We have much for which to be thankful...

I am the baby of the family....I would like to say that I'm not the "typical bratty baby", but I have to confess that there are some definite brattish tendencies in my heart and mind. And, while I like to think that they are mostly hidden, they are probably way more evident than I know. So, as is typically the case, I need some reminders to not take all of the tremendous blessings I have been given for granted.

So, here we are...and you get to share in these reminders of my blessings....things that I can sit back this morning and say, truly, these are straight from the Giver of all good gifts, and nothing that I in the least deserve.

Thanksgiving brought illness to a lot of our family. Nothing drastic for the most part, a little geyser after lunch out of the mouth of Laurel, and a recovering ear infection from our nephew, Parker. Laurel's incident seemed to be a fluke, but sweet Parker only got sicker and sicker. Thursday night took him to the emergency room, and then on to Dell Children's Hospital in Austin. Poor little guy ended up celebrating his first Thanksgiving in the hospital and was released from treatment of RSV yesterday. Friday morning, we all visited the hospital. Due to his condition, Laurel couldn't go in, so we made our way to the family lounge at this beautiful hospital. As we sat there, Laurel was inhaling her Oreos (oh, the things we allow for our kids when we need them to behave!), and in walked a man wearing pajama pants and a stocking cap to make himself a cup of coffee. As we sat waiting for his coffee to heat up, we struck up a conversation. He asked if Laurel had a sibling in the hospital...and it hit me...no, I don't have a child in this hospital, but he definitely did. He told me of his little boy, not even 3, who has been fighting leukemia. The prognosis was good, he said hopefully, but the chemo had not been so good to the little fighter. It had created a blood infection that had left him in the hospital for the last month. No wonder this poor man looked so worn out. I told him I'd pray for his little one, and he smiled and walked out. I've thought of him every day since...and I am truly thankful.

Kevin left Austin early to come back to go to work. Working on holidays isn't the greatest, but the overtime pay doesn't hurt. Kevin ended up working a nice robbery-homicide that kept him out until 5:45 AM. After 16 hours of work, he called in and didn't go into work last night. No big deal...right? Well, about 5:30, as I was making dinner, I heard a small popping coming from the balcony. I walked out to find sparks coming from the electrical outlet. We unplugged everything, turned off the breakers, and Kevin worked his magic. Basically, the paper wrapping around the wires had started to come off, and they sparked as they touched the live wires. Instantly, the Lord reminded me to be thankful...for the "fluke" that I had been right there to see what was going on...that Kevin had been home to fix it...that no one had gotten hurt...that a fire hadn't started...and especially thankful for a man in our church in Austin that had given Kevin a job and taught him to do some electrical work so he would have a clue what to do in this situation. I was definitely reminded of how differently this situation could've ended up with just a few details playing out differently. Namely, we really don't want me playing with electricity. Yes...I am thankful.

So this weekend, I have been reminded of all that I have for which to me thankful. My amazing family, the health we have been granted, and so much that I don't even realize I need to be thankful for. This morning, the Lord also reminded me that even if the circumstances were switched, if we found ourselves in vastly different circumstances, we would be no less loved, no less cared for, and our God would be no less who He is right now. And, my hope is that, during the times that we do find ourselves on the other side of the situation, my heart will be just as thankful, because indeed, we have much for which to be thankful.

Before I close, as is the Parker tradition, the pictures were taken for the family Christmas Card. And, because you are faithful blog readers, you get a sneak peek at the picture:

I'm sure you can imagine that there were many other pictures taken, but as is the case when you are taking pictures with those under that age of 5...you use the ones when everyone is at least looking at the camera and not throwing a fit. Those are the successful photos:)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Re-entry

Re-entry into blog-land that is. Shocking, I know. The whole 4 followers we have on our blog will have another thing to keep them occupied. And, who knows? Perhaps we'll gain a few more if I can keep this thing up:). We'll see.

I'm hoping that blogging is like that old friend that you can just pick back up with even if you haven't spoken in months. If not, you will be forced to read the re-hashing of the past (I'm embarrassed to confess this) 6 whole months. Yes, that is over 25% of Laurel's life I've left you out of. So sorry. I will do better. Promise.

I'm sure you are dying to hear what we are up to these days, so here goes...
Kevin's life as a police officer gets more and more exciting each day. This weekend, he moved out of the 5th Ward to a new station. He's in love with running radar and writing lots of tickets, so obey the law if you are in his beat or he will write you a ticket. And crying won't help your cause.

Laurel is almost 2 and cracks me up on a regular basis. She loves to dance, play, harass Toby, run around outside, watch Yo Gabba Gabba, and has developed an infatuation with bodily functions. We're hoping this will serve us well when we embark on potty-training in a couple of months.

And me? Hmm...I guess the biggest change in my life is that I'll no longer be a full-time employee beginning December 1. I've decided to cut back my hours at HFBC to spend more time with Laurel. I'll just be working 3 days a week, and am so excited to get to spend more time with Laurel (and Kevin...whose schedule is nearly opposite of mine!). Another change in all of this is that I may have to time to blog and potentially spend actual time (not just Facebook stalking) with my friends. What will I even do with myself?

I won't keep you too long on this first re-entry blog. I know most of you are trying to settle down from the shock of me actually writing.

Have a great Tuesday:)