Aches, & Pains, Oh my

Aches & pains.......oh my.  They have filled our house this week as Brook has suffered from neck pain.  After 3 days of telling us about her pain, & we could see it in the way she walked as well, she woke up in tears with pain Wednesday morning.  I took her to the doctor (her first sick visit in 7 years of life) and they sent us to another place for x-rays. Thankfully, the x-ray did not indicate anything serious. She has some swollen lymph nodes that are viral, which has affected her neck and resulted in pain.  Today, she is feeling better, but is still stiff in some of her movements.  As Tim Hawkins (timhawkins.net) says, "she doesn't have full range of motion".  Thankfully, God's grace and protection has also filled our house this week as we are so thankful for our children's health.  May I never lose sight of that.  I have several other things on my heart, but will share that for another post!

Weekend

Aw, the weekend.  It is always nice to see it come, regardless of your stage of life.  It is just nice to have a change of pace to our normal schedule, but just 2 days (or 2 1/2 depending on how you count your weekend days!).

Friday afternoon, Avery and Isabella headed out to deer camp with my brother-in-law. They were all packed up with high hopes of killing a deer, but no such luck. They did have fun and had lots of quality father/daughter time in the deer stand!

Brook went with me to a friend's house Friday night where I was meeting with 3 ladies to be encouraged with homeschooling, marriage, and our walk with the Lord.   Just sharing real life stories, real life struggles, real life joys.  One lady I have known, but have had the opportunity to get to know deeper, and the other 2 ladies, I just met last year and they have become so precious to me.  So thankful for true sisters in Christ who are real!
I made a homemade cream cheese pound cake with strawberry accompaniments, and it was just fun to bake from scratch!

Saturday, I had promised Brook a fun day since she had no sister there for the day.  So, we picked up her best buddy, Mallie, and headed out to doughnuts.  Then they ran a few errands with me, spent the rest of the day playing and I was able to get some small projects done.  Then Brook and I had a mother/daughter date at McAlister's (kids eat free on Saturday's!).  Here are a few photos from our day:

We are so thankful for our daughters and their sweet friends!  We are also so thankful for our church.  It has been the most amazing year of church for us learning so much about God and His grace. Today, we went to church and I was able to teach the 2nd graders in Jr. Church about the Old Testament priests, prophets, and kings.  I was able to share how Jesus Christ fulfills all of those roles for us today.  It was a great lesson and a joy to serve.  It is a joy to watch others remind my girls that Jesus is the most important thing in their life, in my life.  More than our friends, our popularity, our looks, our fashion, our everything...He is more wonderful and worthy. Tonight, we began a week long missions conference.  We heard a speaker from Brazil and the girls heard from a church member's trip to Rwanda.  So grateful again that our girls are exposed to what God is doing around the world.  Jesus came for all mankind.  That overwhelms me.  Be overwhelmed by the love He has for you!  As I told the children today, don't ever take the song "Jesus loves me" for granted.  He does love you.  Rest your weary soul in that thought tonight.

Sweet little things

Aw, it is the sweet little things that make me happy and keep marriage fun!  My handsome husband was out of town for 2 nights this week, but when he returned, he brought me a surprise.   He had gone to Wal-Mart (only the best) and bought something little, yet so thoughtful.   The product itself is special to me because it is from the person I love the most in this world and because he thought to buy me something that he knows I enjoy.  But you can relate....whatever that little happy is that someone has seen and bought or created for you, just because they hoped it would make you smile.

My mother has always bought my sister, brother, and I "happies", small gifts she sees that makes her think of us and she knows it would brighten our day.  She does this for other family members too!

I encourage you to make someone happy in the little ways as the Lord prompts you.  I want to be sensitive and listening with attentive ears to when He speaks to me.  I want to be not only a hearer, but a doer of the word.  I am thankful He is the giver of life, and desires to give good gifts to His children!


Below is a picture of my happy husband with our girls and the gift he brought me this week......

Make someone happy!

Canasta Fun!

Tonight I was introduced to the card game of Canasta with some wonderful ladies.  My sweet friend invited me to be a sub, and I accepted.  It was a fun night of just being with such great ladies who express the love of Christ by the way they live life.  And my sweet friend, Melva, and amazing host too, out did herself with an amazing Mexican feast with festive music too!  She had such a fun table decorated with a touch of Spanish flair, with margarita glasses full of hot tamales!  How creative!  And to complete the night of fun, I won both rounds at my table and came home with a prize :)

Horses

We had a great Saturday!  Our family was able to do one of our favorite things...riding horses.  Isabella has been a fan of horses for several years now.  She has been on many trail rides, has taken lessons for 2 years and also attended a summer horse camp.  She has a lot of natural talent and enjoys this very much.  We went to a friend's house from church to ride on a chilly, but sunny Saturday afternoon.  Isabella was in her element!  She stayed on the horse for at least an hour and a half.  Brook and Avery were able to ride too, with Brook getting more comfortable and confident as well.  I didn't ride, however, it was just as great for me seeing them all enjoy themselves so much, especially the smile on Isabella's face while she was on the horse.  We have taken some family trail rides in the US, but also in Bogotoa, Colombia and the island of St. Martin.  This summer, Avery and I took a trail ride in New Brunswick, Canada. Here are a few photos from our day in Memphis.......

Friends ~ A pleasant variety

Friends.  So many thoughts come to mind when hearing that important word in life.  Special people and characteristics of those people come to mind.  Everyone has friends on different levels.  These days, we even have "facebook friends", some of who I wouldn't even recognize in public, or we might not even speak.  Those are the ones I would just call an acquaintance. That is no reflection of the person, just that I don't know that person very well.

There are several wonderful examples in the bible of friendships.  I love that of Mary and Elizabeth, Ruth and Boaz, David and Jonathan. As we begin a new year, I am so thankful for a pleasant variety of friendships in my life.  I realize I am uniquely blessed with friends at so many stages of life.  I also realize some of this is just simply due to my "middle ageness" (I am a young 41 at the time of writing this entry).

In this new year already, I have had some sweet, fun times with my younger friends.  I would define those friends being in their 20's. However, they carry such wisdom and passion for life and not just any great life, but a life to honor Jesus Christ.

I also enjoy my friends which I would describe as my peers, those similar in age and life stage. Several friendships that we've had since moving to Memphis, one I left in North Carolina, college roommate, and some sweet new ones since joining our new church last year are so dear.  These friends encourage me, and make life seem so real.

The newest joy in friendships for me this past year, has been my "older friends".  I use the term older very lightly since they may read this at some point!! These are ladies 20 years older, so at a different stage of life with their marriages and children.  I adore and love these ladies.  I have so much fun with them and really think I could spend each day with them. Believe me, they would get tired of me long before I tire of them!

Look around at your friends and be thankful for them.  Be a friend.  Be a trustworthy, encouraging, forgiving friend.  I am so blessed with my friends of all ages, who love on me in so many ways.  What a great way to start the new year to live life walking it alongside of these women.

Brook in space

Brook is our aspiring astronaut and had quite an exciting event occur on Friday, January 7, 2012.  She received an envelope from NASA, which was quite exciting just to see in our mailbox!  We don't want to miss out on the gifts of life though, so she quickly opened the envelope to find a personalized, autographed photo enclosed from her favorite astronaut, Tracey Caldwell-Dyson!

I had written NASA back in September requesting this with thoughts of Brook's upcoming birthday in October.  However, I honestly did not expect to receive something personalized to Brook!  It was so inspiring to see a handwritten note..."Dream big and study hard".  That is her motto now!

Brook has ambitions of being a scientist, then working in mission control in Houston, and then becoming an astronaut.  I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for this little vibrant girl who has a mind that amazes me!

Isn't she cute??

2012

A blog? I just need a place to write down some thoughts, and these days, a blog is the place to start!

2012 has been good so far. Nothing great or nothing terrible according to the world, but God's goodness in each day has been present in so many ways! Thankfully, I am not trying to live up to the world's standards, but the authority of God.

Several things have happened this year, but today as I start, I will concentrate on what happened today...what prompted me to write my first blog entry.

I learned tonight that a relative of an old friend died due to an undetected blood clot. This saddens me for this family. This also connects with me on a deeper level because I too have had a blood clot. My situation was very serious (if you know me, you've probably heard this story, which is so much of my life story). Since I had my initial blood clot in the spring of 2001, I have heard occasional stories of someone dying due to a blood clot. Each story touches me. Each story has caused me to stop and be extra thankful that day to the Lord that I am okay now.

Tonight was different. Tonight, I am thankful that I don't suffer like I have in the past. But tonight, for the first time, I am thankful for the pain. I am thankful for the intense pain I endured in March 2001. I am thankful for the physical signs the Lord allowed my body to have so that I knew there was a need to see a doctor. I am thankful I suffered, so that I may experience healing and life. I am thankful that that the Lord can still use an experience that happened to me almost 11 years ago and teach me something new tonight. I am thankful that He can use events that happened over 2000 years ago and teach me something today (specifically stories from Daniel of God's presence in the fire and the actions of His faithful followers). I am thankful that in my life, I suffer so He can once again show Himself faithful, and powerful in my life to bring glory to Himself. I am thankful for healing and abundant life on earth and eternal life with Him.

I am thankful to kiss my husband goodnight and love on our sweet daughters. I am thankful to share my story with anyone who is suffering and needs encouragement and realization they are not alone.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." Isaiah 43:2

"But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods." Daniel 3:25

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18