Blessings

There are always blessings in the midst of suffering, and I can think of two so far that I'd like to share (and thank God for). 

One is that my sister, her husband and son were able to come visit last week.  We had expected that we wouldn't see them this Thanksgiving, but we ended up being able to see them anyway.  Because of the long car trips into the city to see our mom, my sister and I were able to have much more time to talk than I think we ever have our whole lives.  It was also so much fun for my kids to spend some quality time with their little cousin.

A second blessing has come about in seeing how many people have been stepping out to help us.  It really has stretched me to give up some of my prideful self-reliance to accept help–and to ask for it.  We've had meals, babysitters and simply encouraging phone calls.  Thank you, everyone!