One Day

This to me is so special - its a card someone gave to me over 20 years ago and I have held on to it all these years, it got soaked this time around with the flooding we experienced with Hurricane Sandy, but I took care of it and dried it up and its back to being beautiful...
The card is titled:

You Are a Lover of Words

One day, 

You Will Write a Book...

And it reads:

"People turn to you because you give voice to dreams, notice little things, and make otherwise impossible imaginings appear real.

You are a rare bird who thinks the world is beautiful enough to try to figure it out, who has the courage to dive into your wild mind and go swimming there.

You are someone who still believes in cloud watching, people watching, daydreaming, tomorrow, favorite colors, silver clouds, dandelions, and sorrow.

Be sacred.  Be cool.  Be wild. Go far.

Words do more than plant miracle seeds.

With writing them, you can change the world."


How totally encouraging, beautiful and true... I love cards - someone wrote this one just for me!!! And I treasure it so close to my heart.

Yes one day I will write a book...  how awesome will that be!!!  Woooo Hoooo

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving has come and gone... oh the amount of work that goes into preparing this "event" but how I love it.

Getting out the extra decorations, the special china that only see the light of day once a year, the crystal goblets that have made it one more year without one of children dropping one (yes its nutty but I love hearing that special chim)... preparing the foods... the rice, potatoes, salads and of course the Turkey. Never thought I could do a full blown turkey but so far its been working out pretty good - and no one has gotten sick!!!

My son and his beautiful girlfriend Kathy come over and we all sit around the table. Praise God my son gave me a table this year with extensions to make it longer - so we were able to open it all up this year and the joke was that we actually had to say "can you please pass the potatoes". Its just so special to be able to sit with my family (yes Kathy that includes you too) and to share a meal, to share blessings and to create memories.

One thing that I am continuously sharing with my children is how thankful and proud I am of them, and that I love them every single day. I know I have certain areas that I have to continue working on... the way I can describe it is that I am imperfect woman loved by a perfect God... and through His grace I am continuously working on those imperfections - many times I fall so very short that I just want to get an eraser and start over again... but praise God that He does give me another opportunity to start over again. One wonderful thing about my Lord and Savior is that He is always showering me with words of love and hope and encouragement... and this is what I want to pass on to my children and to my husband and all those who cross my path. I have to say its not easy - because our natural desire is to complain, to be critical, to want more, to nit pick, to have it be all about us... oh but my goal is to be able to speak words of affirmation and love.

God...the God who created the Heavens and the earth...
God said and there was...
and
He gifted us with that power...

Our words become the mirror in which others see themselves... Words are one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and amazingly, God has entrusted them to you and me...

Sharon Jaynes writes: "How desperately men and women long for an encouraging word. They need a cheerleader to tell them, You can do it!, Don't give up! They long for a fellow journeyman to bolster them up when the road is too arduous to travel alone. They yearn for teammates to rally behind them, reminding them they are not isolated in this game called life.

How long will our words echo in the hearts and minds of our child(ren), our husbands, our friends, fellow believers, and the world? For all eternity, to the end of the age."

Wow our words will echo in the hearts of our children, our husbands our loved ones for all eternity... our words leave such an impression.

So yes this Thanksgiving and each day I remind myself to let my Lord and Savior know how thankful I am to Him for the sacrifice He made, for His love, His grace, His mercy... and then I share with my loved ones how thankful I am for them... I want to fill their hearts, I want to pour these words into their hearts... to the point that it is spilling over so they can pour it into the lives of all who cross their path... that when I am gone my words will still echo for years to come of love, encouragement, and memories...

Moments not Things

It is true what they say that what we take with us are not things... but moments, memories.

I am so blessed to have children that are constantly filling my mind and heart with moments that I can look back on and smile and that I will cherish for a lifetime.

It can be from a picture that was drawn of the how they see the family... or a report they wrote in school about the many things they love about mom... their gestures... how you catch them looking at you with a look only a child can give so full of love and innocence... or the wonderful comments and remarks they make.

One that keeps coming back to me time and time again is from my Princess Peanut Priscilla... oh that little girl is so very special... there are moments that she drives me absolutely bonkers... or that I might just lose my hearing from her high pitched screams... what she lacks in size she makes up for in attitude and vocally... My darling Priscilla has one very very spunky attitude.

She is a gift from God - just like all my children are - but more so her... why??? Well she was a surprise, a very big surprise. I didn't even know how to break the news to my husband when I found out I was expecting again, it was the funniest thing!!!

You see my beautiful little girl who is six loves to cuddle up with me... she is petite so she makes a space for herself where there might seem to be none. A couple of nights ago she cuddled up next to me and inhaled... and it just makes my heart laugh because she has done this so many times. And she said... "mommy what is it about you that smells so good all the time... all the time I smell you, you smell so good and sooo special". I looked down at her and smiled (I didn't know "special" had a scent) and she said "mommy I love you, I want to smell like you all the time".

God knew - oh yes He did that my life would not be complete without a spunky little girl who is full of sugar and spice and everything nice - with a dash (or maybe two) of attitude and sarcasm... who can make my bone marrow shake like jello... but who would have a heart of gold and would melt my heart.

God's surprises are truly the best ones... and I so love the memories He is blessing me with through my beautiful children.

Our Thanksgiving Legacy

I love the Fall for so many many reasons...

Its one of my favorite seasons of the year!!! And I say this with a chuckle - because I think each season has something so very special - and as soon as the new season arrives - its my favorite!!!

But Fall... 

• The chill in the air that is just perfect to cuddle up with my hubby and kiddies
• God's incredible masterpiece displayed in nature with the beautiful rich shades of reds, oranges, purples, and yellows
• Of course - Football Season
• Comfy sweaters and turtlenecks and scarfs and cozy socks!!
• Hot chocolate... with marshmallows!

Oh and my list can go on and on... but one special thing we do at our home is the beginning of our Thanksgiving list. Throughout the years we have displayed them in many different forms. Its a tradition my kids love and look forward to. Each day starting in November we write down something we are thankful for. 

Several weeks ago I was finally able to get together with my friend Kathy and create an idea we saw on Pinterest for our homes - which I absolutely love.  Each day we will add a leaf with someone or something we are thankful for.
Here is the link to Kathy's blog regarding her "Leaves of Thanks": Wessel World

Our 2012 Thanksgivings

Oh my friends, we have so many reasons to be thankful... each day the list can be just endless with the blessings we can praise our Lord for... but there is just something a little extra special when you gather together and write them down and put them up to view each day...

It reminds me of Deuteronomy 6:1-9 which is a goal we should all have as families:

“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.  “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

You see - God is not giving us an option as to whether we want to do this or not, its a commandment - where we are to teach our children about the Lord and His blessings...

In sitting down and sharing our thanksgivings together we are praising God for His goodness in our lives, we are reminded of people and things to pray for, we are sharing scripture together - we are impressing a sense of family, love, tradition and Jesus upon their hearts...  

I want to encourage you to start a special tradition of thanksgivings!! 

It is my prayer that what we do now, my children can continue it with their children - while sharing stories and memories of what it was like when did their display of thanksgiving when growing up...  

I love Fall... and one of the main reasons is because of the legacy of thanksgiving we pass on to our children...