A Life of Gratitude

Believe it or not, its been 3 months since this little lady made her entrance into the world!!! I seriously cannot wrap my mind around the fact that 3 months have already passed!! Allison has changed so much!! She is a wiggle worm and super alert. She has such a sweet personality and is very easy-going. She loves her brothers like crazy and smiles every time she sees them! She enjoys laying flat on the bed or couch and kicking her legs like crazy! She gets a whole of attention (I'm sure that's a shock!) and she loves every minute of it! That little smirk..... Laughing at one of her brothers!  Today I am grateful for this little 3 month old spark plug!! She has added so much fun and excitement to our home! She is pure joy! I honestly cannot believe she is already 3 months old. Time is flying by. I'm thankful for every moment we have together as a family!

This afternoon Bryan and I were driving to my uncle's funeral when we drove up on a really terrible accident. A black SUV was laying upside down in the middle of the highway. It had just happened. There were no cops or EMTs or anything. So, we decided to get out and see if there was anything we could do to help. As we walked up I noticed little girl shoes, french fries, blankets, broken car seats, water bottles, and glass laying all around the car. Apparently when the SUV landed everything flew out of the shattered windows. When I saw those little girl shoes, my heart nearly broke. As we walked behind the SUV we saw a dad on his knees holding his 2 small children, probably around ages 2 and 4. They were safe. The dad had a banged up elbow but overall, they looked just fine. After seeing the SUV and all that laid around it, I couldn't believe they had gotten out of there. It was truly a miracle at that all 3 of them were unharmed for the most part. There wasn't much we ...

Tonight while trying to put the boys to bed, I noticed that Evan was dancing all over his room. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm dancing for joy! This has been the best day ever!" When he said his bedtime prayers he told God thank you, for letting him give his life to Jesus and that he was able to be baptized today!! I agree with Evan! Today really was a wonderful day! I cried so many tears of joy as I watched my sweet Evan get baptized. At HopeCity we celebrate as baptisms take place! It is a special occasion! Music is playing, everyone is singing, and there are so many shouts of praise! 22 people were baptized this morning and it was incredible! Look at the excitement on his face! We celebrated with lunch at Ham's after church. His special cake says, "Jesus Loves You Evan!" My sweet boy and me!!! I'm so proud of him! Today I am grateful that Evan has recently given his life to Jesus ...

This evening Dylan and I went to a "packing party" at church to help prepare for the Big Give event on Saturday. It's a way for our church to bless the community with free food, hair cuts, health screenings, and school supplies. Our job tonight was supposed to be packing book bags full of school supplies. It was decided that some folks should go out into the surrounding neighborhoods to invite families to our event. Dylan and I had been planning on packing book bags and it never even occurred to me to ask him if he wanted to out into the community instead. As we waited for a few people to volunteer to do this, Dylan tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Let's do it!"  So, we did. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think going door to door is something most people enjoy doing. Its scary for most people! I was so proud of my boy for volunteering to go out into the community. He told me that he wanted to make sure people knew about our event so they ...

This evening, while eating dinner, Evan looked up at me and said, "Momma, when God talks to me, I can't hear him out loud." I was surprised by his comment because it sort of came out of nowhere but I absolutely love hearing my boys talk about their relationship with God! So, I started a conversation with him. I told him that God often speaks to our hearts and in our minds, not necessarily so that we hear it with our ears.  Then Evan said, "When He talks to me, I'm usually outside and its usually in my brain or my heart." I asked him what God says to him and he responded in a deep, booming voice, "Listen to your Mom and Dad" and "I love you!"  What joy that gives my heart! My 5 year old is hearing his Heavenly Father speak and God is already reassuring him that he is loved.  Today I am thankful that the Father speaks! Not only to prophets and priests or seasoned Christians, but also to the youngest of people....children! I am grat...

I didn't grow up with sisters so I've never really known what a sisterly bond is like but over the past 2.5 years, God has given me many beautiful KEEP friends who are so much more than friends! Most of us only see each other one or two times per year but it doesn't matter one bit! We are all working toward a common goal. We aren't competing but instead, pushing one another toward our dreams.  We encourage each other, cheer one another on, challenge each other, and pray for one another. I even got to see 4 of these lovely ladies today at our KEEP Rally!!! Its always so sweet seeing their faces!! Because of KEEP I've traveled to Dallas, Napa Valley, Charlotte, and Vegas to spend time with these amazing ladies! I've learned so much and had sooooo much fun! In the next year I'll be going to Cabo and Nashville! Not only do I look forward to traveling to new places, I also can't wait to see my friends again! The laughter, the tears, the connection.....

I had such an amazing evening at the Latte for Life! My best friend, Valerie, and I have been working hard on this fundraiser for the New Life Family Outreach for several months. It was so much fun to see it all come together and watch everyone enjoying themselves. Each table host decorated her own table and brought a yummy dessert. We had cold and warm lattes provided by the Wallburg Emporium and a beautiful painting craft organized by Create and Decorate. We also had a time of worship led by my sweet friend, Meghan. Everything went smoothly and we all had a wonderful time. Not to mention, we raised money to support High Point's Pregnancy Care Center! My table....beach themed My Mom with baby Allison She was a little angel!  My table of lovely ladies Our Neighborhood Bible Study gals Valerie and Isabel Allison and Me Not sure how we did it all with these babies in tow... This isn't the best picture but Meghan  did such a fabulous j...