A Strange Thanksgiving

Hello all,

Colby here for my second blog post from DC... (well, sorta!)

First things first. Several months ago, Kristen and I were figuring which weekends I wanted to come home for during my little stint in DC. It came down to a decision between coming home for Emma's 2nd birthday or Thanksgiving since we couldn't afford both. Well, I decided I would rather be home for Emma's birthday so that was the flight we booked. We had Emma's birthday on the Saturday the 15th, then we had an early Thanksgiving Dinner over at my family's house on Sunday the 16th. (Very yummy by the way!!) Upon leaving and saying goodbyes, I told everyone that I wouldn't see them 'til Christmas.

Back in DC, as Thanksgiving came closer and closer, I decided that I couldn't let the holiday pass me by without celebrating, even though I'd be spending it on my own. So on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, I went to the store and bought a microwavable turkey breast (complete with gravy), a box of Stove Top, a small can of corn, some easy-prep mashed potatoes, some dinner rolls, a pumpkin pie, and Cool Whip. All in all, it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Now to the sad part....

Since mid-October, Kristen and I have kept the little secret that we were expecting our second child next June. We decided to tell some friends, but elected not to tell our families until Christmas.

Well, while I was eating my Thanksgiving dinner, Kristen signed into Google Chat to say that she wasn't feeling well and that she had started spotting. As the night went on, it became gradually worse until finally she went to the ER and the doctor confirmed that she had miscarried.

Normally, we wouldn't share this sort of thing on our blog, but since we had told some friends that Kristen was pregnant, we thought this would be the best way to break the bad news so as to avoid any awkward conversations come next June.

Anyway, as soon as Kristen called me from the hospital with the official news, I called in sick to work and booked a flight home to SLC. Despite the circumstances, we've had a very pleasant Thanksgiving weekend together and with our families. Most importantly, Kristen is healthy and doing well.

We know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us all. We know He watches over us and, when we let Him, He heals and protects us. Kristen and I have said to ourselves many many times that we are glad that He has blessed us with all the right things in our lives at all the right times (even and especially when those times are different than what we would have chosen or preferred on our own). Needless to say, we are terribly sad that Kristen miscarried, but we have the utmost faith and confidence that when Emma's little brother or sister does come along, the timing will be perfect, and it will be what was meant for us all along.

We had been teaching Emma to say, "Emma, Big Sister." Hopefully it won't be too long before we can get her start practicing those words again. Until then, Emma's enough of a terror to be worth 2-3 kids just on her own, so rest assured, we will have our hands full.