Giving Thanks

This is what our house looked like Sunday morning. It was beautiful, and made me very thankful I was able to enjoy it INSIDE in the comfort of my warm home. I wonder how many people did not have that luxury during this storm? Being the week of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for so many things:

My sweet husband. He does so much for our family. He lives with 3 hormonal teenage girls and a pre-menopausal wife, and yet he still manages to keep his sense of humor and positive attitude. How is that not amazing?

His parents. They call every week and take such an interest in our family even though they are far away. They raised such wonderful children and are a great example to all of us lucky enough to be in their family.

My mom. She is such an example of strength. Physically she is so strong I think she forgets sometimes she is 71. You would never know it. I think she can probably still lift as much as me. However, she is also an example of emotional and spiritual strength. She has been through some tough things in her life, but she just keeps going and stays positive. I really sdmire that.

Our kids. They bring so much joy and happiness in to our lives. Seriously, what would we ever do without them? Each one brings a different personality and contribution to our family and they are a great combination of humor, drama, intelligence, and wisdom. I love each one of them and wouldn't have them any other way.

All the wonderful people in my life who love me and care about me. Brothers, sisters, in-laws, ex-laws, friends, co-workers, neighbors, you name it. I am truly blessed.

Material blessings. A comfortable home, a great job, a car that works, health insurance to cover the cost of my aging, falling apart, body....you know what I'm talking about.

Technology. Seriously. A hundred years ago either me or Rachel, or possibly both of us, likely would have died during her birth. 24 years ago when we lived in Okinawa we had no email, no Skype, no cheap long distance phone calls. We only heard from our family via the U.S. post office. How crazy is that? But now....when Britt opened her mission call, even though Corey was away at college, he was right there on her lap top watching her open it with the rest of us. How COOL is that?? Yep...gotta love technology!

My testimony of the gospel. I have known from a very young age, before I really even knew much about the church or anything else, that God existed. No one taught me that, I just knew. I wanted to be good for Him, and I felt bad when I did something I knew wasn't right. I still feel that way. I know in my heart that God lives and that His son, Jesus Christ is my Savior. They say "knowledge is power". How powerful is that little piece of knowledge??

Well, that is the short list. I could write a much longer, more detailed one, but I'll keep that one in my mind and my heart.

The Tale of the Wrong Way Aviator

In 1990 we were renting a cute little house in a small village in Germany called Steinbach. The heat in our house was provided by radiators fueled by coal oil from a huge tank in the garage. We were on a pretty tight budget and it had cost us $1200 to fill the oil tank. It was supposed to last at least a year. Corey was scheduled to be delivered by C-section on the 15th of November. On the 10th our heat went out, and it was freezing! We thought we were out of fuel (the tank sounded empty) and it had only been 3 months! We didn't have another $1200 to fill up the tank and being full of pregnancy hormones and worry I cried myself to sleep. I awoke at about 2am having painful contractions and knew he wasn't waiting for the 15th. He probably wanted to get out of there to cheer me up. :) We called my good friend Beth to come watch the girls and headed off to the hospital in Kircheim Bolanden about 20 minutes away.

We still didn't know what we were going to name this child, and although we didn't know the sex, we were pretty sure it was a boy. When you're in the military stationed overseas the only English speaking station you get on television is AFN (Armed Forces Network). It doesn't have regular commercials, mainly just informational tidbits. I had been carrying this baby very high. As I was laying on the table and we were still trying to decide on a name, my husand remarked that it was like the baby was trying to come out the wrong way. Instantly we were both reminded of one of those little info tid bits from television about "wrong way Corrigan". He was an American aviator who in 1938 set off from New York city headed to Long Beach, CA. He ended up in Ireland! Thus the nickname, "wrong way Corrigan". Corey! We loved the name instantly, even though we still didn't even know if we were having a boy. And of course when he came out just a few minutes later, we loved him instantly. He was so wide awake. They brought him over to me and laid him on my chest and he just stared at me. It was so amazing. :) He was the best birthday present a mother could ever ask for!

We got to spend a nice warm week in the hospital while daddy figured out the heating issue at home. Thankfully, we were not out of fuel, and the landlord was able to fix it in time for us to come home. All's well that ends well...and boy did it end well! Happy Birthday Corey! I love you!