I always find myself reflective this time of year.  It's not that I'm unthankful the rest of the year, but the Thanksgiving holiday gives me the opportunity to look back over the last year and "count my many blessings, name them one by one."  This year, I don't have look back more than a few days to find the thing I'm most grateful for.

At 1:12pm on Wednesday, November 16, my wife and I welcomed our fourth (and likely final)  child into our family.  Molly Lynn weighed in at 6 pounds, 2 ounces - and her cuteness levels were officially off the charts!

We didn't expect our daughter to get whisked into the NICU when she was only 1 day old.  Thankfully, there were no major emergencies - the doctors were being extra cautious about a couple of blood levels they wanted to monitor closely.  Each day we were waiting for the "all clear," but instead were told, "We'll need to keep her for at least another 24 hours."  That cycle happened for 3 days straight.

The whole experience was a major inconvenience.  Laura would have to nurse Molly in the NICU while wearing latex gloves.  As a dad, I was only getting to see my newborn about 45 minutes a day.  We also needed extra help at home in caring for our other 3 kids.  I'll be honest, it was easy to grumble and complain.

But as we journeyed through the last few days, we saw the care we received at the hospital, the extra help from family we received at home, and we saw other babies in NICU that represented families going through a lot more difficulty and struggle than us.  We saw our negativity slowly replaced with humility and gratitude.

Mommy and Molly did finally get discharged, and they came home yesterday.  On the car ride home from the hospital, we listened to a copy of the upcoming UTR Thanksgiving Special (available for download on Nov. 23).  We found that the songs of gratitude were a good reflection of what our hearts are feeling.  What are you thankful for this year?  Share your stories with us, and enjoy the UTR special with all the songs expressing the attitude of gratitude.