Thanksgiving Blessings

I just realized that November is already coming to an end. This tends to be a much forgotten month sandwiched in between October's Halloween and December's Christmas. It's quite unfortunate because November is host to one of the best holidays of them all: Thanksgiving! We have quite a bit to be thankful for this year and here are some of our recent highlights:

• I'm thankful that Jake and Grace have become friends. I love watching them play with one another. Jake often gets too rough with his little sister but is also quick to give her a hug and a kiss.
• I'm thankful for Grace's adorable personality. She really is a funny little thing and makes us laugh all the time. She's truly my daughter because by the end of each day she's usually a huge mess with food in her hair and all over her clothes. She knows how to live life already :) I'll write more about Grace later this week in her 9 month post.
• I'm thankful that Jake's speech is improving. This is a slow process, but he's really come along this fall with the help of his therapist. He's making two word sentences now and starting to ask questions like "what" and "where." He loves watching Mickey Mouse and Yo Gabba Gabba and can sing along to several songs on those shows. He can also sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and some of his ABCs. This is a huge improvement from August. I'm having to be patient with him through this process but I'm so proud of him because you can see his little mind working so hard. His therapist really thinks he just has a speech delay and no other cognitive problems. He's determined and such a courageous kid. I know God has given him this determination to help with his heart problems as well.
• I'm thankful for Ty's desire to help others through our struggles with Jake's health. Ty has recently been made a national officer for the congenital heart support group, It's My Heart. He will be helping with legislation to gain support and awareness for congenital heart defects. He'll be It's My Heart's representative with our congressman and with Washington. In April he'll be going to Washington for the CHD lobby day. 1 in 100 children are born with a heart defect yet the majority of money for the American Heart Association goes to dealing with adult heart disease. We'd love to see more research done for CHDs especially through genetics and to see heart tests be more readily available for children.
• I'm thankful I got to do TWO Beth Moore studies this fall: Breaking Free and Daniel. I'm still doing Breaking Free and just finished Daniel. Both have been a huge blessing to me as they've encouraged me to be in the word more and given me a chance to talk with other women (some days adult interaction is very needed after hanging out with Jake and Grace all day!) I'm thankful God blessed Beth Moore with such an incredible talent for sharing God's word.

So here's to celebrating the often forgotten month of November and counting our blessings!