I just wanted to say to everyone, "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!" I am so thankful for all of you! Many blessings today!

We are "those people"!

Well, I have a confession to make. We are some of "those" people! We put up our Christmas tree last night (11/23/08). Why, you ask? Last year, according to my most recent post, was very difficult for us. I was in the hospital during the Christmas holidays and I was allowed a small tree but no lights. I had to watch my family open Santa gifts through a web cam(for which I am thankful). I told Michael that as soon as we could we were going to put up a tree and decorate it. Surprisingly, he was every bit as excited as I was! We turned on the Christmas music and let the kids put on the ornaments. Most of them ended up on the bottom or under the tree table. They were so excited! I hope that we can keep them under control for a few more weeks. I love my "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. The star(from the $ store our 1st year together)is crooked and none of our ornaments match. We, also, don't do any theme except for the theme of 7' worth of ornaments and lights on a 4' tree. It reflects our family and its traditions. The kids enjoy seeing the ornaments that they have gotten every year and the ones that are special to their parents.
Christmas, this year, isn't just about Baby Jesus and family but it is a symbol for us of life and birth. We have come through something very traumatic and are all the more grateful for the grace and mercy that we have been shown by God.

Can it be?

If you can believe it, one year has passed since my waters broke and I was admitted to the hospital. 365 days aren't as long as they used to be. You know, when you were in school and summer vacation would never arrive? Last year, Thanksgiving was this week and my Sunday school had brought over dinner for us. I went to the bathroom before bed and noticed that something wasn't "right." I just couldn't put my finger on it. There were already so many things wrong with my pregnancy, so nothing was quite "right." I went to bed and the next day, the same thing was still happening. I, honestly, thought that I was just losing control of my bladder and so I ignored it until Saturday. I prayed to God that if my waters had indeed broken that He would provide an unmistakable sign. I went to the bathroom a short time later and GUSH! No more sign needed. I called my doctor, reluctantly, because I didn't want to mess us his Thanksgiving weekend and be an inconvenience at midnight. He told me immediately to come to Mission. We had no one to watch the kids, so Michael stayed home with them and I drove myself. I remember the few flakes of snow that fell. I would have enjoyed them more, if I had known that they'd would be the only snow that I would see that winter. By God's grace, there was a parking spot directly in front of the ER. I stood in the ER for about 15 minutes with fluid running down my legs and I finally had to tell the lady that I would walk myself and that I was going to have the baby right then. Since, I was not yet showing much, she looked at me like I was insane and put me on the special elevator that required a code and sent me on up. Meanwhile, Dr. C had been looking for me. He did some tests and an ultrasound. The test confirmed the presence of amniotic fluid and the u/s showed only about 2 cm left inside my womb. Normal is between 9-11 cm. I was shocked!! I wasn't supposed to have a preemie! I already had so many other conditions that this one couldn't be! Dr. C said that since I was 23 weeks along, the baby had virtually no chance of survival if he was born then. They would try to keep him in for 2 more weeks but even then, he would struggle. Devastation! I just sat in stunned shock. The doctor, then, stopped and prayed over me and the baby and they wheeled me up to what was to become my home for the next several months. We had no idea what was in store. We just knew that the same God who created the heavens and the earth would walk us through this. And He did!! There were so many miracles that this blog would scarce contain them and many more that I probably didn't even know. I feel privileged to have had gone through this and that God chose us to go down this path. This pregnancy has affected so many people, many of whom I don't know. Most of all, it changed the way that I saw God. He is in so many of the details of our lives, even the smallest ones! So, this Thanksgiving my blessings are too many to count! I just say thank You, thank You, thank You!

My son the mop

Scenario: I pick everything up off the floor and sweep all the nooks and crannies. I get out my mop and load up my bucket with Clorox floor cleaner cause I have dirty children. I don't know about you. I mop everywhere. Under the couches. I move the recliner and mop under there. Down the hallway. Everywhere. Finally, satisfied, I rinse my mop out in the sink and make sure it is clean for the next time. I go to sleep and no one walks on the floor during the night. The next morning, I get up and after feeding him, I put my son in his walker. He loves to zoom around the house "chasing" his siblings and his mommy. After a while, I get him out and what do I see? The bottoms of his feet are dirty!!!! How did that happen? The floor was clean this morning when we got up. I cannot understand it. This leads to scenario #2.
I sweep as I did the last time but this time I use my Clorox wet jet cleaner. You know the one with the removable pads? I clean the floor again. Again, I go to sleep. In the a.m., I put the aforementioned child on his belly to crawl around while I tend to the rest of the kids. I pick him up and notice that his belly is dirty(he army crawls). What!!!!? I just cleaned the floor for the 2nd time. I don't get it. What I am going to invent is a baby outfit that can be used as a mop for those times when he is on the floor or in his walker. He seems to find all the hidden dirt so my floor ought to really be clean. Thanks, AJay!

My soldier's story

Cold and wet. Dark and dirty. This is what I am seeing from the bottom of my foxhole. I can hear the bullets whizzing above my head and the cries of men who have fallen but can’t be attended to. I wonder what home is like. Is the sun setting over another beautiful Carolina day? Has my family already eaten supper and gone to bed? I miss home but I am here for the sake of my country and more importantly for the sake of righteousness. I can endure the meager rations and snow and deafening cannon noises. I will endure another night curled up in this hole with my best friend fighting the seemingly endless tide of enemy soldiers. I believe that God has called us to rid the world of this monster that has taken over all of Europe or almost. We are slowly taking back ground. I landed on the continent amid the hail of machine guns and German curses. I can’t tell you what I felt knowing that someone who has never even met me could hate me so much. I saw so many of my fellow invaders fall right there on the beach and I waded through their blood that turned the sea warm and red. Now, I am here in some country that I had never really heard of fighting off the most threatening enemy thus far, the cold. The snow falls and falls and it is a novelty to me. We don’t get too much of it in my home state. God, however, didn’t mean for the stillness and serene beauty to be marred by blood and ungodly sounds. We are to march into the town in the morning and take it back for the French citizens. The last place was destroyed but the people were so thankful that we had freed them. We gave them tastes of home, chocolate and liquor and kisses from American GIs. That place was full of joy among the ruins. I hope the next place will be so appreciative.

I never dreamed when I was little that I would be here doing this when I “grew up,” but, the greatest things that we can do are those things which require the most sacrifice. When this is over, I don’t want parades and accolades. I just want to go back to the way I was. I know that can never happen. My innocence is gone and so is my belief that people are inherently good. I want to go home and find a woman that I’ll love with all my being and marry her and make a better life for my children. I want the future generations to live life without the shadow of tyranny. For them to cultivate their freedoms and never forget that there are those who gave everything, including their lives so that America and Europe could be free.

To all those Veterans of the past and present, my family salutes you and your sacrifice to our generation. We do not take our freedom for granted. Thank you!

The results are in

Well, the results are in and we know, now, that at least 1/2 of America voted for BO for president. My daughter asked me, this am, why God allowed this to happen. I told her that sometimes, He has bigger plans than we do. Yes, that includes you Barack!!! When God allowed Israel to be taken into captivity, He always preserved a remnant. That is what we are! We are going to have to work harder than we ever have. When they want to pass some piece of legislation that we don't agree with ie the "fairness" doctrine or more bailouts, we will have to work the phones and emails. We can't sit on our fat, lazy butts and let things happen. That's how we got where we are. The time has come to go to work.
The other thing that I told her is that BO deserves our respect not because of who he is but because of the office he holds. The office of the president is one of the greatest in the world and needs to be respected. George Bush hasn't gotten that respect from the left and other Democrats. My family will give Obama the respect he deserves despite the fact that we disagree with virtually everything that comes out of his mouth. I will send my message to him when he screws up and praise him if he does something correctly. I am proud to say that America can no longer be looked at as a racist nation. A black man has risen to the most powerful office in the land!! Martin Luther king, Jr should be proud. This is what he worked so hard for! May God bless you, BO. I hope that you listen to His voice first. Ignore the clamoring voices around you! Congratulations! We will be praying for you!

My Friend

I had the privilege of having a special man who was my friend. Vic Barrington was a white haired, gentle, & kind man. He was an Army Veteren with a booming singing voice. In church, Vic always sang with loud abandon to God. He was never ashamed to praise and worship God and everyone within a 500 yard radius knew that Vic was singing. I can only imagine what Heaven must sound like right now! Jesus has never heard such!

Vic was 81 years old and loved his family. I feel very blessed that he included me in that family. I have only known him for about 11 years but he thought of me as a daughter. He thought so much of me that he introduced me to my husband and said that we should get married. How awesome that he could sense that! Michael knew Vic for most of his life and is best friends with his son. The funeral was so touching and had 1 central theme. Vic's love for God and his love for his wife, Betty Jo. What a legacy he left for his children! He showed them how to love their spouses in good times and bad! Vic will be missed! Thank you for showing us that though we aren't perfect, we can be forgiven! I love you bunches!