In Florida, the transition from Summer to Fall is definitely more subtle than in other areas in the country. Sports and holidays are more indications of the season change than the weather. We are always grateful for the drop in humidity and look forward to the few cool fronts we will see in the months ahead.
Today, we welcomed Fall with a high of 89 instead of 99. We will live vicariously through everyone else's pictures of fall leaves and cute boots; while we spend more days in the sun with bare feet waiting for the cooler days to arrive.
The end to a great weekend away celebrating her 6th birthday . I think the highlight of the weekend for me was dinner at the America Girl doll store. Big brother and dad were awesome about joining us and the girls had such a fun time! We ended yesterday with a few hours at the Magic Kingdom.
This pregnant mama is exhausted. I realized yesterday marked 22 weeks and we are now on the downside. I am so grateful for this special time in the life of our family. Back to reality and our own beds tonight. Getting away is always nice but there's nothing like getting back home.
Last night we shared a special evening as a family at the American Girl store. The girls had such a fun time eating dinner at the bistro for the first time. Dad and big brother were so awesome to join us and make the best of a very girly situation. It was a night we will all remember forever.
Fall soccer begins.
Birthday wishes. It's hard to believe she has spent five birthdays in this home. Before moving back to Florida we had never lived in one home longer than about two years.
Every time I see these four cousins together I am reminded of what a blessing this time is. I have three siblings ranging in age 13 years from oldest to youngest. Starting with the birth of our daughter, we each had a girl every six/nine months. Now these four girls all live on the same street, growing up together. I will never take these days for granted !
On Friday our baby girl turns 6. I came across these words I wrote last year at this same time:
“Every year as her birthday nears, I think back on those early days when she arrived almost 8 weeks early. Those days were filled with moments of darkness for me. With questions of uncertainty. With fear. With my own extreme sickness. Often times, I still get very emotional when I think of this time. There was a hope and light ever present amidst all of the darkness. God gave us every thing we needed. Now, every time I see this preemie of ours I am reminded fully of the light I needed in those dark hours. I am reminded that our plans may not be His, but how His are so much greater. Sometimes it takes days, months, even years to see it, but it is always true.”
Now, pregnant with our 4th child, my mind often fills with fears of what may come in the months ahead. I often worry that I will get sick again with pre-eclampsia or something different. There are days that the anxiety seems to take over; even when I know God is in control. And then, I look at our preemie and I remember we have never been forsaken.
God wants us to call on Him and seek Him. He wants us to find our rest in Him. None of us know what tomorrow holds and we cannot let worry steal today’s joys.
We celebrate our preemie’s six years of life and the strong willed, spirited, curious, loving girl she has become. She has brought us such joy during these years. I would not be who I am today without each and every experience God has brought me through. I am grateful for His provision and never ending grace.
Happy 6th birthday to our sweet girl.
“ His grace covers me. This is all I know. All I need”
-unknown
On May 20, we found out we were expecting baby four. On this same day, we also found out my mother had #breastcancer. It was a day filled with many emotions. A day, I will never forget.
Today, will also be a day I never forget.
We are rejoicing and celebrating as my mom finished her last radiation treatment this morning. We realize this is a battle that will continue for the rest of her life, but we are certain God is always by her side. Her faith, peace and strength have continued to inspire me the past few months.
So often in life, we are faced with battles we never anticipate, yet; through those battles, God can teach us and the ones around us so much.
"But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength" 2 Timothy 4:17
"If it's true what Marion Roach Smith says, that small moments are where life is truly lived, then we have to count all the small moments, not just the pleasant ones. The day's also have small moments of rejection, humiliation, disappointment, regret, misunderstanding, heartache, and pain. These are our moments too. How we define "small moments" is crucial to seeing, embracing, and learning from our whole life, not just the pretty parts. These small moments can offer hints of a greater reality just like the lovely ones do. But in these, it can be harder to find." -Emily Freeman, Simply Tuesday
I don't know about you, but my day was certainly filled with an array of these not so lovely memorable moments. Beauty certainly was scattered throughout the day but there were also many small moments that I must stop and try to learn from. How do I need to grow? Where do our children need direction and grace today? How is God looking to use me today even amidst the no so pretty parts???
I remember when she was only a couple years old. I couldn't imagine having a tween. There was a part of me that mourned each birthday; scared that the best years were behind us.
Now, she's 11 and I have loved every age and stage so much. Yes, I still wish time would slow down but I'm enjoying each year in new ways. I love the long talks we have, the deep conversations we share and watching her bloom wings. It's really beautiful seeing the girl she is becoming.
Mamas with young ones; don't get discouraged or sad as the years pass because the years ahead hold so much beauty as well. Motherhood is truly a gift that keeps giving with every passing year.
“It’s okay to not be okay.This is a safe place. This is a safe place. Don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed. There's still hope here. There's still hope here."
These are powerful words in a song entitled Exhale by Plumb.
There is so much suffering in this world. My own mother fighting her battle with cancer. My father –n-law slowly losing his life to Alzheimer’s and my mother-n-law giving all of her strength to care for him. Friends battling their own wars; their own tragedies and sicknesses.
Poverty, abuse, divorce, addictions, depression, loneliness.
No matter how life may look on the outside, we will all face our own fight at some time during our life. At times these fights may seem trivial as we look at the problems in the world around us. And then there are times that we are so engulfed in the fight we can’t seem to find air. We can’t seem to catch our breath.
I want to teach our children that it's okay to not be okay. To realize they can't do life always on their own. They don’t have to be afraid or ashamed. I want them to truly feel God’s amazing grace in their lives. To see the love and peace that only comes from surrendering to Him.
Today, I send out these words of hope and affirmation; a reminder to all that it’s okay to not be okay. There is a God much bigger than any of us, waiting to give us everything we need.
“Just let go, let His love wrap around you. And hold you close. Get lost in the surrender. Breathe it in until your heart breaks. Then exhale. Exhale.”
I am so grateful for this group of women that encourage me to get in the frame each month with my children. I have boxes and boxes of pictures from my youth. I became a mother 11 years ago and somehow the pictures with me in them get fewer and fewer with each passing year.
Now, 39 years young and pregnant with baby number four, getting in the frame is a real struggle for me. It's hard to embrace the way our bodies change and age over the years. And then pregnancy has an added effect to all of this. It’s never easy to have our bodies change, but then having it become a focal point for many conversations makes getting in the pictures that much harder.
Yet, no matter what I feel like when I look at myself in the mirror, something happens when I am surrounded by our children. I feel a beauty, a peace and a love that nothing compares to. Each month when I look back on these moments, all I can feel is gratitude.
My eyes fill with tears as I look at this picture of our oldest daughter and our youngest daughter now growing in my stomach. What a gift motherhood has been. I have learned so much and continue to grow in ways I never imagined. I can only look at this body of mine changing and thank God daily. This baby is truly a miracle; one we prayed for many years.
Please, follow the link and see the beautiful mothers and the love that overflows from each one of them.
http://www.whereveriamwithyou.com/
