Happy 14th, Kirstie!

Today is our 3rd-born daughter's birthday, she is 14!

Kirstie is our creative one.  God has blessed her with amazing, creative talents.  She is always full of crafty ideas.  Last night she "threw together" an afghan-size quilt for me....in just one evening!  She loves to draw and she is becoming quite the artist.  If you will visit our Etsy shop, you will get a small glimpse at what I mean.  Her art skills have improved dramatically over the past year.  I am so proud of her!

She is growing up right before our very eyes!  

We love you Kirstie, and
Happy Birthday!

Maggie Joy is 11 today!

Today our little Maggie Joy turned 11 years old.  Wow.  At one time we had 5 girls, 5 years old and under.  Now those same 5 girls are 11 years old and older.  I can deny it all I want to but it is happening at lightning speed.  Hopefully the other 3 will stay younger longer.....yeah right.  

Anyway, Maggie was a 2000 baby...due on Mother's Day.  But as it happened, my midwife was going to be out of the state on Mother's Day so she decided to break my water a few day's early.  God in his sovereignty was looking out for our little Maggie...there was a very strong chance that she would have been stillborn had she went to full term.  She was born with hardly any breath left in her do to the umbilical cord wrapped extremely tight around her neck.  She was very lethargic and had to have oxygen for several hours.  It was an experience I will never forget and I hope to never go through again.

Maggie is a very shy, but very happy little girl.  And once she gets to know you, there is no holding back!  Her middle name fits her very well...she is full of Joy!  If you have seen me refer to her as our "little" Maggie, well....it's because she is just that.  I'm sure it attributes to her shyness at first, because anyone who finds out her age asks several times, "what did you say...you said she is 11?"  The older she has gotten, the more people are in shock at her age.  She is a little shorter than our 7 year old daughter Clara.  We believe she has what is called Turner Syndrome.  But it hasn't taken away her joy and enthusiasm for life.  If anything, she is even more enthusiastic than most.  We thank the LORD that he brought her into our lives.  She will always be our "little Maggie Joy"!

Happy Birthday Maggie!  We love you very much!

Blessed Beyond Measure

My heart overflows with love and gratitude for all that the LORD has given to me in allowing me to be the mother of 8 beautiful children.  I am truly blessed beyond measure.  I do not live in a mansion {although I am Queen of this double-wide}, I don't have fancy clothes, nor do I drive a fancy car, and I only have a few dollars to my name....BUT I am rich in what matters most in life.  I love these kids so very much and I am proud to be their mother.  I fail miserably in my role, but thankfully we can start fresh and new every morning with God's grace.  I have the best husband and children in the world...who could ask for more?

 

I have also been blessed with a wonderful mother as well, who has taught me so much, given me life during a time when so many children were unwanted, and loved me more than she loved herself.  She is so precious to me and I am so thankful for her.  She is an inspiration to me and I love her very much!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

I'm back.....I hope!

Well....I don't know where to begin.  I have been gone from bloggy-land for quite some time, and now as I write this post, well...I am almost at a loss of words.  Almost.

It has been a busy --but not too busy-- couple of months.  The month of March was filled to the brim with family visiting us from Indiana....So you see, it was a good kind of busy.  It was Liberty's first visit with both of her papaws {and she was rather shy, let me tell you}.  We enjoyed a great time of singing, eating, and just enjoying each others company.  We also celebrated several birthdays in March....we have quite a few including my husband, 2 brother-in-laws, a sister, and a niece.....did I get them all?  Anyway, as always, goodbyes are very hard to say.  It was sad to see them all go, but I am so thankful for the time spent with each one of them.

April brought sadness to our family with the passing of James' grandpa on his father's side.  He had suffered a stroke over 20 years ago and was paralyzed but had lived these past 20+ years for his family.  He was very fond of our children and loved to just sit and watch them play when we would visit.  He couldn't say much, but his love shown bright in his eyes.  We will miss him dearly.  Our oldest daughter Rachel, wrote a great poem in his memory entitled An Ode of Tears that you can read on her blog.

April also brought another tragic event to our great South Land, tornadoes ripped through the southern states killing close to 300 and destroying the homes of so many.  The Lee family lost not only their home but their husband/father as well.  It is a heart wrenching story of God's sovereignty and love.  The Crawford family lost their home as well, and it is yet another story of God's faithfulness and love.  They are going to need our prayers for the many weeks and months ahead.  We had a tornado come very close to our home....about 4-5 miles close.  2 people were killed as a result of that tornado.  My husband and I went out the day after to view the damage, and it left me standing in awe at the mighty hand of our God!  If you want to read my oldest daughters response to the tornado, you can go to her blog Covenant Maiden.

Now that May is here, {with 4 more birthdays, and Mother's Day, and Memorial Day} maybe I can get back to writing for my blog and keeping up with day to day tasks.  Maybe.  :)