Thankful

It's not Thanksgiving yet but the past couple of weeks I have been given some pretty good opportunities to reflect on my life and be very thankful. We had the anniversary of when my husband I met, the anniversary of 9/11 and this past weekend we watched our friends walk down the aisle which like every wedding does, made me think of my own wedding almost 5 years ago.

August 31st was the 10 year anniversary of when Corey and I met.  Wowza, 10 years, a decade, one third of my lifetime! I'm very thankful for the night that wonderful man walked into my life.  Then 11 days later the airplanes hit the twin towers in New York City. I remember sitting in my living room with my roommate thinking how thankful I was that I didn't know anyone that was there.  But even though I didn't know anyone that was there the sadness was palpable. Whether or not you knew someone didn't matter, life as we knew it in the United States would never be the same. I took that opportunity to call all of my family and tell them how much I loved them because if anything this was a reminder to tell the ones that we love that we do. On the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 I think all of us took the time to think about where we were 10 years ago.  In a coffee shop, at work, at school, driving in the car. Regardless of where we each were, life was different 10 years ago. As I reflect on how different my life has become since those two anniversaries I think of the big and small moments that have gotten me here.

Big moments:

• What 14 hours of labor felt like, punctuated by a moment of silence and my baby's throaty cry
• Hearing my grandpa read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas Eve and my cousin Matt reading the same story 9 days after my grandpa passed away
• What my mom's laugh sounds like, what she smells like and how it felt to lay next to her on the couch
• What it felt like when my husband and I said "I do"

and little moments:

• Snuggling Oliver just a few minutes longer when I know I really just need to lay him in his bed to sleep
• How 10 years later I still get excited to see my husband pull in the driveway after a long day of work
• Laughing with my sister Edie, so hard we could hardly breathe
• Watching my sister Desi with her new nephew, changing his diaper and holding him like she'd been doing it for years
• Cooking for my sister Kiley, her freshman year of college when we were lucky enough to live in the same town

On the anniversary of 9/11 I didn't watch every single bit of coverage but I did watch an hour on NBC with Tom Brokaw and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. As I sat and listened to them sing Amazing Grace and watched clips of the beautiful scenery that our country has to offer I sat next to my son and couldn't help but hope that he always knows what a wonderful world we live in.  Sometimes it takes a tragedy to understand and be truly thankful for what we have.

Everyday life can sometimes bog us down with minuscule annoyances...the dog rolled in the dirt again, your husband came home late, the baby has been crying for an hour.  But what we really need to be thankful for is the life that we are allowed.  I have a husband who loves his family, my son won't be persecuted for his religious beliefs and will be able to go to a great school. Let us not ever forget how lucky we are to live in a country where all of this is possible.

When I met my husband 10 years ago little did we know what we had ahead of us. We fell in love, we bought our first house, we've moved three times to 3 different communities, we've met lifelong friends, we've lost grandparents and lost my mom, I gave birth to our first son and throughout the joys and sadness I know that regardless I live a very blessed life.

I hope that we continue to accept our joys and challenges with grace. So I have to admit that although I'm not thankful for what happened 10 years ago on 9/11 that changed us all, I am thankful for the reminder to reflect on our lives each year.

Tomorrow is the official start of autumn but around here it's been feeling like fall for a couple weeks. A couple of weeks ago we had what I hope is our last shot at above 80 degree temperatures. But it wasn't middle of the summer 85 degrees that you know has settled in and decided to stay for a while, no this was a pleasant visit from 85, just stopping by for one last visit to make sure you don't forget it while it's gone. So I was happy to oblige this one last visit but I was happy to see it go.  So in anticipation of tomorrow's arrival of fall, my mums have been purchased and the first of many batches of pumpkin bars have been made.

It's been a busy couple weeks. We watched our first Iowa game of the season, the first for Oliver to watch in his life. We got all decked out in our Iowa gear.

 He's not quite as into as we had hoped.

So I thought he needed a napping buddy.

We had a weekend full of wedding events. Rehearsal dinners, ceremonies and rehearsals. It was a gorgeous weekend where glasses of wine were enjoyed with old friends. I was planning on bringing the baby to all of the events but one call after another rolled in of offers to babysit so we were happy to let grandparents and aunties get in their baby time.

Grandpa and Grandma Rekers took Ollie for the night so momma and poppa got a good nights sleep. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!!!

Grandpa Clyde got his baby time in during the wedding and boy does he love himself some Ollie.

And the aunties got their time in too.  I am so thankful for my sisters and how much they love my baby. (Not pictured: Auntie Edie, but she got her blog shout out last week).

With the onset of fall the groceries are filled with fall fruits and vegetables.  This prompted me to start making Oliver's baby food.  He won't be eating solids for another month or so but I figured while the fruits and veggies are fresh is as good as time as any.

I made a big batch of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and peas.  This weekend we are going to our first apple orchard of the season so next week the house will be filled with the smell of cinnamon and baking apples and for that I am very thankful.