what would they do without each other?

Sister will you …
make believe
play dress up
let me be the princess
tell me stories in the dark
always be my friend?

I often wonder what these two would do without each other.  Where one is … there is the other.  Two peas in a pod and all that.

I often wonder where their lives will take them … will it keep them close, or pull them apart?

I often wonder if their hearts are happy to just be near the other.

I often wonder if they know they’re sisters … or just think they’re best friends.

I often wonder if, when they’re forty, they’ll understand how blessed they are to have a sister.

I often wonder if their children will be friends.

I often wonder if they’ll have daughters … who are sisters … and feel the way I do when I watch them play.

I often wonder if they’ll always have this bond.

I often wonder when they’ll let Hunter join their club. ;)

I often wonder if God knows how very thankful I am.

Posted in blessed, family, family photos, family thoughts, piper, wynter

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exuma :: my heaven on earth

I’m certain that when God created Exuma … He had me in mind!  He knew one day my soul would be tired, weary … my body, sick … He knew I would need to have my own little piece of Heaven, here on earth.

I wish I could bottle and share, right through this screen, what I experience when I’m here.

Time stands still.  Worries wash away.  Peace sets in.

We’ve been here since Christmas, and while it took me a full 2 1/2 weeks to finally feel completely at peace … I finally DO feel completely at peace.

Oh how their personalities shine through in these photos!  And remember Wynt’s accident?
Her shiner below was a full week & a half later!  It got much worse before it got better {can’t even see it now though!}.

Drama much?

Channeling her inner Jackie O?
Okay, but seriously … she won’t take these off.  We bought ‘em in the local grocery
store and she wears them everywhere.  The pic of her chasing the waves?  She has ‘em on.
Hunter seems to be growing before my eyes on this trip …

Sand burial anyone?  And yes.  As a matter-o-fact, they do eat sand.
Ever since they’ve been old enough to crawl in it!

Island hopping.  Didn’t get many photos this day {actually, haven’t taken many photos at all} …
We visited Long Island … an island believed that Christopher Columbus
first hit when trying to find America in 1492.

And then we have school.  It’s seriously going MUCH easier than last year.  We have a week
left in Exuma, and the girls are pretty much done with their work.  Honestly, Piper
didn’t have too much … and super-student Wynter, flew through hers.
We’ve been working on reading flash cards with Hunter {watch out
Mrs. R, you’re going to be amazed!} … and Tay is plugging along
with her regular homeschool curriculum.

I wouldn’t trade any of this!

And a view of my heaven … here I sit watching the sun rise, reading, writing, praying, gazing, wondering.

And sometimes when the afternoon is coming to a close, I’m back again …
folding laundry, writing, emailing, twittering, reading, gazing, wondering.

Thank you Lord for blessing me with this amazing slice of Heaven.  Knowing the beauty you’ve created here on earth,
makes me yearn for my real Heavenly home all the more!

Posted in blessed, exuma, family photos, vacation

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so thankful for my things!

Yep!  Today’s my birthday!  And in honor of … well, me … I wanted to share four of my biggest blessings with y’all today!

We picked these up on our recent trip to Orlando and the girls were seriously beyond excited to finally pull them out and sport ‘em to dinner on Thanksgiving day.  Whadda think?  Are you lovin’ my things as much as I do?  ;)

Another year older wiser and blessed beyond belief!

Posted in blessed, family photos, girls

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it’s a small world after all …

A couple of weeks ago, CJ had a meeting out of town, followed by hunting with the boys.  So I packed up the girls and headed to Disney!

We had an amazing time.  I’m smiling remembering what a “magical” time they had.  One night while tucking Hunter into bed, she was squeezing her newly acquired, Marie {from The Aristocats}, with the hugest smile on her face … I’m talking huge!  My whole insides were smiling in return and feeling blessed knowing they were experiencing and feeling something so magical.

Hunter fell asleep before we even got into the park for the “Very Merry Christmas Party”

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve really been struggling.  Just feeling like I’m not good enough.  That I can’t measure up.  Now, honestly … I know it’s all hogwash … but when you’re down, you’re down, right?  The other horrible thing about being down is the enemy has a field day with that!  But here’s what I’ve come to realize … I believe the Lord is working in me.  Preparing me to use me in a big way.  I’m not sure what that is, or what it means … I just feel it happening.

And I believe satan is working double-time to hinder my connection with my Creator.  It started in Israel and only got worse when I got home.  And quite honestly, it continued while at Disney.

I just wasn’t myself.  I felt like I was struggling in so many ways.  I won’t go into all the details, as I’m not sure any of them would even make sense.

But here’s the thing … as I was walking around all these different theme parks … very aware of my internal struggle … I was even more aware of and in awe of my surroundings.  The people that is.  So many different kinds of people … that came from all over the world to see this “magical” place.  I’d smile just watching them …

A dad with bright pink, sparkly, glittery, headband ears.  A tween boy with a Mickey fanny-pack.  Grandmas.  Grandpas working rollercoasters and telling guests to have a “magical day.”  Grumpy teens.  Happy teens.  Moms yelling at children.  Children not listening.  Sick children.  A group of handicapped or elderly.  A boy with obvious developmental delays, clapping and dancing and smiling like nobody’s business {and yes, I may be crying as I’m remembering the pure joy on his face}.

All the while, I’m trying to make sense of it all.  Like there’s some bigger meaning … {shaking my head} I don’t know … like I said, I’m not sure I can make any sense of what’s going on inside of me.  There I was … in the most “magical” place on earth, surrounded by thousands of people, and realizing, we are all part of this great big world.  We’re all struggling with something.  And when the girls and I hopped into a boat for the “Small World” ride … and the music started playing … “It’s a small world after all … it’s a small world after all … it’s a small world after all, it’s a small … small world!”  YES! it.is. a small world.  And we’re all in it together.

The big epiphany … my breakthrough … was understanding, without a doubt, God’s cookin’ something up for me!  And … oh my friends! that makes me smile!  For that, I am thankful!  For that, I’m excited!

Look at these girls … the last time we were at Disney World in Florida … in Minnie’s house … on Minnie’s sofa, was 2004.  Wynter was 5 months old.  Piper had just turned 2.  And it was Taylor’s 9th birthday.

{Tears …} And look at them now.  We’ve added little Hunter to our crew!  Wynter just turned 7.  Piper’s 8.  And my big girl is 15!

Blessed and thankful am I.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone … I pray you receive many blessings, but more importantly … you give many thanks!

Posted in blessed, life, random, vacation

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feeling blessed

I hope y’all had an awesome holiday weekend!  I know we did.  We’ve been out of town since Wednesday afternoon and are leaving shortly to go back home.  It’s been a relaxing, warm, fun-filled weekend!

We got our share of fireworks, sprinklers {aka, sparklers}, tubing, napping, eating, canoeing, fishing, and picnicking!

The photo below has been my view the last 5 mornings.  Some mornings clearer than others … quite a fog over the lake in this photo!

I’ve sat outside each morning, early.  Coffee.  Silence.  Well, except for tap-tapping of my keyboard, the chippies running all around, a few loons calling, and birds tweeting all over.  Nature at it’s finest.

It’s done a world of good for my soul!  And I’m really going to miss it so …

I’ve also done a lot of praying this weekend.  I mentioned something in this post {at the very end} and it’s no longer a whispering, but a loud, thought consuming, prayerful request.

I’ve started working on this project … prayerfully working on this project.  In order for this to come to fruition, I need to have CJ’s permission.  And right now I don’t.  It’s a book about my life … which in turn, is a book about his life.  And it’s not something he’s endorsing right now.

So once again … I find myself stuck between my husband’s wishes and what I believe God is asking me to do.

I’ve decided to move forward, as it’s something that will take a long time to complete.  No hurry, no rush.  Praying as I go.  I trust God’s plan and voice and know this will all work out for His glory.

{p.s. … be sure to stop over at the MODsquad blog today.  Read about how it all began and find out about a giveaway too!}

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Posted in blessed, holiday, writing

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