So many things to be thankful

It is Sunday evening, and as I sit at my computer thinking back over these past few days, I am truly thankful.

All six of our precious children were gathered together with Larry and I around our table for our Thanksgiving dinner. For any family it is a special treat when everyone is together; for a family whose world has been forever altered by a diagnosis, it is a gift more precious than gold. Sharing our table with us this year were some new friends...our Thanksgiving dinner was extended to include a young Chinese couple who have just recently come to our country and a Korean man and his young daughter who are here studying in the states while the rest of their family remains in South Korea. For each of the four of them it was the first time they had experienced a "traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner" and it was fun for all of us to share our meal with them. And, also adding to our Thanksgiving festivities was Matt, our (almost) son-in-law. He is such a welcome part of our family and we are very excited as we look forward to the wedding that makes him "officially" one of us!

Our prayers of thanks were not only for our time together as a family, but also for each of you who have loved us, supported us, and walked this journey with us through another year. There are no words to explain how very much that means to us and truly we are grateful - not just at Thanksgiving time - but each and everyday of the year.

Tomorrow as our work and school schedules return to "normal" and this break will become just a sweet memory. Haley and Joshua return to their college classes; Abby, Anna and Caleb return to their high school classes, and Amanda will check into the CBCU for her three days of December chemo. As before there are 48 hours of chemo scheduled and then 24 hours of hydration to follow.

Tonight, as our six children made funny faces at me while sitting close together for our traditional Thanksgiving time family photos, I again realized that life may not offer us what we had planned for or counted on, but just living it - day to day - with your family around you is the greatest gift of all.

So many things to be thankful for,

denise