Grateful

Grate-ful:  warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful

What am I grateful for?  Oh my, I could think of a million and one things, but here are just some that really stick out to me.  I am grateful for...a husband who loves me unconditionally and holds our family together.  Micah, who continues to melt my heart day in and day out, he is the sweetest boy who has the goofiest personality...he keeps us smiling!  And for Asher, you are already such a big part of our family and have opened our eyes to a whole new world.  I am so grateful that I am starting to feel you moving, it's so reassuring knowing you are still in there fighting!  2 furry dogs, who don't seem to care that some days are so busy that they may get a little neglected, yet they love us just the same!  A God who loves me even though I am so unworthy of all He has done and continues to do for me.  A God who puts obstacles in my path, but does not forsake me.  A God who is faithful and just.  A family that is thousands of miles away, but makes every effort to show their support and love to us.  And for all of the people, both strangers and friends who have come along beside us in this journey to encourage, support, and love us.  So tell me, have you thought about what you are grateful for today?

It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and just go from one thing to the next, not even really thinking about what's really going on.  It's easy to become tired and negative because our lives are so busy and demanding at times.  That is why I think it is important to always focus on the good because no matter how rough we have it, we ALWAYS have so much to be thankful and grateful for!

Since Asher's diagnosis I have seen the hands of God at work.  I have felt the prayers and felt a sense of peace that we are going to be okay.  There are a few things I want to share with you because I know they are God "things" and all things I am extremely grateful for.

The first one being all of the texts, phone calls, cards, flowers, and messages we have received over the past few weeks.  I'll be honest, most of them I have not responded to because I cannot find the words to say.  Each message has meant the world to me and I have read them all several times.  I can feel the love of God through your words and they bring me to tears every time.  So thank you to all of you who have reached out to us, none of you had to say anything to us, but you felt you needed to and I am forever grateful for that.  Your words keep us going!

The next one is something that people would call a coincidence, but I know that with God there are no coincidences.  Everything happens for a reason and he puts people in our lives for a reason.  My sister in law has a friend who moved to Hawaii shortly after we did.  We tried to connect, but it seemed something always came up and we couldn't actually get together.  About a month ago, I ran into her at Target, a few weeks before we started to receive the news about Asher.  And soon after we found out there was something wrong with Asher, I ran in to her again at Whole Foods.  She continued to say to me that she was praying for me and that she knew exactly what we were going through.  I didn't even know what all this meant until I looked at her blog.  It turns out that her sweet little angel had trisomy 13.  Coincidence?  No way!  I am so thankful for her, we have not actually had the time to sit down and chat, but she has continued to reach out and support us in any way that she can.  I know that this is a hard path for her to walk with us because I can only imagine the memories it brings back, but it is so comforting having someone who has been in our shoes and to see the joy she has.

I have been very selective about how I spend my time and who I spend my time with.  I like to keep busy, but I also like the quiet time at home with just Micah and me.  It's not that I am avoiding people, I just want to spend my time in a way that is encouraging, uplifting, and fulfilling.  I do not want to be around negativity because there is no place for it.  We recently started a play group at church and yesterday was my first day attending.  I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant to go because I didn't think everyone knew about Asher and sometimes it is hard to talk about.  I am SO glad I went yesterday.  I left there feeling so rejuvenated.  We sat around and chatted while the kiddos played and ended our time praying for each other.  It was a simple 2 hours spent with wonderful, Godly women, who totally raised my spirits.  Women who I know will continue to pray for our family and will continue to walk this journey with us.  Some I hardly know, but I am so excited and encouraged to see what God will do through all of us at a silly little play group.  And people think God doesn't care about the small stuff?  Of course he cares about a little play group all the way out in Hawaii and He is totally at work among us!

And the last one is pretty amazing!  I joined a few trisomy pages on Facebook in hopes of meeting people who had been in our shoes and people who could offer support as we embark on this journey.  I don't look at many posts on these pages or frequent them very often, however, the other day I happened  to see one and it caught my eye.  I read the post and saw the someone commented who was also 21 weeks along!  I also commented and informed her that we were in the same place in our pregnancy and a few minutes later I got a friend request from her.  We immediately started chatting on Facebook and found out we had so much in common.  We are both 21 weeks pregnant with little boys.  I am due on July 27 and she is due on July 28!  We are both from the wonderful state of Maryland and both have active toddlers keeping us busy on a daily basis!  Her little boy has been diagnosed with trisomy 18, which is a slightly different diagnosis than ours, but they are more similar than different.  I even found out she is naming her little guy Micah.  We have both chosen to celebrate our little babies and to choose joy in a situation that others would call a tragedy.  Too much stuff going on there to be coincidental if you ask me!  We have been chatting on and off over the past few days and it has been such a blessing.  I know she is an encouragement to me and I hope that I can be the same for her!  It has been so nice to chat with her about our sweet little babies and I know that they are going to be the best of buddies when the Lord decides to bring them home.  Please as your pray for our baby Asher, could you also pray for her baby Micah?

And this is why I am continually looking for all the blessings in this situation because there are so many and I know they will keep on coming.  Because even in the midst of darkness, confusion, and anxiousness, there is so much beauty to be found.  Could you imagine if we lived in a world that focused on the blessings we have and all the good that surrounds us instead of all the negative junk that fills our head?  Oh what a place that would be!  Praise God, that someday we get to be in a place even better than that : )

I know each of you who reads our blog and reaches out to us has been put in our life for a reason.  And I am eternally grateful for all of you.