Pre and post Thanksgiving Meal

Pre- meal


Post-meal

Thankfullness

We are thankful for:

1. God, the author, creator, and sustainer of life.
2. Lauren
3. Ellie
4. Shannon
5. Ian
6. Having one last baby
7. The completion of our family
8. Teachers
9. Therapists
10. Jobs to pay our needs and some of our wants
11. A marriage that has been reedeemed.
12. Cars that run
13. Good neighbors
14. Lauren was invited to a birthday party this year.
15. Autism
16. Typicalness
17. Dancing ballerinas
18. A roaring dinosaur
19. A summer spent at the pool
20. a job I like most of the time
21. the ability to forgive
21. the ability to be forgiven
22. summer school and extended year services
23. food on the table
24. a church that loves kids with Autism because Jesus loves kids with Autism
25. That tommorrow is always a new day
26. that we get to experience the world for the first time, one last time
27. that our kids likes each other, some of the time
28. for extended family that loves our children
29. that we get to experience a baby boy
30. for health insurance, we sure used it this year
31. for a great delivery with Ian
32. that my reputation is the girl who almost had the baby at work
33. for a beginning relationship with a church family
34. that we have not had any extensive medical tests for L this year
35. that we do not know what it is like to leave our kids in the hospital
36. that it's only Autism

Things I am thankful for

1. My husband, Bob
2. My first born Lauren
3. My second born Ellie
4. My 3rd born Shannon
5. The unknown baby in my belly
6. That I have a job that pays decently well
7. The willingness of my husband to take a job that most people feel is demeaning
8. For Lauren's neurologist
9. For Lauren's special ed teacher. Her willingness to find new and creative ways to teacher Lauren never cease to amaze me.
10. For Lauren's 1st grade teacher. It's nice to have her treated as one of the kids in the classes instead of that kid with Autism
11. For everyone in Lauren's school who has taken the time to realize that while Lauren has Autism, she is not Autistic.
12. For amazon.com. You have made Christmas shopping so much easier this year.
13. For the genetic testing that gave us the answers that we were so desperately looking for but didn't know we wanted

We have much to be thankful for this year

We are so very thankful this year for so many things.

Our own house
Bunk beds
New schools
Great therapies
Good health
Health Insurance
A supportive family
A beach vacation
Raising sisters
Lauren learning to read
Ellie learning letters
Shannon learning to walk
Bob's new job
Kristin's new (or old job)
Being on our own again
Smiles in the morning
Hugs at night
Snuggy Bear
Kitty-cat (of the non-alive version)

We daily give thanks to God, who for now, has blessed us with these.