Our most Thankful Thanksgiving

And now, a moment with your favorite author, Sir Jacob Bennett.

Nine months ago our God, He knew,

We needed more than just us two,

He worked real hard for quite a while,

So we could see your toothless smile,

Now that you're here we can't think for one minute,

Of returning to life without you in it,

That's why this thanksgiving, though not at home,

Is the best thanksgiving we've ever known,

We thank our God for such great joy,

Our first and best holiday with our brand new boy.

Yes although corny and somewhat out of poetic rhythm, when inspiration strikes there is nothing left to do but go with it, and yes, this is actually the best thanksgiving both of us have ever had. Truly!

Not only for our wonderful blessing of brand new life, but for all the love that we have been showered with both by our God and our amazing church family and friends. The Bible says in John 13: 35:

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

Never has the love of our fellow christian brothers and sisters been so evident to us. The number of text messages, e-mails, phone calls, and visits we have received over the last two days has been overwhelming (in a good way). I think we have packed half of the staff fridge in the break room with left-overs from Thanksgiving meals that people dropped off at the hospital. We are so very thankful for the amazing friends that the Lord has blessed us with since moving to Bloomington-Normal just a few years ago. So for those of you who visit this page before we get a chance to say it in person, consider this a BIG THANK YOU!

Of course how could we have a Thanksgiving post without mentioning our amazing families as well. Laura's Mom, Dad, sister Kari, and two nephews (Maxy and Totey) made the trek across 3 states to be with us during the labor and delivery process. They were immensely helpful as the words "dilated" and "effaced" have absolutely no meaning to me. I need to write a dictionary for first time dad's and become a millionaire (look for Daddy Dictionary hitting stores in the spring of '11). Kari also left our house absolutely spotless for us which is a huge blessing! I'm not talking about just making sure the shoes were out of the door way either. I'm talking mopping the floors, vacuuming all the carpets, and emptying the lint traps. That girl knows how to clean! Thanks Kari. My family should be here tomorrow and I think my Mom will probably be pulling a trailer with about half of Kroger packed in it. A new "Grandma Cooker" is in town folks, following in the footsteps of the legend Gram D. whom we all miss very much!

Well, before this gets too long, let me just again thank our amazing and awesome God who always delivers on every single one of the promises given in His word. Make sure to spend some extra time in prayer today thanking Him for all the blessings he has given each of us.

Oh, and Graham says he is thankful for his mommy feeding him every 20 minutes and for daddy changing all 12 dirty diapers he had today.

Note to self: Read a book about using creative adjectives.