1 year later

Where to begin....well first its been quiet some time.....but thats another story....

1 year ago plus a couple weeks our family was rocked to its core...besides me facing a spinal fusion surgery....Andrew then was laid off....not something we were even prepared for....our world was shaken up and turned upside down....to say the least

We had no idea how we were going to make it....or how we were going to pay for insurance to stay on cobra....so I could have my surgery and not to lapse since I needed the surgery and did not want to have issues with a pre-existing condition.....besides all those things we had no idea how we would keep it from our kids....so they would not have to worry about grown up things....and further more it was right before thanksgiving the standard kick off to the holiday season.... we wanted to try to make christmas stay as much the same as possible....even though we were scared shitless about having to pay for basic needs yet alone christmas presents for the kids.....I remember just a week before all this happened to us looking at a website to help out people who were so much more in need than we were at the time....and trying to figure out a way that we could pay it forward.....cuz I never once thought we would be in that type of situation

So last thanksgiving was not a joyous holiday....we were not thankful for the hand that we were dealt or the financial catastrophe that we could face in the coming weeks....yes we were beyond thankful for our family and friends that helped out in more ways than one....without them we would have not have made it through that time....but we did not want to be dependent on anyone.....but we had to swallow our pride and just move forward.....

Last thanksgiving was not relaxing.....we didn't take time out to just hang out as a family of 4....it was spent more with trying to figure out how we were going to survive....schedule my surgery as soon as possible....and hope that Andrew would find something quickly....all the while trying to not take out stress out on each other.....

1 year later our life has changed drastically.....we are beyond thankful that Andrew's unemployment did not last months....it was only 4 weeks....and it was the best birthday present anyone could have given me....since that was his first day!!!

1 year later our thanksgiving this year was nothing like last year....yes we have worries and stress....but it is not the same as what we were facing a year ago....even though we were not able to celebrate thanksgiving with all of the family due to illnesses....we made the best of it as we could......and we were fortunate enough to have two full days of downtime with the kids and each other......where we were able to watch movies, make cookies, have a tea party, play games....and just be a family....something that was pushed to the side last year......

I am thankful this year for everything that we have been given....because I know what the other side looks like....