Mother's Day 2010

Becoming a mother is one of the greatest gifts God has given me. I have three wonderful children - Scott, Chris, and Julie. Each one of them is special to me for many reasons. Scott is my oldest and an almost Christmas baby. I believe he can do anything he puts his mind too and he remembers all these facts he learns from the Discovery channel (and similar stations). He can talk about things for hours or he can be quiet and reflective. Scott always pays attention to kids and gets down on their level to talk to them. He is an excellent father. Chris is my Valentine baby. He is full of compassion for people. Chris is always willing to help others. He will walk up behind me or one of the "girls" in the family and start rubbing our shoulders unless we tell him it feels so good and then he almost always stops. I think he just likes to keep us guessing if he will continue or not. If he's interested in something, he's all in. He's the family computer geek - seems he can fix it all. He also is a great Dad. Julie is my March baby - born just 2 days after my Dad's birthday. She is beautiful inside and out. She's artistic and it shows in her profession as an event decorator. Julie, like her brothers, also enjoys a challenge. She takes on so many projects and does them all well. Julie is sweet and tender hearted. Like me, she loves to laugh. She is an awesome aunt and will someday be an awesome Mom. I'm proud of my children and love them very much!

A beautiful day...

The day is beautiful - the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the grass is green, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and God loves me! Too often, I take all these things for granted. I'm trying this year to be more appreciative of everything. I have a wonderful family. Spending time with family is one of my priorities. I am so thankful for my relationship with God, my family, and my friends - what a wonderful world!

Spring is beautiful!

I really enjoy all of the seasons - each one has it's own beauty. Spring is God's way to remind us of life anew. After the dead of winter, Spring brings the green buds to the tree limbs and the yellow of the forsythia. Like newborn babies, these plants and trees bring life and joy to us. It seems one day they just look like brown sticks and then you start to see the green fuss of new growth. Soon the forsythia's yellow blossoms look like bushes of sunlight standing proud against the green grass. They stretch their branches of yellow flowers up and out embracing the blue sky. It always makes me feel happy to see the forsythia and daffodils with their bright colors reminding us spring is upon us. I'm not fond of the pollen (especially from the trees) because it really gives me grief, but I do enjoy the beauty of spring. I can't help but think of God and His love at this time of year. How much He loved me that He sent Jesus to die for me. Jesus gives me love, forgiveness, and hope. Just like the forsythia, I raise my arms in praise to Him, in honor of Him, in love to Him, and in awe of Him. Spring makes me feel happy, but Jesus and my life with Him makes me more joyful!

2010

It's already a brand new year. It really is true that as you get older time goes much quicker. I can remember being in school and thinking the summer was a nice long break. By the end of August, I was ready for school to start again. Sunday afternoons seemed to be longer than they are now. My Mom celebrated her 82nd birthday this week. I'm thankful I still have her. Sometimes she seems like the energizer bunny, but other times I can tell she is slowing down. At 82, you are entitled to slow down. Julie and I took her to the Serenity Tea Room for her birthday. We had High Tea - didn't even know what that was. Basically, it was: soup, little cucumber sandwiches, shrimp salad in tiny filo cups, chicken salad in tiny filo cups, golden raisen scone, pumpkin nut bread, chocolate covered strawberry, caramel pecan cookies, and a special treat (filo cup with custard filling with kiwi/strawberry/blueberry sliced topping. It was delicious and we couldn't eat it all. We each tried a different tea. Julie had pina colada something, Mom had the Queen's Buckingham Palace Garden Party, and I had the Earl Grey Cream. Julie and I really aren't hot tea drinkers, but we drank some to celebrate with Mom. She loves her hot tea. She enjoyed hers so much, she even bought some to take home. After celebrating like the Queen, we took Mom to a paint your pottery place. I told her she had celebrated 82, now she was returning to kindergarten. Mom and Julie painted a vase; I painted a little tea pot which I plan to use as a spoon holder. It was fun and we made lots of memories. We are anxious to see our creations next week after they have been fired. God is good and we had a blast!

Snow and Jesus

We had our first snow fall of the season. It gently fell to the ground all day and was absolutely beautiful. I have a tradition where I go outside and dance around in a circle for the first snow of winter. I don't even remember how long ago it started, but I love to see the snow falling and covering the ground. It makes everything clean, pure, and white; it always reminds of Jesus' blood that covered my sins and made me white as snow. We are each unique and different like each snowflake; and Jesus loves each one of us. Thanks God for making snow and sending your Son to die for me. ! I love you with all my heart!

So busy...

It seems I get so busy I don't keep up with this blog like I want to. Facebook, emails, volunteer work, etc. all seem to soak up my time these days. I don't ever want to be so busy I miss the blessings God gives me each day. I'm thankful for my family and the wonderful love we share. Christmas is always a busy time. I'm practicing the cantata and the excitement grows at each practice. How awesome that God sent His only Son as a baby? He chose to send Him as a baby - what excitement a baby brings!

A painted picture...

Every day God paints a new picture for us. How blessed are we to never see the same thing twice. This week I've noticed how beautiful the sky has been. Maybe it's because we had so much rain, I'm appreciating the sun shining more. One afternoon, it was as if the sky was a striped shirt - a beautiful blue with white stripes - I just had to take a picture. Soon after I took the picture, the clouds began to float into another more abstract shape. Then on the way home, the sunset across from our home was beautiful. It was as if there were swirls of fire right above the horizon. Isn't it amazing how it is the same sky or canvas each day, but God paints and changes the picture for us? Oh how blessed we are to enjoy God's awesome creations...