Week 47: Thankful ME (Member Photos)
Jennifer L. Bruce - So many things to be thankful for. This image captures but a fraction. We are warm, safe, and well-nourished. We are healthy, and we are together. We think of those who are gone or far away.
Jenny Parker - I have certainly been thankful this week. After 3 months of screaming at every awake feeding on the breast, a gazillion appointments with the pediatrician, 2 ENTs, 2 speech therapist, the chiropractor, the massage therapist, the lactation specialist, and finally the pediatric dentist who lasered her tongue and lip tie, my sweet baby girl is finally starting to breastfeed again. It has been a long 3 months, and I am so thankful for any positive movement towards being back on the breast full time! So...you'd think a picture of me nursing her was obvious, and it was, except she was so distracted by the shutter, she refused to eat and would only laugh and smile at the camera. They are great pictures, but we don't need my boobs all over this group!! I decided instead to take a picture of her big brother, my big boy who has been so amazing through all of these appointments and momma being away and momma crying right along with sister when she wouldn't eat. He is still happy and giggling and trying to make me laugh when I'm sad. He is amazing!
Cai Vail - I am thankful for so many things. But with the violence against water protectors at Standing Rock this Thanksgiving week, along with the still unresolved water crisis in Flint, Michigan - only the tip of the iceberg in what is thought to be a nationwide crumbling of water infrastructure, and the mind-numbing fact that 1 in 9 people worldwide don’t have access to safe and clean drinking water…I wanted to remind myself how lucky I am to take my access to clean drinking water for granted. I take long showers in and nourish my houseplants with water cleaner than millions of people across the globe are able to find to stay alive. My son spills water on the floor from his sippy cup and I wipe it up without a thought, while toddlers just like him in developing countries are losing their lives because of unsafe drinking water. As a teenager our well water became tainted somehow and we spent a month or so boiling it and buying big plastic jugs of water from the grocery store. Since then I’ve rarely given water a second thought. This week, I get to be thankful for my family, my partner, my son, and my health, in large part due to our access to clean water. I hope to become more conscious of everyday water conservation and find daily gratitude for this gift of life that water has afforded us.
Loren Haar - I am beyond grateful for all three of my children -- each so unique, and each a miracle addition to our family. The first one I gave birth to -- my doctor calls her the miracle baby because she wasn't supposed to be there. I was, apparently, pregnant with twins, one in my one remaining fallopian tube, and one in my uterus, right where she was supposed to be. When the tube burst at only 6 weeks gestation, the doctor said what he was seeing on the ultrasound in the uterus was a "pseudo-sac," not her, not a viable fetus, which sometimes happens with a tubal pregnancy. But a week later, nobody could dispute the heartbeat he was picking up and I spent the next 7 months thrilled to be pregnant after all, and gave birth to a healthy -- though early -- little 4 pound beauty. But I couldn't have more children. So after a lot of soul-searching, we decided to foster-to-adopt, and within months of that decision, we had our second little girl, only 3 weeks old (even though we had been told the wait may be years if we wanted an infant.) Miracle baby number two. We adopted her less than a year later. She had a cleft lip and palate, but my husband is an orthodontist, so we were so happy when the first few families they asked were deterred by this. The third child was perhaps the most miraculous and wonderful ---- we were told we needed to do a mandatory training if we wanted to remain eligible to foster again. We really weren't decided on whether to have a third but this forced us to consider it. We decided to go ahead and get qualified, knowing it could take years, but our second was only 20 months old, so we weren't in a big hurry. But wouldn't you know it --- two days after we finished the training we got a phone call about a one week old baby boy! He's almost three now; we just celebrated the two year anniversary of his adoption day a few days ago! He is not my *most* precious, because they all three are so precious to me, but perhaps the one I am most thankful for because of how he just popped into our family and made us whole. www.lorephotography.com
Kortney Fox - I am thankful for so many things in my life, but it was not hard for me to decide on which one I wanted to capture this week. God has blessed me with an amazing dad. Without my dad, certain things in our life would not be possible. He has a skill set that is incredible. He is there whenever we need him. Whether it's a contractor, plumber, electrician, handyman, or just someone to talk to, he is always there with a smile on his face, ready to help. I don't know how we haven't driven him crazy yet.His most important job of all is watching our littles. My husband and I work weird hours and when hay season comes around, our schedule isn't even really a schedule. You just go and go and go. We are so blessed to have him here with us. Our children get to have this amazing bond with their Pappi and I get to see my dad every day. I don't know what we would do without him, so for him I am thankful. Even in this image, he is sick, just feeling yucky, coughing nonstop, but what does he do? He hangs out after our Thanksgiving dinner and lets the littles climb all over him. I knew that was the image I wanted for this week and I am so glad that I have this moment captured. I am sure one day my littles will be happy to have it, too.
Adriana Meixner - I started using The Five-Minute Journal (pictured here) earlier this year because I wanted to reflect on all the wonderful moments, big and small, that I experience on a daily basis and am truly grateful for. Things like my health, tucking my babies in at night, a hot shower in the morning, a quiet coffee break, lunch plans with a girlfriend, snuggling up next to my hubby on the sofa while watching TV, holding my babies' tiny hands while out for a walk, lying in bed with my furry baby, and on and on. Focusing on all the positive stuff has been really eye-opening and has certainly put me on the right path to realizing that today...and everyday I am truly thankful!
Ivana Claudio - I have a lot to be thankful for this week. My husband was suffering from tachycardia and arrhythmia which were getting progressively worse. This week he finally had a catheter ablation procedure done on his heart and his pulse is miraculously back to normal. I'm thankful his procedure went without a hiccup. I'm thankful his skilled doctors and nurses took good care of him when I left him at the hospital. I'm thankful for having him as my husband and for him being still alive. I'm thankful for all the support our family and friends gave us during this ordeal.The picture is the printout of his ECG during the operation held by my left hand on which I wear my wedding ring as is tradition in my native Serbia.
MacKenzie Gilliam - I'm thankful for the opportunity to just be ME!
