Thankful

Thursday will be Luke's very first Thanksgiving. I was holding him last night, after my first day back at work, thinking that this time last year, I had no idea if I would ever have a child. Here he is - beautiful, strong and (mostly) healthy. I wanted to take a minute and count my blessings...first, my wonderful Lord and Savior who shows me daily that He is in charge and will meet my every need. (Including free samples of Isomeal formula that came in handy at 9PM Sunday night when my little man needed to be lactose free to give his tummy time to heal!) Next, of course, is my wonderful little baby and love of my life - Luke! I can't believe that he's here and growing so quickly. The smiles I'm getting daily make this all worthwhile.

Of course I'm so ever grateful for my wonderful, supportive family! Without Mom and Dad, Luke's MeMe and G-Daddy, I wouldn't have gotten through my pregnancy and these first few months with 'Baby Uke'. My mom has patiently taken over when my nerves were at their most taunt and shows me what being a mom is all about. My dad loves my little man and eases my fears about Luke not having his own father in the house. My sister and brother-in-law have been so supportive and love Luke like one of their own. My brother can't get enough of my little man. Luke and I are blessed to have them!

Julia, Charli, and Sam are amazing little people. I can't believe how much I love and adore them and how they bring such joy to our lives. They adore their new cousin and I know he'll return their affection as soon as he's old enough! Charli calls him her baby and will argue with me about who he belongs to; Julia wants to help in each and every way, except maybe changing the poopie diapers; Sam can't wait until Luke is old enough to 'wrastle'!

I'm so grateful for my friends who have shown me unconditional love and support during my pregnancy and now with Luke. I've had so many offers of help and have been overwhelmed by the generous outpouring of gifts.

I have an amazing, loving church home in College Heights Baptist in Glencoe. I was nervous about how we would be accepted, but know how supportive they've been in the past and am awed by their love and support for Luke and me.

I came back, yesterday, to a wonderful job where I have so many additional friends and have received such support! I received many, many hugs and "Welcome Backs" during my first day back. Everyone wanted to know about Luke and how he's doing and made it so easy for me to come back.

There are so many more people I need to mention, but its time for me to go to lunch! I'll post more tomorrow after Luke's doctors appointment this afternoon!