With everything our family goes through, it is not hard to count and be thankful for our blessings. I’m not perfect so obviously there are days when I don’t think about my blessings as much as I should. When Nicholas is in the hospital up at UNC, like he is now, those blessings are more prominant in my mind than ever.
I struggle with leaving Nicholas alone in the hospital for long lengths of time. Our time is so precious with him and I am very over protective. I also know that things can happen unexpectedly and I am too anal to want to miss it.
I was supposed to leave here on Tuesday night so I could go to work on Wednesday and return Friday afternoon. The teacher and my supervisor told me I shouldn’t worry; that I needed to be here with Nick, so I stayed. I do have to go home Thursday for a doctors appointment that I cannot miss so I will be leaving him Thursday and will return on Friday. UGH!!! But I feel better that it will only be a day.
I say all this because of what I see up here. I am so blessed that I have the option to be able to stay. There is a little baby here that has had to stay without her mom. She is an only child. Her mom is alone because her husband is in Iraq. The mom works fulltime and she is going to school.
Over the years, there have been children, and babies, that have been left here alone, but it was the choice of the parent. Some parents choose to leave and stay at the Ronald McDonald House. I just don’t understand. You have parents here – like Christian – who would love to be able to stay with her baby all night, and then you have those parents that don’t seem to care.
People, please, if you have a healthy child, be thankful. If they have an illness, like Nicholas and Lily, be thankful that it is not worse than it is. It could ALWAYS be worse. Count your blessings. Be thankful for what the Lord has given you.
There is a reason for everything I always say, so I guess there is a reason why I have to see these things. Maybe I have to see these things to be able to remember that I need to count my blessings – to be thankful for what I have been given. I am who I am because of the life I am living. I would hate to see what my life would be like if I didn’t have the trials that I have. It is because of the trials in my life, and the fact I know that I have my Savior to hold me along the way that I am able to endure. Just my thoughts for the day…
After months away from the blogging world, I find myself stuck in the hospital with Nicholas and bored to death. I am hard at work trying to avoid doing my homework, so I thought I would post to let you guys know what has been going on since JANUARY…I know I should be ashamed of myself.
I have been student teaching social studies in the 7th grade. It has been wonderful. I have 3 days left before I can legally be released to accept a job. I am so excited that I can see the end of the road. Graduation is coming up on May 24th and my wonderful husband and the “moms” are planning this big to-do to celebrate. It hasn’t really hit me yet. After 81/2 years of school, I guess I didn’t think I would ever finish. I do plan to go ahead and begin work towards my masters degree. It is all online and I am really scared that if I stop I won’t want to start back.
So, at least for now, I’ll be around the blogosphere. Hope to see ya around.
Every year, since I can remember, my family has gotten together on Christmas Eve night to celebrate Christmas. I especially loved it because we all piled into my Grandmother’s house – ALL of us – and there was food everywhere. I got to see all of my aunts and uncles and all of my cousins. Everyone ate until they were stuffed and then we exchanged gifts. I have a huge family. As the years went on, we all got older, got married and had children of our own. I still made it to Grandmother’s but others had moved away so they started their own family traditions.
All good things must come to an end and so did these times. Long before my Grandmother passed away, we changed the location of our celebration to my Mama’s house and for the last few years, everyone has been coming here to my house. I love it. I love that I get to carry on part of my Grandmother and some of what made Christmas so special to me as I was growing up.
Now I am a mother and a Grandmother. It is an overwhelming feeling. It is so important to me that I instill in my children and my granddaughter the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not about the presents or the parties. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He has given us. It is about being thankful for what we have been given – beign thankful for our families and the time we have together here on this earth.
So as you celebrate this Christmas, let us remember the important things. Make memories that will last for the next generation. Remember why we celebrate this holiday. May God bless you all. I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Today is my mama’s birthday. She is 59 years old. He he he. There is a special bond between mother and daughter that nobody else can say they have. Sometimes you just want to scream at each other and sometimes you can’t hug them hard enough. She is your teacher, you confidant, your warden, and your protector. When it comes down to it, I know that I would not be the person I am today without her – and yes, I think that is a good thing.
Happy Birthday mama! I love you! Thank you for being you so I could be me.
Today is my best friend’s birthday. She is my best friend in the whole wide world. I couldn’t imagine a day without her.
Jamie, I hope you have a WONDERFUL day. You totally deserve it. I pray that God blesses you immensely and that you have many more birthdays to come. I love you!
what you do is post this on your blog and highlight the things you’ve done in red…so here goes!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (hiking)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Wow…57 our of 99…not bad. I am blessed. What else can I say?
Over the past few days, I have been saddened by the fact that our country has decided to skip over Thanksgiving. Yes, we have tomorrow off from work, the children are out of school, the banks and post offices are closed and we will go to spend time with our families to eat turkey. But when you stand still to just look and listen, we don’t hear thanksgiving. It seems that the retail world has decided that money is more important. They go straight from Halloween to Christmas. People are declaring war, killing, hating…
Sunday, our Associate Pastor Joe, spoke about Thanksgiving – not the holiday – but the giving, or lack of thanksgiving. It really spoke to my heart. I too am guilty of not being thankful for the wonderful life I have been given. Joe asked us how many of us got up in the morning with an instant complaint or grumble about something when our feet had not even hit the floor. Good gracious – that hit me so hard. I am so guilty of that on many occasions.
How can I NOT be thankful. God has given me a wonderful husband, wonderful children, and a prosperous life. Many people wouldn’t call how our family lives “prosperous” because we don’t have the finest of things. We don’t live in an expensive house – we love our house because John was raised there. We don’t drive new cars, but the ones we have get us where we have to go and they don’t give us much trouble. Nicholas just turned 16. Most teenagers his age get a car for their 16th birthday, but we are unable to do that for him. And you know what? – he is OK with that. We don’t wear expensive clothes. We don’t need them. I am so proud that my children know that money cannot make you happy. Money cannot solve life’s problems. They are thankful for what they have been given. Now I’m not saying that they don’t ever complain. I love them dearly, but they are not saints – neither am I.
People please take time to stop and look at what you have been given. Don’t wait for the one day a year to do it. We take SO much for granted. We should be thankful EVERYDAY. And I am SO speaking to myself right now. Take a moment. Stop. Thank God for the breath you just took. Look around you and be thankful for what you have. Don’t be a grouch because you can’t have what you WANT. God has provided everything you NEED. He’s good like that you know.
God, I am so thankful for my family – my husband, my children, my new granddaughter. I am so thankful that we are healthy – we can walk, talk, see, take care of ourselves. I am thankful that I have a job to go to everyday because many people don’t right now. I am thankful for the friends that support my family in my times of need – even if it’s a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen, and for the fellowship with them. I am so thankful for the fact that I am one of the reasons you sent your son to die on the cross of Calvary. I am thankful that I am one of the chosen who will sit and praise you in Heaven when my days here on earth are over. Thank you…
This is the wonderful gift I woke up to this morning. Isn’t it just wonderful? I can’t remember the last time we got snow before Thanksgiving. I got a chance to shoot this before I woke up the children.
9 And He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Paul’s response followed with saying “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
