Just a plain ole good day!

Over the last few weeks or maybe even longer, my hubby and I have been talking (or wishing) about a new boat.  One that was bigger.  One that would accomodate our family better.  One that even our moms would enjoy.  One where we could just kick back and relax.  Friday morning we ventured out for the boat search!  Our intent was to find a good used one, if there was such a thing.  We went to several places and we found ones that peaked our interest but none that just knocked our socks off.  We would leave each dealership and discuss the boat, the pros and cons, and we were okay with some of the ones we saw.  However early afternoon came and we were beginning to get hungry and tired.  I suggested we have lunch, regroup, and hopefully find other boat places.  Luck has it or I like to think it was a God thing...we got turned around trying to find the place we wanted to eat.  As we were driving Loitton noticed another boat dealership.  He turned to me and said I just think this is going to be the place!  We are going to pull up, see a boat we both like, and buy it.  I chuckled and commented that sure would be nice but I'm not counting on it.  We got out and started to look around.  I immediately saw one I liked and almost at the same exact time he was saying he saw one he liked.  As you can guess, we saw a boat that we both liked!  Woohoo.  We got the salesman to let us get on it and check it out.  Loitton only had two criteria for a boat and this boat had both.  My only critera was something big enough for all my children and grandchildren.  This boat had it all!  It was a big decision so we thought we needed a little time to think about it.  We went to grab a bite to eat.  As we sat there we found ourselves hurrying - we wanted to get back to that boat dealership.  We decided to take a leap of faith and buy it!  It will be in our possession on Thursday and we can hardly wait.  When we have looked back on Friday we just keep thinking to ourselves boy it was just a plain ole good day!  Time together, lunch, found a boat, and lots of laughter.  We look forward to so many more good ole days ahead.             

Tradition

I am the type that loves tradition....things that start and become part of your life and things that you look forward to doing each and every year. Our Spring Banquet at our church is one of those traditions. I started years ago inviting Heather to go with me. It was an opportunity for she and I to spend time together. Spend time together in a room full of Christian women, hearing a Christian message and participating in a mission. From there I invited two of her best friends that have been life long friends. These girls are like my own. I even remember one year getting a Mother's Day card from one of these sweet girls. I still have it to this day as a keepsake of Raven's thoughts and feelings. She may not even remember it but I will never forget it.

In more recent years I included Trenholm...even before she was my daughter in love :) She recently told me how much she looks forward to it and that it is a tradition to her as well. Well Tuesday night, I met the girls and we attended the Spring Banquet. The food was good, the speaker was inspiring and the fellowship superb! The message that night was about finding joy in your darkest moments. I think each of us that night could feel God tugging at our hearts and tugged He did.

Each year they have a door prize. And for the record Trenholm has gotten the door prize at our table for the last four years! I don't care if it goes to the person with the birthday closest to the day of the event or being the youngest at our table, she has received it. I love it!

As the program ended we had to of course get a few pictures. One of these days I will learn how to add a picture to my post :) We then headed out however we ended up in the parking lot talking. I might add that the fellowship time in the parking lot was just as enjoyable as the banquet. Thank you sweet girls for coming (especially on a week night) and sharing your time with me. I love each and every one of you! Until next year.

Spontaneous visit

A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend. That quote whose author is unknown could have been a quote that I masterminded. After all I have a daughter who was my little girl and has grown up to be my friend.

This morning when I woke up I had a longing to spend some time with Heather. I knew Morgan Kate had not been feeling well and that Heather was home with her today. I waited until I thought they might be up and called to check on them. In the conversation I sort of invited myself to theihr house..heck I did invite myself. Probably the quickest shower I took and then headed out. On the way to meet up with them, I reflected on how fortunate I am to have a daughter. I love my sons dearly but girl time is so special to me. We met up and did a little shopping, had a leisure lunch, and then went to Heather's house. Morgan Kate was too cute. She gave me a tour of their home as if I had never been there. She showed me where to find the snacks, where to find her bedroom, her mommy's bedroom and my bedroom. As she took a nap (or at least a little rest) Heather and I spent some time sipping coffee in the back yard. We laughed, we cried and she let me share with her some things that you can only tell your best friend. We even enjoyed God's beauty in the birds singing and a woodpecker hard at work. We laughed and thought of my "daughter in love" Trenholm. That in itself is an inside joke that brought us to laughter. Time slipped away and the afternoon was gone. I had to head home. When I leave her house most of the time I get in the car and listen to the radio. Not today. I just thought back on my spontaneous visit to see my daughter. I thought back on the afternoon of laughter and tears and thought to myself what a wonderful way to spend the day. I am already looking forward to the next time we can get together. I love you Skeeta.

Acts of kindness

After my daddy died in 1989, I would go to church each Sunday and watch another family in our congregation and long to be like them again. By that I mean before my daddy's death, our family would sit together in church as a family unit....my daddy, my mom, and my family. I loved it. After his death, we stil sat in our same spot. Baptist are like that. They find a seat and claim it as their own. (haha) Any way, I would sit there each Sunday and my mind would wander and my eyes would focus on this particular family. This other family consisted of a daddy, a mom, a daughter and all of her family. A family just like ours. I longed for that closeness, that feeling of family, I missed my daddy putting his arm around me, and I missed the excitement that came with my children siting with their grandparents in church.

From those moments in church I developed a friendship with a very special person. When this man and I would make eye contact in church I would wave to him from the balcony of our church (he sat downstairs). He would actually wait after church until I came downstairs to speak to me in person. He eventually joked with my mom about wanting to adopt me. I would chuckle to myself because little did he know of all the days that I sat there wishing my daddy were still alive and envying his family for just being able to sit in church together. Knowing that his family had the same closeness as mine. Knowing that his daughter loved having him put his arm around her in church just like my daddy would do. Knowing that his grandchildren were excited about sitting with their grandparents in church and sneaking candy.

This man is also known for his kind deeds. Deeds that at times go unnoticed because he does them not for the attention but because he has a heart of gold. Many many times while dining out the waitress will come to us at the end of the meal and say that our bill has been taken care of. I know exactly who has done it. The gentle giant who I call my friend. Right now he is battling cancer and it hurts to the core to know the battle ahead of him. It hurts to know how hard he will have to fight. The amazing thing is that while he is battling this demon, he is still thinking of others, still doing for others and still putting smiles on the faces of so many, especially mine! I wish you strength and courage Mr. Sharpton!

Overcoming challenges

I sat here today in my living room...Christmas tree down, decorations down and everything back in place just like it was prior to Christmas. My mind wandered and filled with so many thoughts. I honestly felt so blessed at that moment to just be here. Prior to Christmas I had not been feeling all that great. I made excuses for the discomfort I was experiencing and kept thinking it would get better. Then bang! Loitton and I were shopping in Target and I had a crushing feeling hit me in the chest. I honestly felt like I was going to pass out. It was the pain and feeling similar to what I felt when I broke my foot. So naturally I thought no big deal - it will pass. All throughout that weekend I had discomfort but again I convinced myself it was a pulled muscle or something minor. Monday morning I am at work and that crushing feeling strikes again! I try walking around hoping it would help. I called and went to the doctor. By the time I got to the office, my BP was very high and my EKG was irregular. I was immediately sent to the hospital for further tests. Thank goodness for nitrogylcerin tablets! Never taken one before and hope to never take one again but for that moment I was thanking God for that small tablet. The pain was instantly gone! After lots of tests, it was determined my heart is good and I couldn't be happier. I am on meds for the BP. Swore I would never take meds for that but lesson learned is never say never! Another lesson I am going to have to learn is how to let some things go and not stress! So much easier said than done.

I have certainly had time to reflect on what was a scary time for me. As scared as I was I knew that I know and love my God and trust that when my time comes He will carry me home but I just kept thinking not now! Please not now.

2011 was a challenging year for me. For the first time in the history of our firm, we had to lay employees off. Employess that were friends - tough stuff! In March my boss and friend died. We had enjoyed a working relationship since 1980. I was crushed! I had to overcome and adjust to a "new normal". I gained a new boss (although I had worked with him for just as many years). We had to find a way to press on. Unfortunately in September, due to financial struggles, we closed the firm. I was crushed again! I honestly thought of my job as family and it was like another huge loss in my life. Again, I had to overcome my fears and press on. I am now working for another engineering firm but change is hard at times and it is taking time to adjust. Our family has experienced sadness and hurt in 2011. I am trying to overcome that and praying that other family members are getting stronger and fighting hard on their battles.

We have however experienced some wonderful things in 2011. I gained a daughter in April when Owens, our middle child, got married. She is the love of his life and I couldn't be happier. I also gained a new "niece in love" when my nephew got married. Another niece got engaged as well as a nephew. Our family is growing in leaps and bounds. And to top it off we also have new babies....Reid, Addison, Abigail and Zoe. Whew - I sure hope I am not overlooking anyone or anything. Although all of these are exciting events some brought their own challenges but we overcame!

I think I have always been the type of person that saw a glass half full, not empty! So as I move into 2012 I want my glass to be half full. I don't want to take life for granted. I don't want to allow stress to get the best of me. I don't want to allow circumstances to get the best of me. I do want to continue to focus on God, my family and my friends. After all those are what really count. Happy 2012!

Gratitude is the best attitude

I read recently where if the only prayer you said in your whole life was "thank you" it would suffice.

I have been saying "thank you" alot lately and in part it is because of a "homework" assignment our interim pastor gave us at the beginning of the month. He challenged us at the end of each day in November, to journal three things that we give thanks. He also challenged us to write a note of thanks to someone ....either on this earth now or even someone in our life that may have already passed. Seal the envelope and give it to that person at an appropriate time. If the letter is to someone that was important in your life that may no longer be with you, tuck the letter away for safe keeping.

I have each day, so far, written down the things that I give thanks. It sounds like acknowledging three things each day would be so easy but try it and I think you will see that on some days it is challenging. On some days it seems like I have struggled to give thanks for one thing much less three. I have found myself focusing on the negative of the day instead of the positive good things. However in doing this exercise I was reminded that I should not take so much for granted. I should give thanks each day for a roof over my head, a job, a wonderful husband, beautiful children and grandchildren, amazing family and friends, and the list goes on and on. I have reminded myself that some days it things as simple as your car cranking that I should give thanks. A new light fixture in our kitchen, a nap (something I rarely do), having a printer at work that is hooked up and working. You see what I am saying. Simple things but yet things I give thanks!

Thanksgiving should not be locked into one day of the year. I want to show and give thanks each day. So as our family gathers on Thanksgiving day, we will our hearts of gratitude....we have had an incredibly emotional year for so many reasons. We have experienced miracles of all sorts....not just the birth of babies but the rebirth of hope. God has been so good! Thank you God. Thank you! I love you!

Witness to yet more miracles in our family!

Surprising and welcome event....event to be considered divine...highly improbable or extraordinary event...marvel, wonder, amazing. All of these are phrases or terms that describe what a miracle is. Through the years, our family has experienced miracles and just within the past few weeks we have been witness to even more! God has a plan. God knows best. God is faithful. We have marveled at His plan!

Recently our nephew and his wife have been proceeding with the process of adoption. They knew in their hearts they wanted children and they were trusting God to provide them with a child. They have an amazing story to share and I want them to be the ones to tell it. I will say however they have a beautiful son named Reid Mallard Thompson. His story is one of a miracle. Welcome sweet boy.

Then on Friday evening text messages started, phone calls came, more text messages, more phone calls. Only drawback no one was finishing a conversation! When I finally did get someone to complete the conversation we learned that our niece was in labor at 30 weeks and was just before delivering. After stopping to pray, I tried to focus on getting to Charleston to be a part of the births. In the meantime I had flashbacks to the day Heather delivered Morgan Kate. When I did, I knew we were facing another situation where babies were going to be born way to soon. Babies were going to have to fight for their lives. Parents were going to experience the roller coast ride of the NICU. Parents were going to have to leave the hospital without their babies. And the list went on and on in my head. Luckily I did arrive in time to hear the news of the birth of twin girls! Again another miracle for our family...in fact two.

In the midst of all of this, I stopped to think of my sister. With the addition of these three sweet babies, a grandmother had been born. She has becomes the grandmother to three in record breaking time :) I know the source of strength she was to me during Morgan Kate's NICU days. I recall the trips home from the hospital that we talked the whole ride home. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could count on her to be there, to listen and to offer comfort any time of the day or night. I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I will be there for her now. I will try to be her source of strength and comfort. And one day down the road, she and I will look back on these challenging days and laugh. All the while knowing that we were there for each other. And when I think about that day...the day where we will be laughing about all of this, I envision that we will be loving on our grands and talking about how truly blessed we are!

God bless you Reid, Abigail and Addison!