This year I am thankful for many things.

The first thing that comes to mind is my husband. I could never have imagined God would give me such an amazing husband. He loves me, even on bad days! And he loves our boys. He is kind and gives people the benefit of the doubt. He is a constant example of patience and remains positive even when I am distracted by the negative. He’s even willing to clean toilets when I am so big pregnant that it is getting tough!

I am so thankful for a healthy, happy little boy. Jackson brings us so much joy. He is a typical 2 yr old with rough times of day but he is constantly bringing smiles to our faces with his fun personality and all that he has to say. Lately he is talking my ear off all day!  I am thankful that he is cancer-free and doesn’t even have a memory of all that he went through!

I am so thankful for Owen in my tummy. Last year we spent Thanksgiving day grieving the loss of a pregnancy. It is surreal to be nearly 36 weeks pregnant with an active, healthy baby boy. For the first 18 weeks of this pregnancy doctors told me that the baby might not make it with the hematomas. We are so close to holding him, and for that I am so thankful!  I am also thankful that he is coming out soon. a big, breach baby is not the most comfortable thing to carry around with a 2 1/2 yr old!

I am thankful to be back in the US, living near family and friends. Jackson has never lived near family so that is extra special. It has been such a blessing to jump back in with friends here.  They have welcomed us back with open arms and we have enjoyed great fellowship! Jackson has been enjoying his buddies!

I am thankful for our friends that are spread around the world. It seems as we go different places and make new friends we all continue to move and expand around the globe. It’s hard not seeing people as much as we would like but it is neat being able to share life with people near and far.

I am thankful for my parents and my dad’s recent passing of a big exam for work. When we told Jackson that PopPop passed his exam Jackson exclaimed “Dear, PopPop”. We are all very excited for them!

I am thankful to have a temporary home. It isn’t our home but it is a cozy place with plenty of space to settle in for our months here. I am thankful that Jackson has settled in and is peaceful here. All of this transition is a lot for us so feeling settled for a bit is wonderful.

These are just a few things that have come to mind…I know there are a million more reasons to be thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week we went to a fun public park that has a farm! Jackson loved it. It was a very chilly day so we didn’t stay too long but it was fun while it lasted!

As you can see we are still catching up on our homeleave posts!

After Oregon we flew in to Ft. Worth where we visited with my parents and got to see a few friends while we were in the area. We didn’t make it to Dallas more than for 2 hours for the state fair so it was sad not to see all of our friends there.

While in Ft Worth we continued the blue bell ice cream trend and got to have Thai food made by my mom! Jackson spent lots of time with my parents dog Noah. My parents were in the middle of a move themselves so it felt a bit like we were being stalked by boxes! We were glad they still wanted us to visit even though they had a lot going on.

Jackson’s 2nd birthday gift from us was a tricycle. We bought it for him in Ft Worth so he would have it for our road trip. He amazed us with how he was able to hop on and ride with no help or training. We had no idea he could do it!

We spent a morning at the State Fair which was lots of fun! Before the fair we got to meet my sweet friend, Jenny and her baby Emma for coffee.

gazing up at Big Tex

We got to see my brother Graham and his fiance Tina one morning. They came along when Jackson went to fly a kite with PopPop.

We had dinner with a couple of my college friends one evening. Jackson was in rare form from being excited and exhausted but it was a good time! I ordered Jackson french fries and we were shocked to see the Texas size for fries. See below the bucket of fries!

After a week and a half it was time to hit the road and head to DC . We packed up every inch of the minivan and set out. Jackson was a trooper and took great naps throughout our trip. We could not have asked for a better traveler.

We drove through Nashville and got to have lunch with one of my Jr High/High School friends, Hannah. Her son’s name is Jackson too so Jackson thought it was amazing that he got to play with another Jackson! It was so fun to see Hannah and her boys as well as her mom and catch up even if it was only for a little while.

After Nashville we drove on to Louisville where we spent a few days with the O’Leary family. Jackson was in heaven with constant attention from Evan, Maddie and Gilly. It was such a fun time to take Jackson to be with them after having watched them when they were Jackson’s age.

Jackson crashing the girls slumber party

Pumpkin painting with the girls

Seth was like a boy on Christmas morning when we spent the morning at the Louisville Slugger Museum!

Seth and Jackson posing with Mickey Mantle’s bat. They had to wear white gloves to protect the bat.

After a great homeleave we arrived in Virginia on the 10th of Oct. We were so relieved to be done traveling and unpacked our suitcases within the first few hours! I am not sure we will ever do a month of travel again with a toddler, let alone 2 little ones! Adjusting to time zones and a zillion different beds for Jackson was a bit more of an adventure than we had warned him about. We have gotten settled into our “home” for the most part and have gotten right in to life here in VA. We are enjoying the gorgeous fall leaves and having family and friends so close by! We will post pictures of our Fall times soon. We promise to get it up before the first snow

After Houston we headed to the Northwest to see Seth’s sister Claire and her husband Donnie in Oregon. We had a great long weekend with them there enjoying the sights of Oregon!  One of the highlights was a trip to the coast. Despite the fact that the water was icy cold Jackson just LOVED it. He had no hesitation. He just held his breath and enjoyed! We got spoiled eating all of the famous blackberry sweets! It was so fun to see Claire and Donnie’s new home and Claire’s growing tummy! She is due only 3 weeks after us! The only downside of the trip was that Jackson (independent of his begging parents) decided to stay on Texas time. So we woke up for the day with him in the 4 AM hour which made for some tired parents!

Here are a few pictures!