1 Month
I am blown away with what can happen in a month.
What I have learned about the human race.
A month ago things were very different.
There have been so many ups and downs lately.
Our family grew by three and two weeks later my sister had her baby.
4 more kids at Christmas this year. I think this Christmas is going to be extra magical.
Then a week after my sister had her baby one of my very best friends in the whole world
had her little baby Charlotte. Wow the world is going to be a better place because of these
kids. We also found out that we are going to receive a grant that will cover almost half of our
adoption costs. When we said yes to these kids we literally had no idea how we were going to
pay for the adoption expenses. God has totally been providing for our new family of 7 just as
I knew he would.
On a sad note. In the last month there have also been some tragedies. One of my friends
from high school found out that her husband had a tumor in his brain. He immediately got it
removed and they found out it was cancerous and spread to his spine. They have 3 young
children and such a heart for God. Through it all they have been praising the Lord and
trusting him. They are so inspiring. Please pray for them as they continue trust in God
through this situation their names are Tiffany and Cory.
Then a little over a week ago a Daddy died. He was the father of a little boy in Ayla's
preschool class. A young father. A young family again. He died instantly when he was on his
way home from a work party and a drunk driver struck him head on. That family is now
grieving and having to face the holiday's without him. I couldn't imagine. That could have
easily been me or my husband that died. Wow, life can go so fast! Pray for the Rose family as
they face Christmas without their husband and Daddy.
Last Friday my Grandma Lucia Emma took her last breaths and went to join her husband in
heaven. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's and a stroke. So I am so happy that she
has the peace of Jesus now. Selfishly I miss her. I have missed her for awhile now though.
She hasn't been fully there because of the Alzheimer's. Some of my best childhood memories
are with her. We had lots of sleepovers at her house. She had a way of making you feel so
warm and loved with her snacks and cozy blankets. I miss having a grandma. I lost my
other grandma years ago and whenever I see someone with there grandma I get a little ache
inside. I can't imagine how my Mom must feel loosing her Mom. I know she said goodbye
slowly through the years with the Alzheimer's. If I ever lost my Mom I know it would knock
the wind out of me for a very long time. The funeral is on Wednesday and I know it is going
to be a hard day for all of us. Jackson is the only one of my kids that really has memories
with her. This will be his first experience with death so I am praying that he will have peace
knowing that she is in heaven.
This month has been so full of emotions, so full of decisions and so busy. Almost the entire
month I suffered from Strep throat which I didn't treat until last week {Mom's can't get sick
right?} The doctor couldn't believe I had waited to so long to take antibiotics. Apparently it
is quite dangerous and would have never healed on its own. I was just to busy being a
mommy to go to the doctor. Which the doctor realized when I walked in with my small herd
of children to get a check up. On top of this Eli has been really busy at work. His business is
growing really fast which is a blessing but just a lot of work right now. Soon his business will
get to a point were it is self-running and he will be home a lot. So good things come to those
who wait. So even with me sick and home 6 days a week caring for 5 small children and Eli
having a ridiculous work load we thrived. God honestly gave me the best man out there. He
comes home from work and immediately takes over, playing, cooking, cleaning,
snuggling...whatever is needed.
Through all of these blessings, all this good, all this sickness and all this sadness
I have learned how many amazing people I am surrounded by. I really know who my friends
are now. I have a really long list of thank you's to write. We have had strangers give the
kids Christmas presents, clothes even a gift card to buy presents with. I have had friends
call with some encouragement and prayer right when I needed it. I have had friends sell my
jewelry for me and stop by with a homemade dinner. Through out these tragedies and
blessings I have seen people come together to take care of each other. It humbled me. I
need to give more. I need to help more. I need to encourage more. One of my favorite
quotes of all is
Which leads me to my beautiful daughters and their beautiful smiles. I was a little sad and
tired on Sunday. It had been a long week. I took the two older girls out for some Mommy
time. We went to a movie, to see Santa, road on a horse carriage and went shopping. They
made my day! There smiles immediately changed the way I felt. They have such a love for
each other. They are literally inseparable. Sisters and best friends...How lucky are they.
I want to be like them. They reminded me, I have to set an example. I want to have a joyful
spirit and rub it off on everyone I meet. I have 5 little sets of eyes watching me very
carefully. My mood affects them and I want them to be full of patience, kindness, giving
and God's love. The world needs more people like that and I have a chance to send 5 people
off into the world to change it.
{phew...no pressure}
Blessings & hard times mixed together.
Praying for the hard things.
EXCITED to see your girls having a blast :) !!!