The Simple Things

This Thanksgiving we find ourselves full of gratitude for so many small and simple blessings, and some big miracles as well. Our Thanksgiving plans today are very different than we had imagined but it should still be a fun day spent together.  We'll spend the morning at the hospital with Annie, all together as a family for a "Thanksgiving Party" that Molly is helping to plan, then I'll take the two girls to my friend's home to join them for a Thanksgiving dinner.  So here's a list of some things I'm very grateful for, today in particular:

• I am still amazed to think back to our first week in the hospital nearly 6 weeks ago and remember how severely dehydrated Annie was.  Her urine looked like sweet tea, and it took her a full week on IV fluids to start to get hydrated again.  It is a real miracle that she didn't develop kidney failure.  Topping my list today, I am so incredibly grateful for our miraculous bodies and how they work and heal.  I'm so grateful for the miracle that Annie is and for the blessing I have of being her mother.  She wasn't expected to survive birth, then once she did, they gave her a 2 month life expectancy, then a 2 year life expectancy.  I'm so grateful she has beat the odds and has been so strong and healthy. I am the person I am today so much because of her.  We are so blessed to have her in our family and I can't wait for the day when she can return home to us.  It has saddened me to see her missing at home, at church, and in everything else we do.  I can't help but think about how difficult it will be one day when these gaps will remain empty, when her room will become vacant for the rest of this life, when she returns to her Heavenly Father, so I remain grateful that this time she'll be coming back home eventually.  I am grateful for the progress Annie is making and am grateful that her c-diff infection has not yet seemed to cause any major life-threatening issues that we were so concerned with a few weeks ago.  I'm happy to know that she'll be able to return to our home soon to bless us with her smiles and giggles again.

• Also deserving the top of my list today is my gratitude for the gospel and for the knowledge and blessings I have as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I'm grateful for my knowledge of the Plan of Happiness and that I understand the purpose of this life.  I'm grateful for the blessings of the temple and to be sealed to Justin and my children for eternity.  I find a lot of peace knowing that whatever happens on this earth, we will live together as a family for eternity.  I'm grateful for the gift of the resurrection and to know that Annie's body will be restored to a perfect condition in the next life.  I can't wait for the day when I will be able to meet her in the eternities and have her run to me and feel her arms around my neck.  I want to watch her dance and sing, and I can't wait to hear all she has to tell me. I know that even then, she'll continue to teach me.  I'm grateful for priesthood blessings and the gift of the Holy Ghost which has brought so much peace and comfort.  I'm grateful for the Atonement of Christ and for the knowledge that He atoned for not just our sins, but for all our pain and sorrow and heartaches.  And I'm so grateful for the gift and power of prayer.

• I'm grateful for my family--especially my sweet children and my kind and selfless husband.

• I'm grateful for genuine friends close by who serve us and show concern and love for our family, and for my Aicardi Syndrome family all over the world who provide special support because of their own experiences.

• I'm grateful for good doctors and kind nurses who take time to listen to our concerns and respect our wishes.

• And my list could go on and on with more small and simple things, like my gratitude for the giggles of my children, Annie's smiles, nights of uninterrupted sleep, subclavian lines, g-buttons and feeding pumps, comfortable hospital beds, my own bed at home, supportive extended family members, good teachers for my children, the techonology of medical equipment and tests such as CT scans and MRIs, as well as laptops, cell phones, and computers.  My list could go on and on because we are so truly blessed with so many temporal and spiritual blessings.

I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, and hope that you enjoy all the small and simple blessings you're surrounded with today and every day.