We started November with hearts full of gratitude, and really big secret. During the last week in October we were surprised (shocked) to find out that we were expecting our fourth baby. This little blessing wasn't exactly in the plans quite yet, but soon enough it was feeling like the real deal, complete with lots of nausea and fatigue. We decided to wait to tell the kids and our families until Thanksgiving, and so a lot of November felt like the countdown to telling our people the big news.
In between feeling sick and wanting to sleep all day long, we had a few things going on. Work and church stuff for the mom and dad, dance classes and singing concerts for the big girls, and big first birthdays and one-year check-ups for the littlest lady. Ivy checked out just right at her one year appointment, but certainly didn't enjoy all the pokes that came with it. Oh, and mom's favorite leopard coat made it back out of storage and made our cute little Jo look even sweeter.
The big sisters kept themselves occupied by playing every mom's favorite game--gather as much crap from around the house as possible and pretend we are on a boat (may also be known as Airplane, Vacation or Store). They also put on their dancing shoes and wowed us all with a performance at the ward talent show. We are never short on entertainment with these girls around, that's for sure.
Thanksgiving finally arrived and we made the first of many holiday treks to Utah. We spent the actual holiday with my family, and told the girls about the new baby just before dinner. Kyrsten had learned the big secret a few weeks prior, so it was her job to start up a thankful conversation at the dinner table. As we all went around and told what we were most thankful for, the girls waited patiently for their turn and then excitedly announced that they were thankful for the baby in mommy's tummy. I think everyone was genuinely surprised and it was so nice that the secret was out!
We spent the rest of the day assembling "blessing bags" to hand out to the homeless around Ogden. Aunt Ashley has the most giving heart and organized it so we each contributed a few items and made 15 bags to hand out to those in need. It was such a great way to remember just how much we have to be thankful for, and even the little girls got to help and had a positive experience.
The last couple days of our holiday weekend were spent in Logan, where we shared the news with our Palmer family and Ryan and I spent a freezing afternoon watching our poor Aggies lose to BYU. Not only do I love our trips to Logan because it means being with family, but also because I have so many wonderful memories of my time there, both as a single college student and as a young newlywed. It's amazing to think how different my life might look if I had decided to go somewhere else for school (like to BYU where I already had my housing paid for before I decided to change my plans and head to Utah State).
Overall November was a really great month. It's always great to have a little extra reason to focus on all the blessings in our lives, because they are truly too numerous to count. The words that seemed to keep replaying in my mind and speaking to my soul throughout the month were "Gratitude turns what we have into enough." I love that so much. It's very easy for me to get caught up in comparisons and worry about where my life is versus where I think it should be, but gratitude truly helps me keep perspective and feel so happy and content with the stuff and the life I have right this very minute.
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