I started trying to write thank you’s tonight, and I struggled, BIG TIME! How is it that those 2 little words supposedly encompass so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions? They just don’t seem enough. My mind races with the enormous amount of words and ways I want to express have incredibly grateful I am and my family is for the love, care, generosity, selflessness, kindness, consideration and thoughtfulness of our families, friends, church family and friends, neighbors, and mere acquaintances who we have only recently met or still have yet to get to really know that have blessed our family over the past month and even throughout the length of my pregnancy with Katelyn. It never ceases to surprise and amaze me how many wonderful people have touched our lives!
For example, my mother-in-law has been so amazing and mere words can’t express how much we’ve appreciated her help in general and especially over the last 4 weeks. There were days where she simply came over, took the kids (which required getting them dressed, fed, and ready to go outside (in winter weather) walked them back to her house and spent the morning entertaining them, giving them play time outside (something THEY BEG & LOVE but I was unable to do late in this pregnancy and especially once on bed rest) and keeping them through lunch before bringing them back and getting them put down for naps. I can’t begin to describe how amazing it is to have them given a taste of normal life with a touch of special (being with Oma) throughout a time when life was anything but normal. This was just one small way she helped us out in addition to making us countless meals and such!
I have so many people who say to me “bed rest” what’s so bad about that, could be worse!?! To that I challenge them to give it a try. I used to be one of those people. I still remember how stupidly unaware I was when I was pregnant with Alexa and my boss at that time was put on bed rest towards the end of her pregnancy. I thought to myself, “wow that sounds fabulous!” Note: around that time I was starting to swell making all forms of movement uncomfortable as well as being exhausted with the normal side effects of pregnancy. How foolish I was! Even with Alexa (my first pregnancy) bed rest was anything but pleasant and relaxing. Its uncomfortable, its hard, and its anything but easy knowing if you think of something that needs to be done you have to rely COMPLETELY on those around you to get things done. From everything as simply as getting something to drink to eat to everything else you need, you are completely relying on others. Then add in other children and it’s a hard pill to swallow. Especially if you’re anything like me who happens to prefer to do things herself in a particular way…it makes it difficult to even let others help much less having to ask for help and allow others to do things for you! One of the harder moments of my marriage was entrusting my husband to do the laundry during my bedrest..and that was just the washing and drying parts as he thankfully brought it to me to fold yet! (yes I know I’m strange but laundry is MY thing)
As hard as it is to ask for help and to let others help, it is amazing to see the willingness, love, and consideration in the family, friends, and people in our lives who so generously stepped up and helped us out during my bed rest, hospital stay for surgery and even now as we recover and adjust to life at home, longing for the days when it will return to normal (aka being able to lift Logan up to comfort him would be great as he doesn’t seem to understand that Mommy can’t lift him)
For all of those of you who have prayed for us, brought us meals, snacks, and gifts, visited us, spent time with us, helped out with our kids, done what seems like small things for us, and helped us in other various ways -- THANK YOU -- as inadequate as those words seem and feel to me, they’re unfortunately all I have to give at this point -- and I truly mean them! We could not have made it through the past month without all of you and we will forever be grateful to each and every one of you!
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