A Life of Gratitude

Yesterday we celebrated the most adorable 3 year old ever! I cannot believe my Allison is already 3 years old! She is absolutely the most joy-filled little lady I've ever met. She lights up every room she enters! When I asked her what kind of party she'd like to have, she screamed, "A Frozen Party!" And of course, she wanted an Anna costume for the party. When she asked me to dress up like Elsa, I immediately said yes because I wanted to make her as happy as she makes me! I wish I had a video of when she saw me in the costume! She literally squealed with excitement!  This party was a little different because of the Coronavirus Pandemic but it was still a lot of fun. We limited the party to family only and stayed outside on our deck. Some wore masks and there weren't many hugs but I think everyone enjoyed spending time with one another, face to face. Allison had a wonderful time. She felt special and loved and got lots of nice gifts. Once eve

Over the past few weeks I've been dealing with a lot of pelvic pain. Last Friday, my doctor decided it was time to remove the golf-ball sized ovarian cyst that was most likely causing my pain. She also planned to remove my left ovary and fallopian tube. Because of COVID-19 no visitors or family members are allowed in the hospital. So, I had to go through the experience without anyone there to support me. I didn't think it would bother me too much until I had to walk into the hospital alone, waving goodbye to my children and husband. It was a incredibly difficult. I just wanted to run back and get in the van with them. But, thankfully, God gave me the strength to keep going.  As I waited on the nurses to take me to the operating room, I couldn't shake the eeriness of a hospital being so empty and quiet. Everyone there was either having surgery or performing surgery. There were no spouses holding hands, no Pastors praying over patients, and no moms whispering gently

 For Mother's Day, Bryan got me the most beautiful necklace from Crowning Jewels. The gift arrived today and I was thrilled to see the packaging because I absolutely love this jewelry company. They put so much love and meaning into each of their pieces. Bryan simply told them my first name and what type of necklace he wanted and they did the rest. They pray for the recipient of the necklace and ask God to give them the words to engrave and which charms to use for that particular person. Then, they create a gorgeous necklace and write a hand written note based on what the Holy Spirit has laid on their hearts. This necklace means so much to me because I know everything about it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. As I read this precious hand-written note, I felt as if it were a message to me directly from God. At first I wasn't sure what the word breakthrough could mean for me, but then I remembered something. Yesterday, randomly, Dylan said he thought Breakthroug

I never imagined we would be celebrating Mother's Day in quarantine because of a world-wide pandemic but, 2020 has had all sorts of surprises, hasn't it?! I awoke this morning to my four little sweeties bringing me breakfast in bed. They were so proud of themselves and I was too!  Everyone did something especially for me. Dylan made cheese eggs, Tyson made a waffle, Evan made toast with jelly, Allison prepared the silverware, and Bryan made my coffee.  Then they gave me the sweetest little gifts. Homemade cards, coupons, a homemade sugar scrub, and the cutest questionnaires about me.  According to Evan I am super funny when I sneeze. Allison says she loves me because I spin around. Dylan says that I'm funniest when I try to imitate people. Tyson thinks my favorite food is whatever dad likes. They're so funny! Next we went on a drive. I love seeing beautiful places in nature so we drove to Lewisville to see the Tunnel of Trees. It was a beautiful ar

Today is our first born's 12th birthday! We never imagined we would be celebrating his birthday during a pandemic but since that's what we're living through these days, we adapted and threw him a Virtual Birthday Party! We hosted a ZOOM party so that Dylan could hang out with his friends! Everyone made happy birthday signs for Dylan! We played a few fun games including a scavenger hunt, "Would You Rather," and a Useless Trivia. I had a lot of fun leading the kids through games. Dylan had a Toilet Paper birthday cake!  Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Dylan and then he blew out his candles. To finish off the evening, we had a watch party with the movie, "Cats." (it's an animated film, not the musical) Today I am grateful that we were able to celebrate Dylan's birthday even though we're living through such an odd time. Dylan couldn't have the party he hoped for but at least he was able