We Have So Much to Be Thankful For!

I know, I know. My grammar needs work. But it sounds so stilted to say "We have so much for which to be thankful!" So I will stick with my original sentiment. We have so much to be thankful for!! It has been a big month for our family! It has been growing by leaps and bounds! I am just so thrilled about all that is going on with the ones that we love, that I have to share! In the past thirty days, we:
-Gained a new nephew on March 22. Happy ONE MONTH Calvin!! We love you so much and are SO sad that we haven't met you yet. (By the way...this not meeting you business is NOT something I am thankful for!)
-Found out that a dearly loved brother and sister have made it to the top of the list in their adoption journey! We have been rejoicing with them as we see the "ball rolling" and things falling into place for the ever closer arrival of our first Patterson niece or nephew
-Heard that we'll be getting another NEPHEW in September, thanks to THIS brother and THIS sister! Can't wait for Liam, Calvin and Baby to be the "three musketeers"!
-Welcomed two new babes into our circle of Canadian "friends that feel like family". These friends' beautiful twin girls safely entered the world on April 12th, and they are lovely! We are already plotting arranged marriages between them and our two boys! (More about them when I finally get my Canada pictures uploaded!)

In other news, this month also marks the winding down of Mr. Iain's second year. One month from today, he turns two! I'll save the "Iain Update" for next week, when I have a little more time, but I still can't believe that it was already two years ago that we were anxiously (and prayerfully) awaiting his arrival, trusting and hoping that God would take us through whatever He had in store for our little baby. He has truly done exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think! We have so much to be thankful for.

Also, just about one year from now was when we found out we were expecting Liam! (Although we didn't know he was Liam yet!) We kept the secret for a month, to "reveal" it at Iain's birthday, and it was the longest month ever! I'm pretty sure I spent the first six or so months of my pregnancy (unconsciously!) assuming he was a girl, since I couldn't imagine any boy but Iain! Now, of course, I can't imagine anyone but him...! It's amazing to me how God had that little boy planned for us, long before we ever knew him, or expected him! We have so much to be thankful for!

As I reflect on this Good Friday about how much I love my sons, I am still amazed that God would give HIS Son for me. My heart breaks as I think about Mary watching HER Son suffer and die on the cross. I think about Christ, leaving His home and His Father, who He loved, to live on an earth filled with sin and to be killed by people He created. What God would do this? How deep the Father's love for us! It always seems fitting to me to have rain on Good Friday. It matches the somber feeling that I'm sure was shared by all of Jesus' followers on that first "Good Friday". But PRAISE GOD, that is not the end of the story!

The boys and I spent the morning decorating Easter eggs with Mom and Dad Pitman and close to twenty of Mom's ESL students from the University and it was so amazing to see people who had no real concept of Easter listening to the Resurrection story for the first time. I can't wait to spend the rest of the weekend celebrating this "happy ending". Although Iain (and certainly Liam!) is probably still too young to understand the meaning of Easter, we have been reading the Easter story all week and he is very interested. We're planning on starting some traditions (like this one) to help him understand what Easter is all about. We're also looking forward to some of the less weighty, but still important traditions, like Easter brunch with the family, and (of course!) an Easter egg hunt! I hope you all have a blessed and joyful Easter weekend! We have so much to be thankful for!