A Thankful Heart

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

1. My family. I have the most amazing husband a woman can ask for. He shows me everyday how much he loves me by his selfless actions. He is caring and strong and I admire the person that he is. I have also been given a new beautiful creation in little Connor. It is amazing how his look of wonder and awe can inspire any person around him. When he is peaceful all is right in the world. My world is wrapped up in him, and it is amazing how I think about him constantly. I am also thankful for the rest of my wonderful family whom I can always confide in, and trust with my heart. We are each others biggest supporters and greatest fans. We jump in when one of us needs help, and I know I can always count on them. We also know the way to make each other laugh and our time together is filled with happiness.

2. My friends. How amazing it is to have a group of people in my life who are uplifting and caring. Tim and I know that we have a solid circle of close friends who build each other up and are a great social (real life) network. There is laughter and joy associated with our friendships!

3. My home. We have worked hard to be home owners and maintain it. Of course there will always be projects, but it is a wonderful feeling to rest peacefully with a roof over your head and love bursting from the walls.

4. My job. In the economy we are living through right now it is a blessing to have a stable job. I know some days are better than others, but in the long run it is the perfect fit for me right now. How lucky I am for my workday to end at 3:30pm so I can spend time with Connor, as well as get holidays and summers off. I can handle the tweens for that luxury.

5. My dog. It sounds crazy, but she's special. She is loving and protective and just the perfect little puppy (except when she barks at the mailman while Connor is trying to nap).

Connor went to the Gastroinestinal Doctor this past week, and after examining Connor, confirmed that he is suffering from Reflux and has ordered some more tests to be run to see if it is something more serious. We have x-rays scheduled as well as a swallow test. The doctor also prescribed liquid prevacid, erythromycin, and a sleep apnea monitor. The monitor has become such a godsend. We can now sleep soundly at night knowing that if he does choke the machine will alarm us. Boy does it make a loud noise at 1:45am! We found that out after it had unknowingly become unplugged and lost it's charge. Talk about jumping out of bed, scrambling to make sure Connor's ok, and then trying to figure out why the darn thing won't shut up. We attempted several times to reset it in our sleepy stupor not understanding why it wouldn't work and hoping that this siren of an alarm won't wake up Connor. Finally we checked where it plugged into the wall and found it had fallen out, at this point somehow it hadn't woken up Connor, it wasn't until his bassinet was accidentally bumped that he became upset and then wouldn't go back to sleep until 5am. When it is not shrieking at us the moments we are able to fall asleep are very satisfying. I'm not spending my entire night checking him a million times, listening and floating my finger under his nose to check for his breath. I hope that after all of his tests we will be given more answers. His poor little belly gives him constant trouble and it plagues him as well as us. Recently his reflux has occasionally escaped his mouth and nose, and it scares us and him because he can't breathe. He does enjoy his doses of Mylicon, and it gives us relief for the brief time it eases his tummy.

Connor has participated in two photo sessions this week and has really made the photographers earn their prints! Our favorite was allowing him to drink from his bottle and then pulling it away on the count of three to get the shot before he started screaming. We love faking out a 6 week old. Just kidding. But I do love having great pictures for his first Christmas! Most of the shots have his mouth still open, still attempting to suck on his bottle. Listen, you gotta do what ya gotta do! Today was our second session, given to us as a gift from Tim's boss. Tim was such a trooper, he got peed on 3 times and spit up on twice. You have to love the unexpected that comes with babies. I do think we have priceless photos that we will have for the rest of Connor's life.

Casey has been home and we've had so much fun. Of course Thanksgiving was special, but my favorite thing to do every year is to pick our Christmas trees. One for mom's house, and one for ours. It's always a process to go in and undo as many trees as we can, and then we all stand around and hold them out and compare them to see which one is perfect! Of course we came home with the trees that we love and it is truly beginning to feel like Christmas. I just can't believe it. Christmas is almost here!! Considering I've been somewhat of a hermit since Connor was born, I'm really going to have to get creative with shopping...I never wait this long! I'm not worried about it, Tim and I both feel that we already have the most amazing present, and couldn't ask for more!