Thankful

This is going to be a thankful post. Today I am so thankful for

#1 My husband

Isn't he handsome? Nic is such a sweet guy.

He loves the outdoors! We had so many fun bike rides when we were living in Utah.

He loves hiking. This picture is from his last hike up in the high sierras last summer.

He proposed to me outdoors at Sundance. So pretty.

Nic is such a good example to me. He spent two years serving the people of

Costa Rica as a missionary.

He works so hard in school so that he can provide for our family.

Look at all of those books for this semester.

He is doing so well in his classes. His knowledge and critical thinking skills amaze me.

He is silly with me!

I love him!

#2 This little man.

Andrew is such a sweet little guy. I can't believe that he is 2 1/2! He loves to be a big boy and help out. He had fun helping mommy put carrots and apples into bags at the grocery store yesterday. I have to remember to let him help more often. I always dread going to the store because it seems like such a big task, but it went so well when I simply remembered to let him help. Some of his favorite things right now are popcorn, ice cream hot dogs, string cheese, crackers, Thomas, Barney, playing outside, and anything to do with water (drinking water [he is probably one of the few kids that won't drink juice], playing in the pool/tub, pouring his water on the carpet and jumping on it)

#3 My health

I am so, so thankful for my health. My ulcerative colitis has been in remission for almost 4 years now! Yippeeee! (I better not jinx it, now) My memory is kind of bad on exact dates, but I remember my last year of college being rough. I had to be put on prednisone at some point and my colonoscopy had shown that my colitis had worsened. When on high doses of prednisone, my symptoms would improve, which was great. But being on prednisone has many yucky side effects and shouldn't be used for a long time. It can raise your blood sugar, cause osteoporosis, increased swelling, and the list goes on... It can weaken your immune system and I think the combination of that with the added stress of nursing school was what landed me with shingles in Nov 2005.

One of the other side effects I got was this:

Puffy face.

This was actually after I had graduated from college. This pic was taken Oct 2007.

My GI did not want me getting pregnant unless my colitis was doing well. He scared us when he said I could lose my colon and my baby if I got pregnant while in a flare up. Thankfully, I was eventually able to get my colitis in control enough and got pregnant with Andrew. I was told that about 50% of women with UC get worse during pregnancy and 50% of women get better. I was blessed and my colitis got 100% better during pregnancy. It has stayed that way ever since!!! Nic said something really sweet the other day. He said for me to think of this remission as Andrew's gift to me. So sweet. I know that Ulcerative Colitis is a lifelong illness, but I am sooooo grateful for this long stretch of remission!!!