Thankful ~ part 3

money left at the end of the month

changing of seasons

phone calls

sweet conversations

sewing time

a clean craft room floor (I vacuumed it yesterday!)

anticipation of visiting with family next week

hearing the canning lids pop as they seal

Christmas music

a color printer

the relationship between my mom & Amy (not many 18 year olds have their Granny as their best friend!)

pictures of my grandbabies

having the means to do some stuff we desire (within reason)

turkey sales (.79 a pound is awesome)

helping with shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child

date nights with my beloved husband

long quiet nights at home

card games with my kids

prayer time

seeing prayers answered

medicine that can help our tiny grandson who has acid reflux

changes in tiny baby's feeding/sleeping that are helping him be happier

encouraging words

Stitchin' Cross Stitch pattern from Pinterest

that the truth!

cute scissors case!

I think this would be cute done in needle point!

Thankful ~ part 2

 

indoor heat

 

gas log fireplace

 

homemade hot chocolate mix and spice tea mix

 

crafting time

 

time with family & friends

 

excitement over upcoming holidays

 

babies~specifically our 3 grandbuddies

 

shoebox time

 

being able to volunteer

 

being needed

 

being loved

 

ability to read

 

discernment

 

faith

 

faithful church leaders

 

a Christian husband

 

hearing our little friend say "Donna" & "love you"~ this is especially excting since her mommy and daddy were told she would never talk

 

friends

 

 

 

 

 

 



Walking Through the Valley

Psalm 23 1-6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul; He leads in the paths of righteousness, for His names sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  KNJV

I've heard Greg officiate several funerals and he uses this scripture passage in each one. We do have to walk through the valley, with each death that touches our lives.  They key word here is Walk ~ the Lord walks with us, leads us through the valley.  He doesn't plop us down there and leave us to flounder in the valley (but sometimes it did seem like that). 

19 years ago today, I got the devastating news that my first husband had died.  In the words of the dr. in the private room area off the emergency room, "I am sorry, he never regained consciousness" ~ me, not understanding what he meant had to ask for clarification.  The Lord sent many to minister to my children and I during that time ~  shoulders to cry on, many hugs, offers of help from people who actually followed through and did what they offered (unfortunately there were some who promised and never delivered ~ watch what you say!), many meals, house cleaning, Christmas toys for my children the next month, help moving, a generous Granny who asked us to move in with her (many, many thanks MOM), a ride to Social Security to file for survivors benefits (Thanks to my sister, Brenda), and many, many prayers over the years.

My children were 12, 7, and 7 months at the time.  19 years have passed ~ they are now 30, 25, and 18.  The 19 years have been full of life ~ some good, some bad.  The Lord has carried us through each situation that has arisen ~ he has given us comfort, he has given us guidance, he has given us wise believers to help us.  He listened to my many WHY's.  He led us beside still waters and restored our souls. 

Even though we don't have answers to our WHY's,  we did walk through the valley.  We slipped, we fell, we even wallowed some in the Valley, but He was with us always.  My cup does fully run over and has run over and spilled out on many occasions.

Many of my friends are walking through their own valleys ~ the death of parents, the death of a precious newborn, the death of a spouse ~ the Lord is with you.  He will lead you through the valley and send His children here on earth to help you.  Even though it feels like it sometimes ~ you are NOT alone.  Many are praying for you.  You don't know the impact your journey through the valley will have on someone watching you.  Many don't say anything simply because they don't know what to say ~ and its better not to say anything than to say something insincere.  You quickly learn who means what they say and is genuinely concerned and who isn't (that sounds cynical but its true).

And now to the cup running over part ~ my children are grown, they all have jobs, we have good relationships, I have been blessed with an incredible Godly man to travel on this journey of life with, we have the privilege to be grandparents to 3 beautiful young boys, we have friends & family to love us and journey with us.

We are blessed beyond measure.

Why did the past events happened ~ we don't know and will probably never know until we reach heaven ~

But when we are united with Lord ~ will the why's even be important then?

Its That Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Its SHOEBOX time!  We've collected goodies all year long.  We've planned.  We crammed, stuffed our boxes full ~ well actually, crammed is a better word!  And we still got to the days to pack and ended up with some necessities not purchased ~ specifically, toothbrushes and soap.

All our boxes or any boxes that we help with have soap/washcloth (Ivory soap, it floats!), toothbrush and toothpaste, spiral notebook/pencils/a sharpener, crayons, comb. At Dollar Tree, we found some awesome things ~ t shirts, packs of socks (marked down to .25), lg. packs of combs, and family packs of toothbrushes.  We found full size tubes of toothpaste at Walmart for .88 each.  We found crayon packs for .10-.30 at back to school sales.  We took full advantage of our freebie coupons from Harbor Freight and ended up with screwdrivers, flashlights, batteries for older boys for FREE!  We collected free cups and tote bags at nascar and added them to our boxes.

Our childrens group at church collected/earned money and packed their shoeboxes all together last Wednesday night.  Amy will be going to work at the relay center for accepting shoeboxes from area churches to pack in the crates to send to Atlanta.  I will be there too, if work permits. 

There are some incredible ideas on Pinterest, including boards from Operation Christmas Child. 

There are many testimonials from adults that received shoeboxes as gifts when they were children and the impact that this gift had on their lives.  Many are now carrying on the tradition with their own children.

A simple shoebox gift has a lasting, lifelong impact on a child ~ who could be receiving their first gift EVER. 

Here are some links for more information & inspiration ~

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/ 

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/


http://www.pinterest.com/missmomof7/operation-christmas-child/ (my pinterest board for ideas)

http://www.pinterest.com/occshoeboxes/

THANKFUL -post 1

There is much to be thankful for.....

2 beautiful grandsons born this year

Our #1 grandson learning and growing

Lots of crafts to work on

Free books to read on my kindle

A super fun family vacation with my husband, 2 youngest children, and Mom

watching our  red carpet get ripped up off the floor!

All my children have jobs!

Entering the state fair this year!

future plans

9 awesome years of marriage

A part time job

fixing up the rv

a warm home

Food in the pantry and freezer

Fresh venison thanks to a friend at church

sweet hugs from my little friends

tons of great ideas for free on Pinterest

Fun worshipping and fellowship with choir

Hearing #1grandson call us gramama and papa

Listening to great sermons and teaching online

a good stock of fabric and craft supplies

More to come...........

More Little Buddy Fun!

Aiden was in much distress ~ poor little guy has Acid Reflux ~ mommy and daddy turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Grannys computer and he stopped crying and started watching Mickey....pretty funny!  Then our dinner was peaceful!

Hi Grandma or as Robert says gra mama

new trucks/tractors

Thomas is just barely awake

Hi world!

fun with Pa pa

Robert & his new big boy quilt w/ little critter

2 boys, 2 trucks

love for gra mama

Pa pa and his boys

big boy quilt for a big boy bed

we did art ~ this boy loves stickers!

lovin on pa pa

Greg had work in Atlanta this week.  I got to go and play with grandsons.  Jennifer changed her schedule for me so that I could spend lots of time with little Aiden.  Since he is so tiny, she is doing lots of work from home, so she came and worked at Grannys house so that we could play and cuddle.  Wed. afternoon, we headed up to Katies to visit her and the boys.  Spent a little time with them Wed. and then all Thursday morning.  I was definitely back in the infant/toddler/preschool world this week and loved it.  Reading books, playing with trucks, cuddling, art ~ it was a blast!

Next is Thanksgiving weekend!