Baptism Blessings

My twin great nieces were baptized yesterday which was a day of Thanksgiving and celebration for our family, especially since they were born prematurely at 29 weeks gestation. They are now 3 months old and weigh close to 8 pounds, which is a blessing indeed! I wanted to share part of the letter that their mom (my niece that is a Methodist minister) wrote to them on this special day. "Ella and Mattie, I love you. I feel so blessed that God chose me to be your mommy. You have brought so much joy to my life the last three months. I have been amazed to watch you develop and grow. You have come so far since August 23 and for that I give God thanks. God truly has a special plan for your life. I do not know what that plan is, but I can promise you that I will stand alongside you guiding you, supporting you, and loving you as that plan is revealed to all of us. God entrusted you into my earthly care, and I entrust you into God’s eternal love and care. I hope you always know how much I love you, but please don’t ever forget that God loves you more than any human could ever love. Today is a special day, my dear daughters, today is your baptism day."

Turkey Talk

When I was small, we lived on a farm and we had several turkeys. I didn't associate Thanksgiving with turkeys because we often had turkey for the main course of a meal. I loved to chase them in the woods and at times they would even chase me back, especially if they had babies nearby. The farm animals were my playmates and most of my time was spent outside coming up with activities to pass the time of day. Life was fun, simple, and and never boring. I am thankful for those days on the farm. Many lessons were learned by chasing turkeys through the woods and that is a blessing indeed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Seeing Double

Emily is the twin on the left and throughout their 19 years of life... I have been able to tell them apart (most of the time). As they got older, they wore their hair differently and Emily was slightly taller(she always said 5 foot 12 inches because 6 foot sounded too tall), which made it easy. Emily's face always seemed a little longer to me and they would just giggle with delight when I named them correctly. Precious memories... they are a blessing indeed!

Out of the Ashes

Out of the ashes, we slowly try to put one foot in front of the other and face tomorrow. The ground is still shaky and our center of gravity seems to have shifted. Even though the sun is shining, there is a haze in the air and things aren't as clear as they once were. Focus, even on the simplest task, seems to be a monumental undertaking and our hearts are heavy- even though there is a hole of emptiness there. Yet, there is one thing we know for sure- PRAYER WORKS and that is a blessing indeed! Thank you for yours.

Memories

Love, laughter, happiness, and joy... that's what Emily brought to my life and I am a better person for having her as my Goddaughter. Life as we knew it before October 28, 2007, has forever changed but all of our fond memories for this vivacious, adorable, young lady will comfort us, as we try to start a new chapter in our lives without her. She lived life to the fullest and would want all of her family and friends to do the same, so we WILL- by taking each new day one step at a time ... appreciating all of the BLESSINGS along the way.

Thank you for all of your kind thoughts, prayers and support.