Gifts 54-60

It is not hard for me to think of gifts or blessings today. Some days, I confess, I stare at the screen and feel like I have to work hard to "think of" something to be thankful for. I wonder how that makes God feel, when all around me there are blessings...everywhere I look? But the harsh truth is that all around me there is pain and hardship as well. It seems as though the more days I spend on this spinning planet, the more acutely aware I am of the contrast between good and evil, joy and sorrow; but at the same time, the more I also have have become aware of God's overarching Hand that guides it all. Today at least, I can choose to let the darkness show the contrast to the light. I can let the hardships, broken friendships, and other hurts that I see around me be a way to illuminate the blessings that we have in Christ. I feel every day a little more that there is nothing on earth, in this life, that compares to the riches of the love of our Lord. NOTHING. All else falls apart, disintegrates through time. All else ends up as dust, no matter how we try to grasp at it. I don't mean to sound depressing, it is not to me...it just points me in the right direction. My hope will never be here, in McDonough, Georgia, or anywhere else on earth. My hope is only to be found in the Lord, the newness of life that He brings by atoning for every wrong ever done to another, whether by us or to us.
Well I have rambled long enough!

#54- friends to have us over to swim in their pool and be such good company all morning!

#55- a job to keep a paycheck coming in and food on the table.

#56- the steadiness of said job that allows me to stay at home with my kiddos.

#57- Vacation Bible School at church where my kids learn so much more than just what is in the lessons...they learn how to serve others, by watching grown-ups who serve them. They are watching and learning all of the time, and I am so thankful to have a family at church that consistently models serving and loving to my children!

#58- "old lady" bathing suits with little skirts that hide, well, everything!

#59- the fact that I don't have to cook a dinner (except for the days Mike is home because he needs to eat too...) at all this week because we will be eating at church before VBS. That may seem silly but I am SO excited to have a break from planning dinner all week!

#60- that my girls love to paint pictures...I love the color their paintings add to our home!

Sorry Grammy's Late, Maddie!

This post is so late that it is shameful ! What kind of Grammy am I, anyways? To tell you the truth, I think I have subconsciously put this off because it is so hard to think about all the things that I am missing in my first granddaughter's life. Her first smiles, babbly noises and laughs, probably soon her first time sitting up, and so much more in between it all. Maddie, if ever you read this some day... Grammy loves you so much and I haven't even met you yet. But I just KNOW that you are one special, amazing, beautiful little girl ! You are specially knitted together by God to be just like you are, so sweet and wonderful !

Our sweet little Madison Renae, born March 5, 2011, at 10:20 am
Weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and 21 inches long....



And here a little older, I think a couple of weeks old:



And a little older:



And a little older:



(NOTE: she has mastered the half-grin on the right side of the face, while her daddy prefers the half-grin on the left... )


And a little older:



And most recently, sunning herself (safely equipped, of course, with protective gear!):


Grammy is looking forward to many, many more pictures to come, and hopefully many of them will have your aunts, uncles, cousins, great grandparents, and well, of course, your grandma in them too! I love you, Madison !

A Thankful Return

It has been quite a long sabbatical I have taken from my blog. In accordance with my New Year's resolution, I will not apologize to myself for this...("I'm not sorry, I'm not sorry, I'm not sorry....".) I will look backwards a bit in coming posts and try to catch up on the important stuff, but, I will just look ahead for the most part and be thankful for all of the good things that were happening while I was not blogging!

I return with a "thankful note" as Irene calls them, what better way to return?!

Gift #44... a new CD with new funky music to accompany me and keep my feet moving around the house. (If you are looking for some new worship music / Christian music, check out "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. It's a bit off the beaten path (which I like!) and although I didn't warm up to it very much on the first listen through, after listening about four or five times the songs have infected my brain. In a good way.)

#45...yummy toasty grilled cheese for dinner. Having to toss a whole batch after burning them reminds me that I still have not mastered this homemaking thing after 20 years, but I am still thankful the for cheesy goodness at the end.

#46...a happy, healthy, and thriving granddaughter and parents to raise her who love her so very much.

#47...two red tomatoes on my tomato plant, my ONLY gardening success to date (yes, EVER!)

#48...I am still enjoying my (sometimes) clean fakewood floors so much. I am not ashamed when someone comes to the door (although with all of the junk laying around, I probably still should be!)

#49... Cars that run! A friend's car trouble this week reminded me of a long stretch of about 6 months that I went without a car, and how thankful I was the first time I got back behind the wheel of my own van. I want to remember that, and be that thankful every day for the transportation I have that gets me to the store, church, Bible study, and all of the various activities the kids are involved in.

#50...air conditioning in this house that we live in. In 98 degree heat, what else needs to be said?

#51... that God sends encouragement through good friends who always point to Him. Always at the right moment, He lifts up my head.

#52... new office supplies. I am such a geek. After getting my first Office Depot Rewards check, I went and used it for magnets to make a chore system on the fridge for the kids. I had extra left on the rewards check so picked up a brand spanking new box of pop-up post it notes for the desk. LOVE Post-Its.

#53...Jesus. I would be lost without You.