Thursday, November 28, 2013

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  1. I am so glad I have the tenacity to get to the bottom of my kids' health issues, even when medical personnel aren't helpful.
  2. I appreciate that my husband is willing to drive us / accompany us pretty much anywhere, if I just ask.
  3. I am thankful for our Cardiologist that placed Spencer's occlusion device, repairing the hole in his heart.
  4. I am ever-grateful for having a roof over our heads!
  5. I'm thankful for free exchange groups on Facebook that seem to work on a much more personal level than the larger-known sites. We have one here that meets in 3 different locations on 3 different days to serve members.
  6. I am so thankful for online recipes! I've discovered some great ones.
  7. I am thankful for communities of giving. I've gotten involved with a local group and been able to give and receive. Everyone has been so nice! And the giving is totally addictive.
  8. I am glad for the IRS as a savings account because we suck at saving money. Ugh. Can not wait til tax season and very hopeful that our van survives that long!



  9. I am thankful for the laughter of my children and ALL babies in the world. Makes me smile every time!
  10. I am thankful for the attention and affection of my husband. I'm an attention whore and he feeds that part of me very well. Who doesn't want to hear daily (multiple times per day, even!) that they're sexy?!
  11. I am thankful for my local playgroup for babies with Down syndrome. Its so cathartic to share stories with local moms that truly get it. Also handy to discuss available doctors in town!
  12. I am thankful for true advances in medical science! (think cardiology)
  13. I am grateful for medical personnel with a good bedside manner.
  14. I am thankful for quiet nights after the rest of the house is asleep.
  15. I am thankful for the donor milk we received when Spencer was a newborn. I would not have been able to avoid formula at all if we hadn't gotten it.
  16. I will forever be grateful for the never-ending support of my Natural Parents Network Volunteer team. They have supported me emotionally as well as financially in times of need. I love those ladies so much and only wish I could meet up with more of them. My home will always be open to each and every one of you!
  17. I am thankful, specifically, for Jennifer of Hybrid Rasta Mama for all the advice on poop! I've even sent her photo of Spencer's poop. Many photos.
  18. I am grateful for Lauren of Hobo Mama for inspiring me to write a blog. I really do enjoy it!
  19. I am thankful for my blog and you, dear readers! This blog has landed me product reviews, the purchase for which items I couldn't have justified in our budget. I couldn't do it without you! (And won't review a product unless I think it will interest you.)
  20. I am thankful I managed to finally reconnect with my bestie from my 6th grade year of school. She is such an amazingly beautiful soul (and a hottie, to boot!). I only wish we could live closer to her.
  21. I am so thankful for our gymnast, who came to help us with Sasha so I could be with Elmo for dental work. And all the other times she has helped us!
  22. I am thankful that our spider breeder friend was willing and able to take our spiders at the last minute when we found out (on moving day) that our babies couldn't stay with us. He even BOUGHT our collection!
  23. I appreciate that "Uncle B" took a couple of our spiders to stay with him until we're able to take them back. I'm glad he can tend to them for us.
  24. I am, honestly, thankful for the internet and Google for searching... to find Giftmas ideas for which I already have the materials!
  25. I am so thankful for Spencer's general health! I know I complain a lot about the health problems he does have (namely sleep issues), but we really have been very lucky!
  26. I am thankful to have found a Pediatrician I like, right out of the gate. We interviewed Spencer's (and now Sasha's and Ronni's) doctor before Spencer was even born.
  27. I'm thankful to have had Jennifer and Shannon as my belly buddies with Spencer and for their continued late night support online.
  28. I don't know what I'd do without my personal colon specialist, Jennifer. Spencer used to cry so hard and beg me with is eyes during BMs. Thanks to her recommendation and ongoing support, I can manage his BMs to be much more comfortable for him.
  29. I am thankful to have met and know Kalyn. She is one of the most thoughtful and kind people I know in my personal life.
  30. I am grateful to have known Matthew Warren Smith. He had a greater effect on me as a person than he ever knew. I still miss him.
  31. I am thankful that FedEx Ground offers benefits to their PT employees these days - and even to same sex couples now!
  32. I try to be thankful that Elmo gets to see his daughter as much as he does. Some days that's a struggle.
  33. I am thankful to have discovered Diva Cup. 'Nuff said?
  34. I am so grateful to have discovered Making Mama's Milk & More cookies, they were literally a life changer for me at the time!
  35. I am also thankful to have a barter deal arranged with Making Mama's Milk & More!
  36. I am thankful for the last 2 months I got to spend with my mother before her stroke.
  37. I am thankful for The Bradley Method. It made sense to me and worked well for me.
  38. I am grateful for hand-me-downs from friends!
  39. I am thankful for Amy's friendship. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel some sort of close bond there.


    Spencer with "Doula Jenni" at the Improving Birth Rally.

  40. I am grateful to still have my doula as a friend.
  41. I am thankful for my Boba Carriers. I'd be lost without them! Getting a second one for in the van was life changer!
  42. I am thankful or online banking and bill pay. I do so much better getting bills paid on time these days.
  43. I am glad my husband and I see eye to eye on the topic of [no] pets.
  44. I am thankful to have finally gotten to start my Geocaching hobby!
  45. I am grateful for those times when Elmo insists I nap with Spencer.
  46. I am thankful for the WIC program. Sometimes I don't know what we'd do without it.
  47. I am thankful for the Visual and Performing Arts programs at the local high school, so perfect for Tyler!
  48. I am grateful that losing my gallbladder did not have any major ill effect on me. I can still eat greasy foods.
  49. I am thankful for greasy burger joints!
  50. I am thankful YouTube exists. I can listen to nearly anything on a whim with no cost.
  51. I am thankful for those days when Elmo cooks breakfast.
  52. I am thankful Spencer has been such an Elimination Communication rock star, even though we sometimes have potty pauses.
  53. I am excited and grateful every day as I see Spencer's ASL vocabulary expand.
  54. I am thankful to have discovered Solavei, which just keeps getting better.
  55. I'm thankful I decided to keep Sasha. I can't imagine our lives without her.
  56. Right after having made that decision, I'm so grateful I didn't miscarry her!
  57. I'm thankful for my husband's goofy sense of humor. He can always make me laugh.
  58. I am still grateful, every day, to have gotten a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, so we had time to prepare.
  59. I am grateful for my husband's unwavering support.
  60. I'm grateful when I'm given the opportunity (and am able) to drop everything and be there for a friend.
  61. I'm thankful for the Becca Smith Fund, created by Alfred and Jane Smith in memory of their daughter, who had Down syndrome. It is for families who have a child with DS that is admitted into a hospital and helps cover incidentals.
  62. I am thankful for the wisdom and relative comfort (in my own skin) that has come with aging. I'm gettin' there.
  63. I am grateful for Leanne's undying support and that she hasn't given up on me. Thanks for believing in me!
  64. I am so thankful that I've been able to have a healthy nursing relationship with Spencer, that he has even been able to nurse.
  65. I am thankful we have a dishwasher! Really!
  66. I am also thankful that we have our own Washer / Dryer. The "on site facilities" left a lot to be desired (like reasonable hours and prices).
  67. I am thankful for my "mommy nose," which makes me nearly immune to Spencer's poop, farts and iron smells.
  68. I am thankful that Tyler gets to spend Thanksgiving with her father's family, whom she hasn't seen in a few years.


                                        In-home Speech Therapy with Marcus

  69. I am grateful to have found therapists for Spencer that I like and trust. That currently includes Jill, Marcus and Rachel.
  70. I am thankful for my stepmother's successful heart valve replacement surgery.
  71. I'm thankful that I taught myself HTML so many years ago.
  72. I am grateful for our state's Sooner Start program. They've been so helpful.
  73. I'm thankful for Eggnog! Its glorious, isn't it?!
  74. I am thankful for vasectomies and worry-free sex!
  75. I am grateful for Library Story Times. We've found one we like, not too far from home.
  76. Hell, I'm grateful for libraries in general! My children have access to way more books than we could ever own!
  77. I'm especially thankful for the online catalog features of our local library. It is so easy to find exactly what I want and have it waiting for me wherever I want to fetch it.
  78. I'm thankful for this big home / break from living in a tiny travel trailer - even though I look forward to getting back into a smaller home again.
  79. I'm thankful that my husband has gone 2 years with no kidney stones!
  80. I am thankful for my awesome, custom made, Converse hi-tops I got to design, gifted to me by my friend, Jenny. I love them!
  81. I am thankful for the food we have, that my family does not go hungry.
  82. I am thankful, truly thankful, that we have a home at all. We very well could have been homeless.
  83. I'm grateful for natural remedies that work and for not-so-natural remedies when needed.
  84. I am thankful to be capable of preparing food for my family. I have much more confidence in the kitchen than I once had.
  85. I am grateful for inspiration!
  86. I am thankful to have Danielle as a friend. Another friend that draws me in, perhaps its her fancy nostril...
  87. I will be eternally grateful to Joella and Dionna - they know why.
  88. I am grateful for my tiger stripes. I wear them with pride.
  89. I am thankful for the right to opt out of vaccines.
  90. I'm thankful for lax homeschooling laws in my state!
  91. I am thankful to have finally reached a point in my life where I've started "going green." I'm glad to have embraced Family Cloth, for instance.
  92. I am grateful for my dreadlocks! Does that seem strange?
  93. I am thankful for Liddell Laboratories' Overwhelmed. It really works!
  94. I am grateful to the sponsors that supported Spencer for the 2014 Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa calendar.
  95. I am thankful for so many other friends and online friends. I couldn't list them all here, even with 100 slots.
  96. I am grateful for all of the quality time I get to spend with my family.
  97. I am thankful to have found Set again. The daily puzzle flexes my brain, which can be nice after a day of chasing and feeding children.
  98. I'm thankful Spencer learned to walk well before his second birthday, in his own time.
  99. I'm grateful that I've adjusted to drinking tap water. Fetching filtered water was a pain. Buying filtered, too expensive. I just needed some ice.
  100. I'm grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves for my children in the past year. Some of them have been pretty amazing.
at 4:00 AM
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