Thankful. Period.

Ok.. so there are so many cute stories about my kiddos.

1) We have an aunt named Sunny. We visited her over vacation back in August, and I am trying to talk to Caleb about who we saw, etc.. I was talking about Uncle Nat and Sunny, and I asked him what Uncle Nat's name was. "Untle Nat." Got it. Then I asked, "well, who is his wife?" He thought and thought and said (brilliantly, I might add!), "YELLOW!" :) I could tell exactly what he was thinking.

2) Maff is going to be 2 next week. I can NOT believe it. He's become quite the talker (1 or 2 word sentences). He can say "Day-dow!" (thank you) and "nigh nigh" (Good night), "Piburgh" (Pittsburgh... who knows why). I'm trying to get him to say "please"... but to no avail.

However, he IS using "Day-dow!" appropriately! It's so cute. Last night, he was crying around 0600, and I got him milk, held him, and put him back in bed, with his beloved bird, of course. From across the room, before I closed the door, he whispered, "Day-dow!". I almost melted. It made getting up worth it!

3) Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am working all week, and on my way into work today, I was feeling a bit blue about not having traditions, family in town, a real warm rosy celebratory meal, etc.. But, as my friend Sarah is doing (she keeps a list on her blog, and I don't know how to attach it to this, or else I would), I wanted to list a few things that I'm really thankful for.

• health. No one has gotten sick yet (and I'm around coughing crud all the time). (That can be good or bad... but for now, I'm thankful for health). We are all healthy. My babies are healthy. No one has cancer. No one has chronic illnesses. For that, I am SO thankful.
• My husband. The day after Thanksgiving is our EIGHT YEAR anniversary of going on our first date... I was a senior in college, and he lived in Denver.. and he was visiting his aunt and uncle, who attended my home church growing up. It really is a fairy tale story--I had this huge crush on him for a few months.. and then out of the blue, when I never thought I'd see him again, he asked me out on a date. We started talking over that breakfast date, and have never quit. :) And, to top it off, he's kind, gentle, helpful, and a wonderful dad. For example, last night, I got home from work, and he'd made scalloped potatoes, tallapia, green beans, and had purchased creme brulee for dessert!
• My job(s). I haven't gotten an NP job as fast as I would like (although the options are beginning to open up...), but I do have 2 jobs. One as an RN at a hospital that I enjoy, and I work with people who I enjoy, and it's flexible. My other job is per diem as an NP in another ER. It's fun, people have been nice, and I'm learning a lot.
• John's job. He is an extremely hard worker. He and his church bands just recently produced a CD! Yeah! I'm so happy for him and extremely proud of his hard work and talent.
• Family... no, no one's coming this holiday (but that's really ok!), but I'm thankful to have two parents who are: still together, and very much in love. I am thankful for my siblings who, although we are flung far and wide, we all support each other and love being around each other. I think I'm going to be lucky enough to see everyone in one place over New Years.

and I could go on and on.. but I won't.

Blessings to you and yours and on your thanksgiving!

katharine