Thankful

Before the Thanksgiving moment is totally past, I wanted to share my feelings about gratitude and memories of last Thanksgiving. I think it is obvious that we have a lot to be grateful for. But to name a few things. we are grateful for how well Brandon and Katelyn are doing. We can't count all the bullets we have dodged. For Derek and Blake who are amazing little boys who have exceeded any possible expectations during the last almost year and a half. Being great big brothers comes naturally to them and I have honestly never heard a word of jealousy from either of them. We are so grateful for good friends and family who mean so much to us.

This year we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at our home with my mom and the Sinema family. We had a great dinner and then went to see Bolt and then back home to enjoy pies and ice cream. It was a great day.

Last year Thanksgiving was another of those really, really low points for our family. And one that I think needs to be acknowldged. There is something about reflecting on the past that I think is so important. It teaches us so much to reflect on where we've been.

On Thanksgiving day we were preparing to have a nice dinner with our family. We were preparing the meal and were so excited to have Katelyn home and we were preparing for Brandon's transfer to Utah Valley. While dinner was finishing up we were upstairs doing something and then we came downstairs to finish up with dinner. We put Katelyn in her swing and walked across the room when we heard her choking. We quickly discovered that the nasal canula that deliverd the oxygen she needed was filled with water. Blake had been playing around and turned the humidifier on the oxygen upsidedown. When we came down the water started flowing down the tubing. This resulted in a frantic 911 call while Brent tried to get her breathing (she was basically drowning in all the water) and a visit from the paramedics and later a trip to the emergency room at Primary Children's which left Brent and the boys sleeping in the van waiting to find out what to do. Thanksgiving dinner was ruined and the day was horrifying.

Looking back on the whole thing, I still see everything unfolding through the viewpoint of someone else. I couldn't believe it was happening to me. What a difference a year makes. We can't say that enough at our house. More than anything else, I am grateful for my family and how happy our life is now. While it may not be normal by anyone else's standards, it is our normal and we love it.