Count Your Many Blessings

The whole Facebook "30 Days of Thanks" thing during the month of November has really made me think the last 22 days about all of the gazillions of things Sam and I have to be thankful for.  Maybe the challenge for 2013 should be "365 Days of Thanks."  I know I could do it.  Our life over the past year has been like riding the biggest, fastest, curviest roller coaster ever, but we have ended up on top of the world.

Last Thanksgiving Sam and I were praying every day that we were not losing the baby that we had already fallen so deeply in love with over the previous six weeks.  The week after, at our 12 week appointment, the doctor confirmed our greatest fear - I had had a miscarriage.  The word devastated would be an understatement.  Of course, I tried to put on a happy face, but the daily Facebook announcements of someone else that was pregnant were a constant reminder of what we had lost.  It also took a while for my HCG levels to go back down to zero, so I had weekly blood tests until after the first of the year to monitor them.  We weren't allowed to try to conceive again before they were back to normal.  Then I was passed over for a promotion I was hoping for at work and the house we were trying to sell was sitting completely still on the market.  As you can imagine, I became a little depressed.  I didn't decorate for Christmas, gained weight, the whole nine yards.  It was awful.

But then, our luck turned around.  In February we learned that we were pregnant again and expecting a HEALTHY little human to join our family in October.  My team at work began going through a reorganization process, and I learned that there may be some awesome opportunities for advancement into a management position.  We had a wonderful, fun-filled trip to New York for my cousin's outrageously beautiful wedding.  In early May I received my dream promotion to Manager of Product Development, Growth, & Innovation, and later that month we received an offer on our house almost completely out of the blue!  My goodness how life can drastically change in six months!  All in God's timing, I guess. 

Today we live happily in our beautiful new home, with our gorgeous little baby boy, and I am on a 12-week fully paid maternity leave from a job that I absolutely love.  For that, I am thankful.  Sam and I have been blessed beyond measure this year.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

SM