Time for Thanks

Every year at Thanksgiving I have time to reflect on God's goodness to our family. My prayer for this year is that I would never forget these wonderful blessings as I am learning to trust my sovereign Savior to guide, protect, and hold my family with His loving hand.

This year was a huge lesson in trust for me. I had two MRI biopsies for breast cancer. Both times they were benign. Although I have no desire to go through this again God showed me that He is indeed in control of our life's circumstances. For His sovereign control of my life, I am thankful.

This year marked our THIRD year here in Richmond. Some of you know that I was never exactly EXCITED about this move. I have never lived out of the state of GA and surely never this far north. But God has blessed me with some wonderful friends that I feel are as close as family and a wonderful church family that has supported my family like no other church I have attended. For this exceptional body of Christ, I am thankful.

This year my Granny went home to be with her Lord. This was the first relative that I have lost as an adult. It was hard for me to be so far from my family while they struggled through the last months with her. It was hard for me not be beside her as she took her last breath. But for the wonderful lessons of Christ's faithfulness that she left with me and the Godly example she was to me, I am thankful.

This year as every year I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. I don't tell him often enough what a good man he is. I don't tell him often enough that I love him. But, he has been my rock and support and a wonderful example of God's love for me. For him I will always be thankful!

This year my children give me so many reasons to be thankful. First and foremost both the boys asked Jesus to come and live in their heart. What more do we have to really be thankful for. I can only pray that God continues to work in their lives to bring them closer to Him as they learn more about Him.




Benjamin never ceases to amaze me. His smile is enough to make me melt. When he hugs you tight it makes you want to hug even tighter. It's incredible to see God working in His life and I am thankful that God chose me to be His mom. This year I am so thankful that he has completely potty trained, spoken in two word sentences, and learned to completely dress himself down to his shoes and socks! He is learning to read and count in school and the teachers love him. I know there is so much more that he has learned this year and I can't even imagine how much more he will learn in the years to come. For God's special gift of Benjamin I am thankful.

Samuel is my protector, my knight in shining armor. He has grown up so much this year. He is such a great friend and brother to Benjamin and has become a protector of his baby sister. This year I am thankful that although I wasn't really ready to give him up to "big school" this year, God helped guide us to that decision. I am thankful that he has learning how to deal with his anxiety over new situations, making new friends, and learning how to be completely independent. I told him recently that he was learning how to do so many things now I hope I would still need me. He smiled and said "Mom...you still have to help me do SOME things!" After my first miscarriage I prayed for God to give us another child. For this wonderful answer to prayer who is more than I could have imagined, I am thankful.


Two years ago, my baby girl arrived. Although we didn't get pregnant trying to get "the girl," I was pleasantly surprised. I cannot believe how much fun she has been. She has always been VERY attached to me and that is VERY tiring but when I hear her little voice say "love you" when I leave her bedroom at night... I think that it is indeed worth it. The other day we had the best mom and daughter day at the mall. We tried on hats, scarves, jewelry, shoes...and then sat down together to share some chinese food. (Rice happens to be Gracie's favorite food!) Even though we only had a two year old conversation then, I don't think I will ever forget that day! I miss my own mom so badly and I regret that our time together was cut short. But I feel blessed to now have my Gracie...we have a lot to look forward to TOGETHER! For my beautiful baby girl, I am thankful.

Of course the list could go on and on and I won't bore those of you kind enough to read this. But...I do think it helps to have a written reminder of God's faithfulness...just in case we ever forget.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So...things here have been crazy lately. We have been really busy lately...the pictures above can prove it! Halloween came and went. We went to Knoxville for Homecoming and then visited the Dixie Caverns on the way home. This past weekend we visited Henricus, VA. They had replicas of the Powhatan Indian homes and tribes and also the American settlement there.

Also, our sweet little Benjamin has been sick on and off for three weeks. It's always concerning when your kids are sick and the drs don't really seem to have an answer. We are on some new medicine now in hopes it will kick whatever this is we have. He's still been trying to do some work at home. Today he told me he was going to do some writing. He wrote a lot and then read me what he wrote. He told me a lot of words from "ho ho" to "earrings" and every one's name. Cute thing was when he turned the paper over it was his name written about 25 times. Truth is, he really is learning a lot at school. He had three E's this past report card and one was in Math. All the others were S's. That's enough to make you cry! Here's the secret...I always knew he could do it!

My big boy Samuel is really doing well in school. You would not believe how much he LOVES school. He talks about it constantly. He is learning to read and really wants to read EVERYTHING. I was proud to get the chance to volunteer in his class the other day. He beamed the entire time I was there. It made me feel good that he was proud of me. He's really been helping Brian a lot. Such a little man. He helped rake and bag leaves the other day. He was out there working hard for a really long time. His other interest lately has been football. Much to his father's delight...he chooses to watch football. This Sunday he chose to watch part of the Cowboys/Redskins game by himself. Thankfully he was pulling for Dallas! :) He says he would be really good at football..."he can zig and zag and go really fast!" Maybe he will be heading to Orange Country one day!

Oh my little Gracie. She's basically potty trained now. Can you believe that? I have never been one to love potty training and wasn't really ready to start that all now. But...she really wanted to do it! She has had only a handful of accidents and really seems proud of herself. She still has no desire to wear "big girl pants" but is comfortable in her "diaper panties" (pull ups!) She now seems to love to watch "mooes." Problem is she loves to watch the same ones over and over. Right now it's Dora (the big sister one with the babies) and this Bible Songs DVD we have. I think Santa might have to bring some new "mooes" this Christmas. She's also learned to drink from a straw finally! I knew she could do it but she was scared of spilling water on herself. The first time she did it was quite a production. Every sip she took she would twirl in a circle and say "hooray Gracie!" That was cute but lasted for almost the entire first cup of water!

We cannot wait for the holidays and hope we get a chance to see everyone soon!