I am thankful for my children. I have two beautiful daughters that are the most beautiful, incredible and amazing blessings I could ever imagine.

All my life I dreamed of becoming a mommy. When I was a little girl, I loved playing with my dolls and I was very serious about their care. Being a mom has always been a desire of my heart. That dream first came to blessed fruition on July 1, 2003 when Macey was born. I fell in love right away! With Macey, Mickey and I learned how to be parents. We learned that we could love even deeper than we ever imagined. We learned we could get by on far less sleep that we thought possible. We learned that some things really aren’t that gross when they are from your own kid. We learned the precious value of snuggles and baby kisses. And, we learned just how quickly time really does pass. Our firstborn is now six and is a first grader who is compassionate, smart, artistic, gentle and funny. She’s no longer our baby girl, but still gives some of the best snuggles in the world.

In the fall of 2005, we found out that I was expecting again. On December 30, 3005 we found out that our new baby was a girl. Baby Sister was on her way! We were elated. Two girls. WOW!! Mariana was born on Mother’s Day of 2006 – May 14th. Again, we fell in love immediately. With Mariana, we learned that in families love multiplies, it does not divide. We learned that parenting is a balancing act and we’re not always going to get it perfectly right, but what matters most is that we do our best for our girls. We were blessed to see Macey blossom as a big sister. We watched in awe as the bond of sisterhood grew and continues to grow. We sometimes have to intervene in the midst of arguments, but we experience incredible joy when they laugh, play and share things only sisters can share. Our baby girl is three now. She attends preschool three mornings a week and loves it. Mariana is spunky, smart, loving, active and sweet. She will tell you in a heartbeat that she’s NOT a baby, but she’s still our baby.

We are so blessed. Our girls are amazing. They bring so much joy and completeness to our family. I thank God for that He entrusted Macey and Mariana to Mickey and me. I pray that we can be the parents they deserve us to be. I pray that we show Jesus to them and that they grow to love and serve Him. I pray for their health and protection as they go through life. Mickey and I are honored, blessed and thankful to be the parents of these precious girls.

Sharing a sister moment on a hayride in October 2009

Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
Psalm 127: 3 (NLT)

I am thankful for my husband, Mickey. We just celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary on October 27. In some ways, it’s hard to believe it’s already been eight years.  Over these eight years we’ve lived in five different homes (one on two separate occasions) in two states. We have traveled many a mile. We’ve changed jobs and vehicles a few times. We have belonged to two churches – our church home here and the church in AL where Mickey worked for a couple of years. We have shared many laughs, smiles and moments of the heart. We’ve held onto each other through some sad times and clung even closer to faith in tough times. We have made new friends and welcomed new members to each side of our family. We have had to say our final farewells to dear family members and a close friend. We’ve done all this and more, together. I think if you asked us the greatest joy and blessings to come out of these eight years, we’d both tell you that it’s been the birth of our two girls. Macey was born in AL in 2003 and Mariana was born in GA in 2006. With them, our immediate family grew and became complete. We are so blessed. And, I know that I am a blessed wife to have a Godly, faithful husband who loves me unconditionally. Mickey is a brilliant, devoted, loving, generous and kind Christian.  I could never have guessed that a Southern girl like me would marry a Michigan boy like him, so thank God for His plan for both of us. I’m grateful for my Mickey.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 (NIV)

I’m running a little behind today, but I’m here. Three days in a row for my blog revitalization!! Sweet!

Today, I am thankful for veterans. I am grateful to those men and women who in the past and present have served our nation to defend and protect our lives and freedoms. I am thankful that they were courageous enough to join military and/or civilian service. I am thankful for their families who also sacrifice. In our family we have had several who have served in active wartime duty – my dad went to Viet Nam, my Granddaddy served in WWII in the Philippines, Mickey’s Grandpa also served in WWII. There are more, I’m sure. Mickey’s sister Heather and her husband Mike are actively enlisted and serving in the United States Air Force. We have several friends and some family members who have done tours of duty in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. To all of those and countless others, THANK YOU and GOD BLESS!!

Good morning!

It’s a rainy, gray, wet, SOGGY day here in Georgia today. Blah. I don’t like to complain, so I won’t, but let me just say that I hope this rain is short-lived. In the last few weeks and months, we have had a LOT of rain, so I am hopeful that whatever comes our way today isn’t too much.

It’s nice to be getting back into the swing of things with blogging. I know, I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself because this is only my second day back. However, as shameful as this is to admit, it has been awhile since I blogged two days in a row. So, that counts for something. Right? Work with me here.

Today, I am thankful for miracles. In my lifetime, I have heard of several miracles. Beyond that, I have had the blessed privilege to witness and be a part of some miracles in my own family and even in my life. I know that some people think that miracles have to be these huge happenings, but sometimes they aren’t “that” big. Sometimes they are flickers of a little heart beating within a mother’s womb. Sometimes they are avoidances of tragedies that could have been. And, yes, sometimes they are home runs or even grand slams. Yesterday, via the blogosphere, I watched as a home run occurred.  If you keep up with MckMama over at My Charming Kids, you know the story of her precious infant son, Stellan. Things were looking quite grim for Stellan recently. His SVT was ravaging his heart and his body. Yesterday, his surgeon was given a miracle. Stellan faced an emergent heart ablation yesterday and it was a complete success. The doctors themselves weren’t even sure that it would go off as smoothly and effectively as it did. But, it did! The best of all possible scenarios occurred for that precious baby boy. The Great Physician worked through mortal physicians. Of that, I have no doubt. Stellan got another miracle! As MckMama tweeted and updated her blog, thousands across the world celebrated. I was one of those. I had the blessed privilege of sharing just a small part of that joy. And, it touched  my heart in so many ways. I celebrated the victory as a mom. I was overjoyed as an aunt to three precious boys in our family. And, I was awed yet again that our Creator still works miracles. Praise God!! No matter what, He never fails His people. Even if Stellan hadn’t received that earthly miracle yesterday, God would still be sovereign and we know this without a doubt. But, that He chose that way to reveal Himself and His power yet again is just awesome to me. I am so thankful to have witnessed it from afar. Let’s continue to keep this family on our hearts and in our prayers.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

This is the first post of my “2009 Thankful List.” Each day from now until Thanksgiving I will blog about something (or things) that for which I am thankful. This list will be in random order and some things may seem, well, crazy. But, hey, being thankful doesn’t mean being serious all the time, right? I am excited to start this journey of thankfulness and thank you for reading.

I am thankful for Jesus. This was an obvious first pick for me, of course. I am so thankful that I am loved and pursued by a living Savior. I am grateful that God would send His only begotten Son into a fallen world for the sake of a sinner like me. I am thankful that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ.  The prayer of my heart is that I would live a life that shows that Jesus lives in me. By no means will I ever be perfect, but I hope that I can live in such a way that there is no doubt that I am a child of God. By being thankful for Jesus, I am thankful for faith, forgiveness, redemption and every good gift that came through Him. I am alive because I’m alive in Him and THAT is a beautiful promise that I can lift up daily!

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39(NIV)