Gifts, we are given them every day. The gift of friendship, the gift of family, the gift of life, the gift of love.

We have found ourselves extremely grateful this year for all the gifts in our life. I’d like to share something with you.

The year was 2001 and we had just moved yet again. This time to a small two-story house with two bedrooms, one bathroom and was in desperate need of updating. The carpets were threadbare and filthy, the windows seemed to let in more air then they kept out and with the five of us it was “cozy.” We rented the house while we tried selling our previous one. Money was tight. The first night, curled up in sleeping bags because our belongings weren’t there yet, we all slept in the living room on the floor. I remember this night because I cried myself to sleep. Instead of focusing on the gifts in our lives, I was focused on the home we now had to sell. A home that had new carpet, three bedrooms and a finished basement. Dave held me close that night and promised me something. He promised that he would make it up to me. That this was only a stepping stone and we would someday move into a house that we could only dream of.

As it turned out we were pregnant yet again and this pregnancy was high risk. The doctors were worried. Andrew, our third child, had arrived anemic and they knew this pregnancy would require blood transfusions while the baby was growing inside me. We were given another gift, the transfusions I required are only done is Des Moines, no other place in Iowa. Dave had just been transferred to the south side Des Moines store. This gift was not lost to us.

The next several months were also a gift, although broke, with a house to sell, three kids to support and a wife that couldn’t work, this gift didn’t become apparent until years later.

Dave got a second job loading delivery trucks through the night. He literally came home to nap. He never missed an appointment, holding my hand while they transfused blood into a vessel in the umbilical cord, while checking the baby’s anemic levels. It was the eighth transfusion that gave them trouble. A blood clot had formed during the transfusion because of a contraction. It was time to get the baby out. Our gift, a baby girl, was born a few hours later, lungs undeveloped but not anemic. She was rushed to the NICU where she was hooked to all kinds of machines. She was four weeks premature. The week of Thanksgiving Emily finally got to join her family in that tiny home in Bondurant. We had many things to be grateful for that year.

As the years went by we moved out of state and eventually built a home we thought would be our last. The kids were in a great school district, we had meet many wonderful friends and the gifts just kept coming. Then one evening after the kids were in bed Dave approached me about an opportunity in another town. This was not an easy decision for us. We did what we learned always worked. We prayed. We asked for the Lord’s Will, did our part and waited. Of course you all know how that turned out.

So here we were yet again, a nice home to sell and another move on the horizon. We knew the decision wasn’t just ours and to trust the gift we had been given. Another rental home, although bigger, it wasn’t much nicer that the one in Bondurant. This time however I didn’t cry myself to sleep. I have learned to recognize the gifts and be thankful. It didn’t matter where we lived. We know it’s not about the house that makes it home. It’s about the people inside it.

As time progressed and we sold our house we started plans on a new home. One built from scratch, designed by us, the home we only ever dreamed of. We searched well over a year for property and finally had the blueprints drawn up. This past June we moved in. Dave worked tirelessly on every aspect of our home. He loved every minute of it and truth be known he loved fulfilling his promise.

We are so very grateful for the gifts in our lives. Our family, born from love, is what I like to call the house that we built. Our home, although beautiful and much more than I ever imagined, does that same purpose that tiny two-bedroom home did. It gives us shelter, a place to laugh, a place to be together, and a place for us to be grateful. We invite you all to visit.

This Christmas please remember ALL the gifts in your life.

The best gifts can’t be wrapped or placed under the tree. They are the gifts we must recognize and be forever grateful for.