Traditional Irish Prayer/Blessing

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds,
nor a life on a bed of roses,
not that you might never need regret,
nor that you shall never feel pain.
No, that is not my wish for you.
My wish for you is that you might be brave in times of trial
when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.
When mountains must be climbed
and chasms are to be crossed;
when hope scarce can shine through.
That every gift God gave you might grow along with you.
And let you give the gift of joy to all who care for you.
That you may always have a friend who is worth that name.
Who you can trust, and who helps you in times of sadness.
Who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.
One more wish I have for you:
That in every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you.
This is my wish for you and for all who care for you.
This is my hope for you, now and forever.

Found this on Prayers and Creeds   Quite possibly the best Irish blessing I have ever seen!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thankfulness #2

Our kids' Thanksgiving project

I am so thankful and rightly so.  God has given me so much and I am so blessed.  Here are the things for which I am thankful:

1) My hubby has improved with his knee so much.  Last week, he thought he would never walk again(due to pain).  This week, he is getting along nicely.  Still limping but healing.

2) My hubby took the kids to my in-laws for a couple days to give me a much needed break!  He is going on a guys' weekend. 

3) I am happy with our Thanksgiving project.  I started this last year.  You can see the beginning of the project here .  I just bought a piece of foam poster board.  I traced each child's hand onto colored paper.  Last year, I chose fall colors.  But, I had a hard time telling which hand was whose.  So this year, I let them choose a color of paper and they traced their hands and cut them out and each day of November, they write down things for which they are thankful.  The back of this poster is the poster from last year.  When we are done this year, I am gonna cover it with clear contact paper and keep this to bring out every year.

4)I am thankful that I am done selling those stamps on eBay.  I got everything mailed out and people seem to be happy.  Yea!

5) I have quite possibly the cutest kids ever!  My hubby and I breed well!

6) I have some great friends who understand my struggles and who share theirs with me.  Amazing that we all have similar issues.

7) VETERANS!!!!  I am thankful for their sacrifice of time and blood and in some cases their lives.  I will do the Veteran walk that we do twice a year in our neighborhood tomorrow.  We take a little token of our appreciation to each one in our neighborhood and say thank you!  I want my children to understand what they did for us so that we can enjoy the life that we have today!

Are you thanking God today?  You should be!  He has done more for us than we can ever imagine.  If you are experiencing trial today and God seems so far away, remember that the trials of this life are God's mercies in disguise!

'Fess Up Friday

Time for confession is here!  I hope that you are all well and that confession is making you feel like you are free.  Check out Mamarazzi and her admissions this week.  You WON'T be disappointed!

I confess that this week has been crazy what with an extra person to care for and doctors appointments and work and regular home life.

I confess that this week has been full of crazy, unexplained blessings.  God really has been showing Himself this week.

I confess that my family makes me crazy.  Not my kids and hubby though they are guilty sometimes but my extended family.  I can't say too much cause they might read it and get their feelings hurt.  We are a very sensitive people.

I confess that I am glad to get to know some other people who have similar family issues like mine.  Great to know that I am not alone.

I confess that my 12 year old van is in much need of some TLC from a mechanic.  My hubby was gonna fix it but well, seeing as he can't walk very well, I doubt he will be dropping the engine out and getting it fixed.  Right now, we have to choose between heat and breathing in carbon monoxide.  I confess that sometimes I choose the CO because it has been mucho cold here recently.!

I hope you have enjoyed these confessions!  I feel better but come back next week I know I will be confessing something that has to do with the family thing and the fallout from that.  Did I mention that we are a sensitive bunch? ;)