Happy Birthday to You!

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! On Friday Steve is 42! Happy Happy Birthday to you, my Superman! Thanks for the help, Dr. Seuss.

Steve's due date was originally Christmas day, just like Serena's! In honor of Dad, the first three letters of Serena's name are her daddy's initials, SER. Incidentally, I am named after my Pops as well....Jami Leann/James Leo.

Birthdays are special and important around here. It's a time to celebrate the wonderful life of our family members, and thank God that they were born and placed right here with us.

My dad shared a special poem with us tonight at the Thanksgiving table...it was written by a blind 16 year old girl way back in 1966 to her father on his 42nd birthday. He wasn't sure where this man and his daughter are now, but has kept this poem for a long time. Here it is:

Forty-Two

Forty Two! Forty Two!

I really don't believe it's true.

No longer a babe, no longer a child.

No longer a teenager cocky and wild.

You're no longer sixteen or twenty-one;

No longer thirty- nine or forty-one.

You're now an ancient forty-two!

I really don't believe it's true.

Cheer up dad; don't look so sad.

Forty-two is not that bad.

The older you are, the wiser you get,

Then why all this worry, why all this fret?

We're proud to have a dad like you,

So what if you are forty-two?

God's been good to you all these years;

He's guided you, strengthened you, calmed your fears.

You're also much older in the Lord;

His grace to you He hath outpoured.

We love you for what you are, dear Dad;

You're the greatest anyone ever had.

May God bless you and keep, and in Him may you grow;

His love and mercy may He upon you bestow.

All our love to you, dear Dad,

Being forty-two is not so bad.

Signed, Your loving daughter in Christ, Sharry

September 26, 1966

Happy Birthday also to Tina Arrowood, who shares her b-day with Steve!

Thankful for Everything...

As we go around the dinner table during the blessing, Serena always says the same thing..."Thank you Jesus for this food, and everything else!" We ask her, "everything? really? even spiders?" She insists that she is just thankful for everything, so we leave it at that.
I am not thankful for spiders or anything creepy, that's for sure!
In a way, I get what she means about this "everything" concept. I'm thankful for "everything" too, because I would have nothing and be nothing without God. Since He provides me with my "everything", then I guess I am thankful for all of it, good and bad. He has made the good good and the bad good too. Oh, that could be a really cool rap lyric, don't you think? The good good,the bad good,dooby dooby doo....word to your mama or whatever.

I am thankful for so many things, but basically I am just grateful to wake up breathing and to find that those I love have done the same. I am grateful that when my feet hit the floor, they know how to walk! I have a warm home, a vehicle, gas in the tank, food in the cupboards, family and friends I love dearly, a fuzzy dog who thinks I am royalty, and the gift of a fairly normal life. I have a husband who provides for our family, takes care of us when we're sick, works hard, loves the Lord, and loves us unconditionally. Oh, yeah. I'm especially thankful for him.

I also know that if any of those situations were to change, I would still be grateful, and I'm thankful for that hope and promise that God has placed in me.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving...may all your waistbands stretch to capacity and may all your post-dinner snoring be blessed. I hope your football team wins, and there is a pie with your name on it. May your in-laws hug you and eat your salad. Long story.....

Nose-Nippin' Weather

Oh, I know what you're saying...yuck! Winter already? Well, for me, winter brings out the fun in my kids and even Sophie, our precious dog. On Monday afternoon about 4:30, the snow was coming down in big beautiful flakes. I called the girls up from the basement to see it.
They ran to the biggest window and cheered, jumping up and down. They then ran to put on their outdoor gear, and flew out the door. I quickly grabbed my camera and the closest shoes to the door--my slippers. I followed them out to the deck, where Serena threw herself down and made a snow angel! Natalie did as she always has done. She ran out into the snow, mouth wide open, tongue reading to catch the flakes. Oh, the smiles and the laughter! It was music to my ears! They had their traditional snow fight, which usually ends with both of their glasses covered in snow, hats off, and giggling uncontrollably. Part of the giggling is always me! Someone usually yells "time out", then proceeds to fill the other one's face with snow. No one seems to mind at all. Now where is our 12 year old fluffy dog in all of this? Running and dipping her big black nose into the snow, then flinging her head back up! Her back is covered, her face is covered, and she hops like a rabbit, only stopping to bite the snow again. When she was younger and more energetic, she thought it was fun to grab my gloves right off my hands and run with them. I miss that! I still see a little bit of puppy in her aging body, and I cherish it as we all do.
Natalie always "writes" a big message in the snow outside the kitchen window for me to see. This time it said simply, "Hi Mom!" Serena carried her dad's funnel outside and began making mini igloos with it. While I watched her, I flashed back to when she was 3, and loved to do that very thing. Quiet, contemplative, and determined, she would take her time shaping that snow while her little cheeks turned pink. Her eyes look even bluer in the snow.
See, when your kids start to get older and don't play with "toys" much anymore, you don't get to see them "play" like they used to. When my kids are outside in the snow, they are like little girls again, being silly and free. I get the benefit of knowing they're not too old to play just yet.
So, before you start dissing winter, remember, it is a magical time for kids! Nothing thrills them more than fresh falling snow followed by cookies and cocoa from mom. It's a time when I can bundle them up, watch them waddle like toddlers, then stuff them with goodies when they come back inside.
Our play will advance this year to include skiing, tubing, and skating, and that will be fun too. But it's really just a simple snowfall that I will look forward to the most this season.

Where are the photos, you ask? Well, I'm working on that.... a computer genius I am not.