Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Steve and the girls will be leaving today for Sioux City for their family Thanksgiving. While I am part of that family, I also am a new nurse. Welcome to working holidays Mel! But, I have to say that I'm very very thankful that I somehow escaped working Christmas this year and will only be working Christmas Eve night. I also am blessed enough to get the week after Christmas off for our annual snowmobiling trip to the Black Hills with Steve's family. This is a huge feat for this new nursey, but I'll be there, only to scurry back and work New Years Eve and New Years Day, but hey, we are counting blessings right?

For my Thanksgiving this year, I'll get to spend the morning with my family at my mom's in Beaverdale. While this should sound normal, its not for me. Lianna and Shawn were supposed to host Thanksgiving at their new house in Iowa City. Shawn is a fantastic chef and everyone was excited, but wait....Mel could come if we did it in Des Moines, even if its for a short while, and BAM. It's here. Isn't my family phenomenal? I feel very very lucky to have a family like this and I'm equally glad to be a part of Thanksgiving this year...even if its for a short while. So, I'm bringing a half of ham and some rolls and I'll treasure my hours there in my mom and Darrell's gorgeous little Beaverdale home with a fireplace and gorgeous wood floors. The little cottage that is so full of love and good food, I can't wait to get there. Let's not forget Lianna's pies. Whew. I almost forgot.

There is something calming about my mom's house. I get there, and I instantly feel like taking a nap. This could be because of the best couch ever made and they happen to be the lucky owners, but it also could be that I just feel taken care of there. My kids are having fun, they have food in their bellies, they're playing with the toys on the "new play room" aka a new rug Mom and Darrell bought to spice up the wood floors. As soon as we walked in and saw it, the girls ran in and screamed, "BAM GOT US A NEW PLAY ROOM. YAYYYYY!" This is where I use this example to justify anything I buy for our house. It's for the kids. Hmmmmm. But, the point is, we are very taken care of. Moms seem to never fail. Even if they fail at some point in our lives (which mine never did), they always seem to come through in the end, somehow or someway, in a small gesture or in a big way your entire life. This is why the first thing I'm thankful for this year is family. From them moving it to Des Moines just for me, to my mom being amazing and Darrell being a instant fabulous addition to our group, to my sister and brother and their awesome counterparts, to the phenomenal little children that play on the new play rug (including the cutest baby in the world, Hannah, who now rolls with the big dogs and plays on the rug too), to the simple fact that we have a home to go to, and I have a job to work at, and the best husband in the world. I feel like I might have some things to be thankful for.

Since Steve and Mel formed this team, we have never been rich. In fact, we have been anything but rich. I remember when we lived in Solon and Steve worked insane hours. I had one little baby and one on the way. Then she was born and we were more busy. I worked two part time jobs and attempted to go to school. We barely made rent each month and had nothing left over for anything. We were short every month, without a doubt. I got sick, we had more bills. A couple of times we had to beg Steve's boss to pay him early so we could make it through. But, we were always taken care of. Someone always came through to help. A small group from our church brought us meals while I was sick. Steve's parents babysat the girls for two whole weeks while I was in the hospital and recovering at home. My mom was there at my bedside ALWAYS, missing work, coming to pick me up to go back to the ER, watching the girls so Steve could drive me. My sister came to the hospital when I was sick. I was off at a test, but she dropped off the softest blanket there was along with a fuzzy elephant I'll never get rid of. This made me feel comfortable and safe, and yes, I was 20 something. Our parents sent money when they could saving the day or the month or whatever. Our new friends banded together to deliver the largest delivery of gifts for my girls, already wrapped, ready to live under the tree....giving us the largest Christmas ever to happen at the Clark household to date. As if that wasn't enough, they also brought baskets and bags of food. Tons of it. And they gave us more money for food and gas.

Let me just say that it is not easy to be a charity case. It is not fun. It does nothing but stomp your pride into the dirt. However, these people came because they were called by God, whether they knew it or liked it or not. God was listening to my prayers back then as much as he is now. This is how he provides comfort. This is how we are given hope. This is how we are taken care of. This is why we should listen when we get that feeling that we should do something. We get that thought that pops into our minds from no where (or somewhere :). So....

I contrast this with today. Our bills are still present, but things have turned around for us. I have a good job now. We play catch up every month same as always, but now its to pay off debts we've accrued over the years. And sometimes we, GASP, have a little left over. In fact, we have TONS left over if you compare this to our life just a few short years ago. (A hundred dollars = tons). :) Anyway, we have two cars that drive, a house that is ours (kind of)...if you don't count the bank. Our children are healthy, happy, and well dressed. We have a cute puppy and a fenced in back yard. I can afford Tide, my new favorite thing.

This all brings me to an awkward conclusion. I think I might be thankful for our struggles. I think I might be quite ungrateful if it weren't for those really hard times. There might be less love in our house if those days hadn't happened to us.

We have been given so much over these past 6 years. Luke 12:48-"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Have you noticed how a thought might come into your head and then you are bombarded with things that back up what you've been thinking about? This has happened to me time and time again with our church as it did again this week when our pastor spoke on money. Here is the link if you'd like to listen. http://sermons.hopewdm.org/sermons/2008.11.23_Bible-Money.mp3 It was phenomenal. It is life changing. In light of these past 6 years, I'd like to say that I'm finally ready to give back. It may not always be monetarily, but it will be a recurrent theme in my life. This year (a tad early for New Years) my resolution is to give to others. Because now that our heads are above water, we can encourage others who are sinking. So, I'm listening for that thought or watching for that idea. Then I'll act on it. So don't be weirded out when I call you to come with me somewhere random. I think this might be fun. Who wants to play?

Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for giving to us over the years. We are so thankful for you!