Happy Thanksgiving!
As we approach celebrate Thanksgiving today and begin to prepare for Advent and the Coming of our Savior, I have been reflecting upon the many blessings God has given our family. Though the past months have had their trials and difficulties our family has very much felt God's grace and mercy as we've faced the various challenges.
First and foremost, above all else, I am grateful for the One from Whom all good things come. May God be praised for all His wonderful works and I thank Him for the many gifts He as showered upon us. Today we were able to attend Mass at our Parish and to receive the Eucharist - the Sacrament of Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for the gift of being able to participate in this bit of heaven on earth - the opportunity to enter into Christ's saving work and to receive Him in the Eucharist. Though so often I get distracted by my work as a mother and Mass seems like a challenge as I try to teach my children to pray or at least to sit quietly in the pew, I am so grateful for the strength and grace this Sacrament gives me!
Next, I am of grateful for the gift of my vocation as wife and mother. How blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband and four beautiful children! Marriage and family life is more wonderful than I ever envisioned before I entered into this joyful state and I can't imagine life without them.
Our greatest blessing this year is our little Thomas. He just turned 2 months old yesterday and he is a very sweet and easy baby to care for. We love his smiles and Phil has even almost made him laugh. He loves to watch his brothers and sisters and no amount of noise will disturb his sleep since our house is rarely quiet.
Luke at age two and four months is a great gift to our family. He is the most verbal of the children, speaks in complete sentences and is pretty clear for a two-year old! Today he was able to express his excitement for Mass by asking, "Is it over now?" He loves Thomas the Train, takes his train everywhere and is often asking "Where's Thomas?", (we have to distinguish between baby Thomas and the Thomas the Train). He joins right in with our home-schooling activities and loves to help hold the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance and Crucifix during morning prayers. He also helps in any way he can and can often be seen coloring at his desk or spreading toys all over the floor for his siblings to clean up.
Miriam, my only little girl, is relishing her role as a big sister. Though she was hoping for a little sister, when Thomas was born she said "He's so cute" and daily/hourly asks to hold him. She loves to be "Mommy's helper" and really is pretty helpful considering her young age. Her artistic abilities have been developing and she loves to do crafts and projects and has been drawing some great pictures. She can often be seen caring for her little "Rachael" who is her constant doll companion and playing with William. Both children have very active imaginations and it is fun to listen to their role playing. Though just in preschool, Miriam loves to do her school work and often keeps pace with the lessons that William is learning.
William, my first blessing of family life, at six and a half years old is just coming into his own. He is a great help to me and is doing well in his schoolwork - it's a joy to see some of the "fruits" of homeschooling in his accomplishments! His favorite activity is building with the various blocks and connecting toys and is daily coming up with new creations and variations - mostly of cars, trucks, jets and anything that "goes." He is a very good big brother and I love to watch him play with his siblings.
God has certainly invited us to trust in His providence and have faith in His plan for our family over these past 5 months. What would I do without my amazing husband? Phil, though uprooted from his beloved Wisconsin, working at a job which is quite challenging in many ways, facing the uncertainties of our situation as we try to sell our home and live in a temporary home here and the many other challenges of having four young children has faced each challenge trust and prayer and I am grateful for his steady witness of faith in God's guiding hand.
I am grateful for all of my family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents...) but I am especially grateful for my Father's life this Thanksgiving. In the early hours on Oct. 31st my father was rushed to the emergency room at mercy hospital close to death as all of his organs were failing due to a severe infection. Thanks to the excellent care of the doctors at Mercy hospital and to the prayers of many, he is now at home awaiting a liver transplant though God-willing his liver may recover enough to make the transplant unnecessary.
There are many more things I could list but this blog entry is already long :-) We are grateful for all God has given our family here in our new community of Gaylord and on this day of Thanksgiving we give thanks for every person who has touched our lives. May God bless each of you!
