ABCs of Me: Family, Friends, and Flaws and 40(almost)

In my alphabet pursuit, I am up to the letter "F".    My hubby turns 40 next week and I am chasing him quickly.  I will hit this milestone in February.  Here are some observations as I begin to reflect on my life.

Family
Family is usually stressful and crazy.  But, family in whatever form is family.  Family is the foundation of your identity, your place in the world, and your physical characteristics.  Sometimes, our foundation is not stable.  Luckily, God can come in and repair the foundation and help us to build a more stable edifice in which to house our lives.  The family in which I grew up was/is crazy and weird and not always edifying but I have taken the love, the insanity, and the values and used them along with my husband's to build our little family.  We can't wait to see what our kids say about us once they grow up.  The American dream is to make our children's lives better than our own.  I want our children to have more love, more stability, less crazy, and more surety in who they are than I had(and I had quite a bit of all of that).  We may shelter them and keep from them some of the most crazy stuff, but that is so that they won't have the burden of growing up knowing what it is like to be unwanted and unloved.

Friends
When I was little, my mom said that I never met a stranger.  I would come home from a week at the beach with a new friend.  I never had trouble making friends.  As I got older, the process got harder and as I am approaching mid-life, it is darn near impossible to make and maintain friendships.  With kids and jobs and marriage, adults have very little extra energy to cultivate friendships.  If you move around, then you can often feel isolated.  Differences in lifestyles and jobs can cause a rift in friendships or place stress on relationships.  I am blessed to have some wonderful women in my life who are dear friends.  I know that I can call on them anytime that I need to do so!  What are you doing to cultivate friendships in your life?

Flaws at 40
I chose flaws because we should always look to improve ourselves.  But, aside from being neurotic and pushy and bossy and over sensitive, I like who I am now better than I did when I was 20.  At 20, I had no idea who I was nor did I like myself.  At 30, I was maturing and learning to love myself and love others.  At 40, I am much more fit and fun than I have ever been.  I can run farther and I eat healthier!  Granted, I am in a little more pain and I can't eat as much as I used to and my bladder is well, we as women all know ;).  Let's face it, I look at cake or pizza and gain weight.  I am smarter and have more common sense than I ever have!  I am enjoying life and can't wait to  see what my 5th decade brings!

Hop over to Proverbs 31 Mama for her blog hop! 

Guess Who Got a New Camera...

....my sweet little Ella Raye.  She paid for 1/2 and we paid for the rest for Christmas.  It is a Kodak.  She seems to have an eye for things and pictures.  Here is a sampling of her work...

Her favorite subject, Meatball, and her sister

Her 1st Harry Potter book to read

Meatball licking his feet.  The bright thing is his tongue.

A friend making silly faces

Artist's self portrait

Sister's silly face

Another friend's silly face

A good picture of mommy!

Thankfulness #1

I am thankful all year round but during November, our family takes extra special time to be vocal with our thanks for all the God has done.  So here are the things that I am thankful for this week:

#1 Michael doesn't need surgery on his torn ACL if he heals properly.

#2 He was seen by one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in WNC for free.  God is amazing cause the doctor called me personally.  I did not seek him out.

#3 My kids have really stepped up to the plate helping out this week.  They are such great kids.

#4 I have a job!  I like my job.  They were understanding when I needed my shift covered the other night.

#5 I have the best group of peeps known to mankind.  When this happened, they laid hands on my hubby and prayed over him.  Their children did the same thing.  When we needed childcare to go to the doctor, no one even hesitated.  They rearranged their schedules to accommodate ours.  When we needed crutches and a knee brace, no hesitation.  When I needed to cry in frustration and exhaustion, they listened without judgment.    

#6 The sounds of children crying out to the Lord and knowing that their hearts are earnest and pure in their prayers.

#7 My hubby is a fabulous guy!  I am glad that he is ok and that this injury is motivating him to want to be in better shape.  I have been praying for that and though this is not the way I would have wanted it answered, this is the way God chose to answer it.

For what are you thankful?  I can't wait to hear!  If you have written a post on it, leave a link so I can read it!  Blessings to you all!