Thanksgiving 2017

I shared this on my social media but wanted to document it here too since this is essentially my family journal. A single picture and a message about Lyla's first Thanksgiving ...

It's unlike me to not have a single picture from Lyla's first Thanksgiving but things didn't exactly go as panned. We had what felt like our whole house packed up for the 4 of us by Wednesday night and were ready to hit the road the next morning to spend the holiday in Meridian with my side of the family, only to wake up to a nasty case of pink eye. So invested, we spent the day at home and apart ... Nic and Liam on the living room couch covered in washable sheets and Lyla and I in our master bedroom, living on a prayer that she wouldn't get it too. Our fridge was completely emptied of groceries since we planned to be gone and our pediatrician, taking longer than usual to respond with an antibiotic prescription (rightfully so). I found myself with a sleeping Lyla in my grocery cart, surrounded by a last minute pre-cooked ham bag of frozen corn stovetop stuffing a small bag of potatoes, and a miraculous bottle of eye drops that I was counting on to clear up Liam's eye in 24 hours and on the verge of tears. As i put all of my items not he belt, the sweetest old man greeted me with a warm and friendly "Hello!" and "Happy Thanksgiving!" Swallowing the lump in my throat I half smiled and said "Hello, I'm sorry I had to give you a reason to work today by needing groceries." I'll never forget the moment when he looked up at me, smiled once again, and said, "Oh, it's quite alright. I'm happy to be here for you." The tears actually came that time and in my heart I knew that he was an angel in my path, changing my focus and reminding me of all the things I have to be thankful for. Thankful for a sweet man willing to be away from his family and work on a holiday, for the food in my cart that would make a warm Thanksgiving meal for my family, the money in my wallet to afford it, and the sweet family I shared the day and rest of the weekend with. So I may not have gotten a picture of you on your first Thanksgiving Lyla, but I want you to know that you spend the day and the rest of the weekend in the arms of this who love you, being so thankful you were born in our family this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving! XO