I am thankful...

I cannot help but be. Thankful.

Despite everything that has happened in our family over the last time we sat down together for Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps in spite of it all. I am thankful.

The fall is hard. The fall is when we found out that Keagen had cancer. The fall is when Keagen started chemotherapy. The fall is when Keagen and Kaileigh celebrate their birthday. The fall leads to the winter and the winter is when Keagen had his surgery. The winter is when Keagen had his stem-cell transplant. The winter seems like it never thawed this year for all of us with broken hearts.

But I am Thankful. I'm thankful that we had Keagen in our lives for 2 years and 5 months. I'm thankful that my heart was warmed by his sweet smile, that I was able to snuggle him in my arms for countless moments over his much-too-short life. I am thankful for family that has meant everything over the last year.

I am thankful for my daughter. Every. Single. Day. I am thankful for her. I am thankful for her attitude, her personality, her temper, and her incredibly frizzy hair. I am thankful for her health. I am thankful that she belongs to me and was a God given gift.

I am thankful for my husband. From that very first day I been amazed by his love for me, and it's never ceased to astound me in all of the days since then.

I'm thankful for a million other little things (you know, like food and computers and my new car and puppies). I am thankful for them all.

Whether I have them for a minute or for 100 years, I am thankful.