if I could love her anymore, right?  He took me above and beyond the realm of possibility.  I’m so thankful that I am one of the lucky ones.  A “special needs mama” that gets to experience life in ways other traditional mothers do not.  Ella will always be my most precious and extraordinary girl.  Our hearts have changed dramatically since her birth.  But now, with the arrival of Chase, the Lord has allowed us a little sense of normalcy in our lives.  No NICU for weeks.  No visits to different specialists or hours researching conditions online.  No fear, no sorrow, no questions.  Just the plain old joy and lack of sleep that come with bringing a newborn home.  I’d be lying if I said I was not thankful for these feelings of things finally being “usual.”  Routine.  Commonplace.  It is nice for a change J

So, on this Thanksgiving holiday I am experiencing true gratitude.  My prayer is that each of you are lucky enough to do the same.  Be Blessed!

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
Johannes A. Gaertner