Thanksgiving in June

Though I thought about blogging a few times this past week, I kept avoiding it because I knew it was never going to be a positive post. The truth is, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself all week. After the weekend fever fiasco, Ethan's sleep was still bad; I got called to jury duty on Tuesday (I didn't get selected); and then Will came down with strep throat. By mid-week, I was thinking I had a much better week the week before when Will was still in school! While everything is not back to the status quo around here, I was thinking today of all of the things I have to be grateful for, so here's a few things:

My family is healthy.

Will is still recovering from his virus, of course, but, comparatively, he is very healthy. Last Friday evening, I participated in LT's Relay for Life, which is an all-night walking event that raises money for cancer research. At the opening ceremonies, an eleven year old boy with a malignant brain tumor gave one of the best speeches I have ever heard. I was doing my best not to start bawling while I listened to this incredibly brave little boy speak, all the while thinking about my own little boy, whose worst illnesses so far have been a little fever/irritability. We are so lucky!

We live close to the zoo and have a membership.

The Brookfield zoo is about a 10-15 minute drive from us. My mom and dad gave us a family membership for Christmas, which saves us $40 per trip. (We wouldn't be going without this membership, needless to say. Thanks mom and dad!) I took Ethan there Friday so Will could get some rest, we all went yesterday, and I'm meeting my mom, Ben, and Drew there tomorrow. Now that Ethan is more aware of his surroundings, it's getting more and more fun to go with him. Tomorrow, we hope to see the dophin show. Having a great attraction so close to us and to be able to go for free gives us a great family fun option on nice days.

We had Will's family over for Father's Day.

Will was still feeling a bit under the weather, but his whole family came over and helped us christen our new patio with a small party. The two youngins played in our little pool, and the adults feasted on Lou Malnatis and other goodies. It's nice to have family close.

Our summer is terribly busy!

A few days ago, this fact was one that was making me feel a bit overwhelmed and sad. Our summer really is very busy, busier than it's ever been, which is not always easy with a nearly one year old. But then I got to thinking about what our summer was busy with, and all the events are happy ones. The summer is full of weddings, birthday parties, bridal showers, graduation parties, weekend trips, and vacations. Those are all happy occassions, right? So why not be thrilled with all these fun things? That's what I will be from now on: thrilled.

I officially belong to a playgroup.

I went to my first playgroup this morning. My neighbor invited me to join. It actually started a few weeks ago but I had to miss the first two meetings. But even before today, I met one of the other mothers at the park near our house. We got to talking and discovered we were both going to be in the same playgroup. She is very nice, and her son Derek is only a month or so older than Ethan. In fact, the playgroup is all boys except one little girl! The moms seem very nice, and I am very happy to finally be meeting more moms around here. I will be especially happy come fall when Will is back at work.

And, saving the best for last, I am most grateful because:

I have a new newphew!

Matthew Joseph was born this morning, by cesarean, just before 10am. He weighs 7 pounds 13 ounces and is 19.25 inches long. He's just cute as can be and I had a nice visit with him today at the hospital. I cannot wait for Will and Ethan to meet him. Congratulations to my Lisa, Brian, and big brothers Ben and Drew!