Proud Mama

For Mother's Day this year, I received a special gift.  Brady and Bryant were baptized at church.  They were saved back in March, but we wanted to be sure "Pappy" could be home to see them get baptized.  When we picked the day I didn't even realize it was Mother's Day.  But it was a blessing to get to combine the two events.  Nearly my whole extended family attended church--which boosted attendance to near Easter proportions. =)  We then enjoyed our regular Mother's Day meal at my mom's to give Grandma Frances the day off from cooking for us all.

I am thankful to have a family who raised me in church to learn the values by which I do my best to live my life and pass on to my children.  It was truly a wonderful Mother's Day.  I don't think there can be anything more rewarding in your life than seeing your children grow into whatever they will become and know that you had a hand in it.  I hope all of the other mother's out there had as blessed a day as I did.

Neglectful Blogger

I don't really have any excuse for the long gap between postings.  I'm sure I have had a few moments at some time or another that I could have taken to write something, but alas, I didn't.

It has certainly been a busy spring, and I have much to be thankful for.  The transition I've been waiting for at work has finally come to pass.  I am officially the Vice President of Operations here at Trailiner.  It seemed like it would never actually happen, but it has.  I must admit that when I was settling in I felt a bit like I did when I was a little girl playing office, but that feeling didn't last too long.

As we head into the last months of spring, things at home will be getting busier as well.  The kids are starting baseball this weekend, so we'll be going, going, going for the next few months.  With work and kids, I don't know when I'll find time for my next post, but I will shoot for much less than two months.

L. Perry Keithley 1923-2010

Last week my grandpa passed away.  He had lived a long, full life of 86 years and I believe he was ready for his journey on Earth to end.  It was a sad time for our family to lose its respected patriarch, and I felt both guilty and sad that I hadn't spent more time with him in recent years.

Through the sadness, I was able to come away with a sense of how lucky I really am in my life with my family.  At 32 years old, he is the first grandparent I have lost.  The other 3 are still alive and well for my own children to know.  I know everyone is not so blessed to have so much family around them for so long, and I thank God that He has bestowed this blessing upon me and my family.

Family Vacation

Yesterday a photo book I ordered online arrived.  To redeem an offer I received from Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com), I used photos from our trip to Orlando on Spring Break last year to put together a 20-page, hard cover book.  For someone like me who doesn't enjoy scrapbooking but always feels guilty that I don't do more with our family photos, this is a great option.

Looking at each page, remembering the trip, gave me such pleasure.  I am so thankful that we are able to take our kids on fun vacations that will give them and us memories for the rest of our lives.  Even if you can't afford to make a big trip, take the time to plan something with your children when you can.  Even a day trip with the whole family can be memorable--in a good way, not like the Griswolds...  

Here's looking forward to Myrtle Beach, SC in Summer 2010!!! 

Time Flies When You're Too Busy To Look At the Clock

It has been nearly a month since my last entry. It wasn't for lack of things to be thankful for, rather it was for lack of time to sit down and gather my thoughts coherently.  The holidays are always a busy time when you have multiple people to visit.  But now that it is all over, I can better reflect on the good times that were had.  But often life doesn't wait for calm reflection.  We are into a new year and things are off and running.  There is rarely an evening without a practice, game, or lesson of some sort.  I would be dishonest if I didn't admit that there are times I would just like to "forget" to take them to something, but I don't.

I am grateful that all three of my children enjoy school as well as sports and music and are able to fully participate in anything they want.  None of my wild boys have any health problems or disabilities that limit them--unless you count being occasionally uncoordinated.  How lucky we are!

The Little Engine That Could

It has been quite a hectic couple of weeks.  There were times when I wanted to close the door and cry at my desk from stress at work, but I kept chugging along.  I hope you won't be offended at me tooting my own horn, but I am thankful I was able to summon the strength to persevere when I desperately wanted to give up.  Go me!

Material World

Christmas shopping is in full swing.  We have managed to mark over half of the items off of our gift list. When trying to decide what to buy our kids this year, we realized that the reason it is so hard to come up with something is that they have so much already.  We are so blessed in our lives in so many ways and one of those is that we have enough to be able to provide our children with many of life's unnecessary pleasures.  They even have grandparents and great-grandparents who share in spoiling them with toys and clothes.

It always hits me this time of year how lucky we really are, and while we try not to take it for granted, it still happens sometimes.  When you're out doing your shopping this year, take a moment to think of all those who are struggling with how they will feed or clothe their children instead of what to get them for Christmas.