"Good Morning Pumpkin."
Carrie opened her son's door slowly, seeing him playing on the floor by his bed. He always did this if he woke up before Carrie came to get him up. He knew that he couldn't come downstairs until 7am.
"G'mornin mommy." Isaiah smiled, setting his large legos down. Carrie came over to him, grunting as she lowered herself down to the ground.
"Whatcha playing?" Carrie leaned against his twin bed.
"Just building." Isaiah shrugged.
"It's very pretty, I love all the colors." Carrie admired the tall tower her almost 4 year old son had built. "Izzy, do you know what today is?"
"What?" Isaiah turned towards his mom.
"It's thanksgiving, do you remember what thanksgiving is?" Carrie pulled him over to her lap, cradling him in her arms.
"Uh huh!" Isaiah exclaimed. "We talked about it at school! It's when we eat turkey and say what we're thankful for!"
"You're exactly right!" Carrie laughed. Isaiah struggled to pronounce is 'th's, so he said it more like fankful. "And do you know what I'm thankful for?"
Isaiah shook his head.
"You." Carrie smiled and pointed at him, touching his chest with her pointer finger. "I am so so thankful for you."
"I'm thankful for you too." Isaiah grinned. He wrapped his little arms around her neck. Carrie's heart melted. She held her son tightly against her, putting her other hand on top of her large stomach.
"I'm so thankful for you, and I'm thankful for your Daddy, and I'm thankful for your little brother."
"Me too!" Isaiah exclaimed. He bent down to Carrie's stomach and put his tiny hands against her shirt. "I'm thankful for you little brother! I can't wait to play with you!"
Carrie grinned widely. Her heart fluttered at the sweetness of her son.
This thanksgiving, she was extra thankful.
"Should we go find Daddy?"
Isaiah nodded, standing up from Carrie's lap.
"Oh goodness." Carrie grunted, struggling to get off the floor. "I've gotta quit getting on the floor so much. I can't get back up!"
Carrie followed her son out of his room, watching him walk down the stairs eagerly.
"Daddy!" Isaiah squealed, seeing him in the kitchen. "Happy thanksgiving!"
"Happy thanksgiving to you too little man!" Mike swooped Isaiah up into his arms and kissed his cheek. "I'm so thankful for you!"
"Good morning sunshine." Mike eyed his wife entering the kitchen. He approached her, placing his empty hand on the small of her back. He pulled her into his chest, kissing her softly. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy thanksgiving to you too handsome." She winked, kissing him again.
"Happy thanksgiving little guy." Mike bent down, Isaiah still in his arms. He placed his hand on Carrie's stomach and smiled. He kissed it softly through her shirt. "We can't wait to meet you soon!"
Mike smiled up at Carrie and noticed tears in her eyes. He raised his eyebrow, and she shook her head and laughed in response. A tear slipped down her face.
"Izzy, why don't you go play for a minute? Breakfast will be ready soon." He sat his son down, patting his back to urge him forward. Izzy took off into the living room.
"What's wrong princess?" Mike placed his hands on her hips, caressing her sides. He pulled her as close to him as he could.
"I'm just happy." She let out a sob, laughing at herself as she did so. "Thanksgiving was so hard last year and I'm just so happy and grateful that we've made it to this point."
Mike wrapped his arms around her tightly, wanting to cry himself. She was right. Thanksgiving had been extremely hard last year. The couple had been two miscarriages deep and Carrie was two weeks post fall. Carrie had been at one of her all time lowest points, and she struggled to feel thankful at all. All she could focus on was the continuous string of lows that kept happening in her life.
Mike cupped her cheeks, using his thumb to wipe her tears as he kissed her forehead. "I love you. And I am so incredibly thankful for you."
Carrie wrapped her arms around her husband, wanting to stay in his arms forever. She turned her head to watch Isaiah, placing her hand on Mike's chest. He rubbed her back gently as they watched Isaiah play.
It was hard to believe that just a year ago they were celebrating a painful thanksgiving full of unknowns. Sure, they had so much to be thankful for still, but the negatives seemed to out-way the positives. They had no idea whether they were ever going to have another baby again. The thought of risking another miscarriage was still too much for them. They had no idea whether Carrie was ever going to heal. Carrie still had 40 stitches in her lip and a cast on her arm. She couldn't even look in the mirror without crying.
Just twelve months later, Carrie was 7 months pregnant with a healthy little boy. She'd gained full range of motion in her hand again, and the scar above her lip was barely visible.
This year, she had everything in the world to be thankful for. This thanksgiving, all was finally right in their world, and they couldn't be more thankful.
