I am thankful.

On this dreary, kinda rainy Thanksgiving Day, I want to give thanks. 

Before I do this, though, I want to say that this has been a very different Thanksgiving Day for Matt, Chase and me.  You see, normally, Thanksgiving (and Christmas) consists of a lot of driving and rushing around from Durham, to Henderson, to Hillsborough, to Durham and then sometimes back to Henderson the next day.  It's usually really stressful and not very relaxing.  Today, however, started out very differently.  Chase woke us up around 5am crying.  I let him cry for a few minutes hoping he'd just go back to sleep but about 10 min. later he was still at it.  So I went to get him and brought him into our room so we could all get some more sleep.  He normally doesn't sleep very well in our bed but I thought I'd try it anyway.  Good thing I did that  because he woke up and threw up twice.  Poor little guy.  He was so sick and pale.  He normally wakes up between 6 and 7am but after falling back asleep this morning he slept until 9:30!  So after consulting with my sisters (both of whom have little boys), I decided that we shouldn't risk spreading the germs not only to the little ones but also my Nanny.  It's not worth taking that chance and making everyone sick.

So, back to what I was saying.  As I sit on the couch under a blanket while Chase naps and Matt watches some show about climbing Mount Everest, I want to recognize all that I have to be thankful for:

1) God.  He has given me all these things and for that I am so grateful.

2) My husband.  Yes, he drives me crazy sometimes.  (sorry, Matt.  But you do.  Sometimes you even do it on purpose to see me get all fired up), he's crazy about ESPN, sports, and the Discovery channel.  But I love that he would rather spend the weekend with Chase and me than anyone else.  He is also pretty silly and he makes me laugh on a daily basis.  I love him.  I love that we are a team.

3) Chase.  I feel like it's important to first be thankful for Matt because he is the man who gave me my precious baby.  It's so important to me to put Matt first so that Chase has 2 loving parents who love each other first and then love him next.  Children see (and feel) everything and they're smart.  I believe that it gives a child confidence when they have parents who love each other.  But I digress.  I'm thankful for my energetic, silly, playful son who is so loving and sweet at the same time.  He is so tender-hearted and once almost started crying when he (accidently) hit me with a toy and I pretended to cry.  I hope he's always like that.

4) My family.  My dad and Martha drove up yesterday (from Chattanooga, TN) and we spent the afternoon and night cooking and hanging out.  Abby, Chris and Jake came up on Tuesday to watch Chase so I could go to work (Betty Ann had the flu and Leslie is with her family in GA).  I miss the rest of my family but I am thankful for the fact that I talk to my Mama and Katy (as well as my dad and Abby, of course) on a regular basis and I will see them soon.

5) Matt's family.  I hear so many people talk about how they don't get along with their in-laws.  I never really understood that because Matt's family (sister, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins...everyone) has always treated me like I was one of them.  They are such special people and I am so grateful that I now not only have my own biological family but I have my family by marriage as well.

So even though I'm not sitting around the table eating turkey, dressing, and pecan pie right now (sigh), I want to say all that I'm thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!