Gratitude Saturday...

There was a Friday this week. And there was a Friday last week. Yet, no posts. Why? Well, I really have no true excuse. Last Friday, I was inside looking outside at this:

Had I not been a complete wuss, I would have braved the 12 inches of snow and gone outside to take a picture of the house. Honestly, I had good intentions. Even pulled my Timberland boots from college out of the back of the closet.

(Sidenote: Seriously. Those things are not comfortable and yet I wore them solid for like 2 years. What was I thinking?)

But when I walked out the door and saw the height of the snow, I was a little concerned that walking outside all by myself might be a bad idea. I was not at all sure if there was ice underneath the snow and I was having visions of slipping and falling. Not a good idea for baby.

So instead, I took pictures from the front porch and the back patio.

I spent most of the day working from my bed, watching the snow outside my window and taking the occasional nap.

It was delicious.

This week, life at work has been relatively busy. I've had meetings on top of meetings on top of meetings. And those went straight on into the night. I didn't get home most nights until at least 7:00 pm. Once home, I just crawled into bed and hoped my swollen feet and ankles would return to normal the next day.

Still waiting for that.

So in the past two weeks, despite my very lame excuses for not posting, there have been so many wonderful things to be thankful for.

1. Every day, I'm eternally grateful to be pregnant for one more day. I never take a single day, a single kick (even the ones to my bladder), not a single moment for granted. My prayer every night is Thank you Lord for one more day with my precious daughter.

2. I was so thankful I never lost power during the two day snow adventure. Chris was out of town and missed the entire thing. Had I lost power, E and I would have had to take a chance and go to a hotel nearby. I know family and friends were praying for us. The Lord provided. How often we take the conveniences of life for granted.

3. My new assistant started this week at the office. We are working towards getting her trained to be my mini-me so she can cover everything while I'm on maternity leave. I am so grateful my boss understood my concerns about having more of a work/life balance. Grateful I work for a company willing to provide the resources we need to keep that balance even if that means hiring more people. Grateful I won't have to worry about work while I am home with my daughter.

4. Unfortunately, I managed to miss two very important birthdays this week. The first was my mother-in-law, Martha. She is such a precious woman. One of those people about whom I can honestly say, "she never has a bad word to say about anyone." Certainly, a lesson I need to learn and one I hope my daughter will learn from her. I am so blessed to have a lovely relationship with my mother-in-law. Too many wives can't say that. I cannot wait for my daughter to get to know her!

5. My sister-in-law, Carrie, also celebrated a birthday this week. One of the true gifts of our infertility journey has been the development of our relationship. She was so sweet and supportive. Since I've been pregnant, she checks on me frequently and is almost excited as we are about our little girl. She's a lot like Martha in that she never says a bad word about anyone. She is a fervent prayer warrior. And a dedicated mother and wife. Our family is truly blessed to have her!


6. Today we had our maternity photo session with my dear friend Mrs. Eartha. I am so excited to see the photos. I was so engulfed in getting clothes ready, doing my hair just right and making sure my make-up was perfect that I almost forgot about what a miracle the entire experience it is. Almost. I took a nap this afternoon and just got teary feeling Baby E kick and thinking about how not so long ago I was pretty convinced I would never have the experience of pregnancy. Helped me to remember what an amazing journey this has been. A journey which I am and will be forever grateful the Lord provided.