Giving meaningful Thanks....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow, this holiday has so much more meaning this year than in years past. I suppose that shows that I was not truly thankful, even when I thought I was. The saying "you don't know what you have until it's gone" isn't always true, but I do believe you don't know what you have until you are faced with loosing it all.

This year I (very, very last minute) offered to have Thanksgiving at our house. What started out to be four people has now turned into 12! I am so excited too, I have never hosted anything like this. Aside from Charli's birthday party, I have never really done it at all! I made two pumpkin pies last night, and already this morning Chad wanted to break into them, but I have been able to hold him back so far! I will also be making the turkey, potatoes (sweet & mashed), stuffing, and spinach artichoke dip! It seems like I am forgetting something. My sister is bringing the green bean casserole and veggie tray, and my mom is making jello and rolls. Chad's mom is bringing another dessert.

Hopefully everyone will be able to attend. We hope to have Chad's Grandma Preister over, after she gets off of work. We also invited our neighbor Jacky to eat with us! She will have the shortest trip here! I have not made any promises for the food, but I am trying!

I really hope that at some point today everyone can sit and think about all they have to be thankful for. I know that no one's life is perfect, but that certainly doesn't mean we don't have our fair share of things to be thankful for. In fact, it would be great if people could respond with a few things that they are thankful for.

This year I am thankful for many firsts:
Charli's first Easter
Charli's first chemo treatment, putting her on the road for recovery
her first biopsy, showing us what was wrong with our baby girl
negative marrow scans, reminding us how lucky we are
Charli's first CAT scan that showed a smaller tumor!
Charli's first birthday, what a great day of memories!
her first trip out of the house, to see the baby kitties
Our first trip as a family to Omaha...for FUN and not for the hospital
Charli's first day back at daycare after treatment was over
Charli's first words...

I could go on and on - but I don' think you care to read all day! I am thankful for so many "small" (to some) things, that sometimes they overpower the big things - like Charli being NED! I am overwhelmed with feelings of thankfulness today, it is making it hard to put into words!!

When I asked Chad today, what are you most thankful for...he said "this little girl right here"...and he patted her on the head! Big surprise, right?!!

We wish everyone a blessed day full of family and friends! If you are in the area and don't have anywhere to go...come on over! But, let me know first so I can pull up a chair for ya :-)

Please don't forget to count your blessings today, you might even find a few you didn't realize you had!