thanksgiving.

we had a nice, low-key thanksgiving weekend this year. and it was really nice. travis' parents went to visit lindsey in indiana and my sister went down to northern california to be with my brother's family so we ended up spending our evening with a nice and small group over at travis' aunt's house. it was great with not too many people at all and, of course, great food! the boys loved playing with their second cousins linken and pierson and we enjoyed relaxing and talking with the adults. we spent the rest of the weekend doing some black friday shopping (a first for us!), getting some projects done at home, and relaxing and spending some time together as a family. we had fun having ashley and kyle around for a couple nights to hang out and play games late into the night, too.

this thanksgiving has been even more special to me because i really feel so grateful for all of the little things that sometimes go unnoticed. just a few days after calvin's birthday, i ended up in the emergency room because i had suffered from a couple migraines that i've never had before and my doctor wanted to rule out any pre-eclampsia and other possible problems. one of the tests that was run while there was a spinal tap to check for hemmoraging in my brain. luckily, everything came back negative and i was sent home to just pay attention to any more migraines or headaches that i may have. unfortunately, the next morning i woke up with a terrible spinal headache that ended up lasting for 6 days in direct relation to the spinal tap that was done the night before. i could only lay flat on my back to avoid feeling any pain. if i stood up there was immense pressure in my head and it felt like it was going to explode. seriously. i crawled anywhere i needed to (which wasn't anyhwere very far) and couldn't take care of my boys or my house or anything else around here. calvin just said to me today, "mom, remember when you had to crawl down the stairs backwards? that was crazy" to make a long story short, it was probably the worst week of my life. i only share this because as i layed on my back for a week i was able to think about all of those little things that i take for granted and all that i am grateful for. i am feeling much better now and i'm so grateful that i can take care of my boys, make them lunch, help them get ready for bed, vacuum my floor. i'm extremely grateful for FAMILY and FRIENDS who took care of our little family when we really needed them. i really don't know what i would have done without everyone who stepped up and helped us. i am grateful that i have a healthy, strong body that lets me do so much and that i, for the most part, have been very healthy my whole life. of course i'm also grateful for this little girl who will be joining us soon who is still healthy and continues to grow. we've been pretty busy lately with moving, job, putting a house together, etc. that i think i probably needed a good kick in the bum to remember what's really important. and that is what i am grateful for this year. and i hope to never forget it.