Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today, I am thankful for my Mother-n-law. No. That is not a typo. You read it right!!

My mother-n-law is the most awesome lady and someone that I admire very much! You would never know that she is 70 years young by the way that she lives her life.

She is a strong Christian lady that enjoys life and isn't afraid to get out there and have fun!

Christ is the center of her life and she lives her life serving Him.

She travels more than anyone that I know and has traveled to many places all over the world.

She has volunteered so much at the hospital near her home in Philadelphia, PA that they offered her a job! So, now she works part time there AND still volunteers!

For many, many years she was the organist/pianist for the church that she belonged to (The same one that Hubby grew up going to.) She also volunteered much of her time there, as well. She practically did everything there, but preach! **Smile**

Unfortunately, that church had to shut down due to lack of members and funds to keep it going. She now attends another church and is happy to be doing the same things as she did at her previous church.

My mother-n-law is also a VERY talented lady! She can quilt and sew like you wouldn't believe! She also knits & crochets beautifully.

For many years (Throughout Hubby's childhood and beyond) she had her own business where she sewed and made covers and cushions for people that had boats. Today.... she is STILL doing this, just on a smaller scale.

She is like the Energizer Bunny!! She just keeps going and going -- but, in a GOOD way!

As I mentioned before, she lives in Philadelphia, PA which is a loooong way from Southwest Georgia! I wish that she lived closer. I would love to see her more than once a year. We are fortunate that she can at least come for Christmas and we look forward to her visit each year.

She is such an inspiration to me and I pray that, someday, my family can say these same things about me!

I love you May!!



Grandma and her girls - Christmas 2009



No. I'm not jealous at all.

Number 35 (click on it to read) on my Bucket List is Attend a UGA game. It's not a high priority bucket list item, but it IS something that I would like to do someday. WELL.... Ashley (Dtr. #1) got to go a few weeks ago and now..... **sigh** ..... David (Hubby) gets to go. Ashley was invited by a friend who was given tickets and now David was invited by a friend (not the same friend) that was given tickets, as well.

I guess it's not my time yet. Maybe, someday, a friend of mine will be given tickets to a game and invite me to go. Meanwhile, all I can say is..... GO DAWGS!!!

No. Really. I hope David has a great time at the game and it is the experience that he is hoping for.

Number 21 & Number 37 are two other things on my Bucket List. They have to do with going to Nashville. My friend, Valerie, gets to go to the CMA (Country Music Association) awards this coming Wednesday night.

Again.... I am not jealous at all.

It is just something that I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to do!!!!! I love country music and I love Nashville. She is a lucky girl to be going to that award show!! I hope that she has the time of her life!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

Today, I am thankful for my mom's Nursing Home and the staff that is there, day after day, taking care of her.

I love my mom, but I knew that taking care of her myself after her stroke (almost exactly 5 years ago!), was beyond my limits of what I know I could do.

I struggled with this for a couple of years. I felt very guilty that I wasn't taking on the HUGE responsibility of caring for her myself, but I knew in my heart that it was something that I couldn't possibly do. Still, the guilt remained.

After a couple of different nursing homes that just didn't "feel right", God blessed us with the perfect one.

She is now in one that is privately owned and operated (unlike most that are ran by the state). They take care of her every need in every way possible.

One thing that I especially love, is that the residents get to make lists for Santa at Christmas time. They can ask for anything that they want. Then, on Christmas Eve.... Santa comes and brings them their gifts! Last year, my girls and I just happened to be there when Santa arrived and it was such a delight to see the residents see Santa and receive their gifts!

My mom had asked for new shoes and a necklace with a diamond cross pendant. I really didn't think she would get these gifts, but SHE DID! She also got a few other small items. I was in awe of the generosity that was showed to these 30+ residents.

It took a while, but the guilt that I used to feel is finally gone. I know that my mom is in the right place and that she is well taken care of.

Thank you, Lord, for Phenix City Health Care!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today, I am thankful for my two wonderful pastors. I am so grateful to have them in my life!

My family and I are members of a United Methodist Church in the Columbus, GA area. We found this church in May of 1998, as we were searching for land in which to build our new house.

We had just moved to the area in April and had been attending another United Methodist church, where we were not very happy.

I still remember walking through the doors of this small, white church and instantly falling in love with it! It reminded me so very much of our church that we left in Atlanta.

As we sat down in one of the beautiful wooden pews, a nice man sitting in the pew in front of us, introduced himself. He shared that he had two young daughters about the same age as ours. I was SO HAPPY to hear this, because I was concerned whether there were many children at this church, being that it was so small.

Then, as I was settling into my seat... I heard a beautiful voice to my left that said... "Welcome! I'm so glad that you are here!" I turned and saw a woman, dressed in a black robe, just as beautiful as the voice that spoke to me! I still remember being in shock because I had never seen a preacher that was a WOMAN!

Just after she greeted us, ANOTHER preacher approched us! This time, it was a man. He also had on a black robe. He greeted us as well and we learned that they were MARRIED!!!! He was the Pastor and she was the Associate Pastor. How awesome was that???? They were both so VERY sweet and I knew for sure that we had now found our new church home. -- His sermon wasn't bad, either! **Smile**

Just a few short months later, we transferred our membership to this wonderful church and it has been our "home away from home" ever since. We have watched it grow from about 300 members (with only about half that amount, actually attending!) to about 700 members (again... only about half actually attending).

Not only has the church membership grown, but the building has, as well. I wish I had photos to share with you of the growth, but I do not. That's something that I need! Here are two photos that I DO have. (You can't see the steeple, but it's there!)

Over the years, I have fallen more and more in love with my pastors. They have both been there for me through so many of the ups and downs of my life. I have also learned so much from each of them. They are a true blessing to our church and to our family!

I love you Howard and Lynn!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 3

Today, I am thankful for my daughter, Miranda.

Again, I must thank my awesome God for this precious child who is indeed, another gift from Him.

As a child, she was my "strong-willed" one, that kept me and Hubby on our toes! It wasn't until she was older that I came to realize that she was really just VERY smart!

She is 19 years old now and an absolute joy to be around. She is fun, sweet, kind, smart & beautiful. One minute she has me in tears, laughing hysterically and the next she is aweing me with her wisdom.

She is a hard worker. She works two jobs right now AND goes to school! She is majoring in Nursing, which I believe is the perfect career for her because of her great passion for life.

She loves the Lord and this shines through in her laughter. She has a wonderful sense of humor and can make anyone smile and laugh.

My prayer for Miranda is that she graduates from college and finds the job of her dreams and that she and Rory (her current "love" of two years) continue on their path to a happy & blessed life together.

I love you, my precious Miranda!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 2

Today, I am thankful my oldest daughter - Ashley.

First of all I would like to thank God for this precious child, because she truly is a gift from God. I was so young (22) when I had her. I had no idea what I was doing as I became a mother for the first time, but she made it so easy!

She is 23 years old now and is every mother's dream child. She is patient, kind, loving and giving. She never expects anything in return.

She volunteers MANY hours at our church, working with the youth, each week. She also goes to school full-time and works many hours during the week at a cute little shop called "By Invitation".

She loves the Lord and radiates that love, wherever she goes.

While in high school, she began a love for art and is now a wonderful artist!! She would love to become an elementary school art teacher, but her main goal is just to teach kids art and share her passion for it.

Here are just a few of her creations ----

My prayer for Ashley is that she graduates from college and finds not only the job of her dreams but also that special someone to share her wonderful life with.

I love you, my precious Ashley!



Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 1

Today, I am beginning a month-long series called --- Thirty Days of Thankfulness. I am anxious to get this started because I often get "lost" and forget that I have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

The first thing that I am thankful for is my Hubby.

God brought him into my life on Thanksgiving Day, 1981. There was instant attraction right from the start, but it wasn't until a couple of months later, that I knew that he and I had something very special that would last a very long time.

I am so very thankful for all that my Hubby has done for me. No, I don't live in a big fancy mansion and I don't drive an expensive car or wear designer clothes. But, I never wanted that in the first place. I have all that I ever wanted, and with the help of God, he has given me that.... along with two beautiful daughters!

My Hubby works so very hard to provide for our family's needs (and wants). There is not a day that goes by that he isn't taking care of us in one way or another. He provides our financial needs, our car repair & "premaintenance" needs, our home repair & "premaintenance" needs, our lawn needs, ..... the list goes on and on!! If there is something that we need or want, he will do his best to make sure that it gets taken care of. --- He might stress about it first, but... he'll do everything he can to make it happen! **Smile**

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the gift of my wonderful Hubby!!