HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!

Tomorrow is Sarah's 27th birthday - wow! I'm getting old! But then I suppose she is too! Here we are at the end of another year and what a wild roller coaster ride this past year has been. As I reflect on the past 27 years, it hasn't all been a bed of roses, but we have been so very blessed.

We had a very stressful, emergency and complicated birth with Matt in April of 1981. Matt was 3 1/2 weeks overdue, weighed 9 lbs 10 oz, was 23 inches long, his first AP GAR score was 3, he had the worst case of meconium the pediatrician had ever seen (and he was nearly 100 yrs. old), he wasn't breathing at birth, and had a mucus plug in his throat, which actually ended up probably saving his life because it prevented him from aspirating the meconium. (a God-thing) He stayed isolated for 3 days where we were unable to even touch him. I had lost so much blood during the emergency c-section, I didn't have the strength to see him anyway. We were told he may have brain damage/learning disabilities due to his lack of oxygen before they got the mucus plug out, but Praise God for miracles - he is normal, (well...depending on your definition of normal) healthy and almost too intelligent for his own good! ;-)

So, needless to say, we were certainly looking forward to a "normal", uneventful birth experience this time around. Back in the day, few of us dinosaurs chose to know what we were having ahead of time. We already knew "when" because this birth was a scheduled c-section, so we wanted the "what" to be a surprise. What a joy it was to deliver a perfect little girl on Dec. 29, 1982! Two days later, the pediatrician walked in while I was nursing her and told us she had stopped breathing during the night and the nurses had to "jostle" her to start her up again. They would be "testing" to see what the deal was. Looong story short, we stayed in the hospital with her for over a week before being sent home with a monitor and instructions to keep her elevated to at least 40 degrees, sitting in her infant seat. Ever seen a newborn try to sleep sitting up for the first 6 months? It is not pretty, nor is it restful for child or parent. She had a "reflux" problem and could choke to death - what every parent wants to be responsible for. We dealt with it the best we could.

After 6 difficult and scary months, we were finally able to let her sleep normally - still keeping her on Mylanta for the reflux problems. God was faithful and saw us through those difficult days, just as HE continues to be faithful to us...blessing us in so many ways!

And now...here we are with such a happy, bubbly, fun, forever smiling, crazy, loving and maybe a tad "high-maintenance" beautiful young woman! ha ha

Sarah is such a joy. She and I are like best friends instead of mother/daughter. In her teens, we had a few minor bumps, but we truly have had a super relationship forever! I am truly grateful and blessed to have a daughter like Sarah. She is like a breath of fresh air, or sunlight on a cloudy day... Children are drawn to her like a magnet and adults love to hang with her too because of her sunny spirit and infectious zest for life!

So, on this special day that always seems to get lost in the shuffle of Christmas - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!! You are deeply loved!!

I can't wait for you to have this baby!! You are going to be such a great Mommy! You will finally be able to "grasp" that special love for a child that people talk about, but that you can't fully understand until you experience parenthood for yourself. Your Dad and I thank the LORD for you and for Matt - our two special loves!

May GOD richly bless you and Stuart as you begin this new and exciting journey! Hope these bring back as many beautiful memories for you as they do for me! HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

I love you,
Mom

(please don't forget to PAUSE the Playlist music at the bottom of the page)

TIS THE SEASON! FA-LA-LA-LA-LA

It's that time again! Wow...time has gotten away from me and now the best day in the world is upon us - CHRISTMAS - the day of our Savior's birth!

We are so grateful for the goodness of God - in the miracle of Sarah's pregnancy and for our second grandson on the way, via Matt and Susan!

We faithfully continue to pray for your miracles too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Up In The Attic

How many of you remember Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album"? It was one of my favorite Christmas albums of all time. Two songs stood out above all the rest - "Tennessee Christmas" and "Heirlooms". Matt and Sarah grew up listening to that album every year as we decorated the tree...just one of our die hard family traditions!

Now let's be honest...how many of you have cried as you listened to "Heirlooms"? I can still remember listening to it, trying to imagine what that must feel like - to be up in the attic, going through boxes of old things from generations past. I could "feel" the emotions it must resurrect, even though I never had an attic and had not experienced that activity myself.

Well, guess what? I still don't have an old attic, but I have boxes of things from generations past in a big closet upstairs...things I discovered, memories I wanted to hang onto, treasures I kept after my parents passed away. The song is very true - "some bringing laughter, some bringing tears." My dad passed away in January 2007 and my mother passed away in June 2008...not so long ago. But, I already go into that closet ever so often and pull things out of the boxes - now understanding the song in a way I never did before. I even have an article of clothing belonging to each of them in separate Ziploc bags. I open them up once in a while just to breathe in their "smell". That's always a "some bringing tears" moment. Finding the head of a hammer with a broken, splintered, hint of a handle left is a "some bringing laughter" moment...at Daddy's insistence that every little thing must be saved in case there was somehow a dire need for it in the future. (everyone needs at least one broken hammer at some point in their lives)

A few weeks ago, I was in "that mood" and I spent a little time in that closet, going through some things. I ran across an old VHS tape. Whoa...memories! In 1996, I purchased a CD called Sisters: Songs of Friendship, Joy & Encouragement for Women. It was a collection of songs by various artists, celebrating and embracing women, friendships, and relationships. On it was a song by Bonnie Keen/Tori Taff, "These Are the Women We Come From", which I immediately fell in love with. It was prefaced by a beautiful monologue, "Quilting", by Amy Gaither-Hayes. These two pieces really touched my heart and my wheels began turning. "Living pictures" began forming in my mind, which is what I've always done when I hear music...I create in my mind a story or video, if you will, to go along with it. Mother's Day was approaching, and I knew in my heart that God had given me these two incredible pieces for a reason. I met with our church's audio/visual tech, Todd Sanders, (one of the kindest, most talented men I know...and father of one of the girls in my vocal group) and asked if he would be interested in helping me put this together. We boldly went where neither one of us had ever gone before. After many hours of contacting all artists involved to obtain permission to use their material, and using clips of a Civil War re-enactment video, this video tribute to the "women we come from" was born. It was particularly a tribute to the mothers of my women's vocal group, Voices of Praise. We had so much fun doing this! Todd had a little studio behind his office, so we were able to pre-record the song. Then we loaded up and took a boom box with us to Petit Jean State Park, where we taped the video with no audio, but singing with our boom box. I'm sure visitors to the park thought we were nuts. Todd then put it all together in his studio. He is a true genius, as this was way less than "music video" technology. He did a fantastic job! Thank you Todd! It was such a great surprise to our mothers, as we had kept it all very secret.

Anyway, back to the closet - now I am sitting here, holding my mother's copy in my hands...powerful emotions rising up! Since VHS tapes are nearly obsolete now, I had this transferred to a DVD. (thank you Tommy May) To make this share-able, (is that a word?) I had to convert it to yet another mode - thus the less than perfect quality of this video. You can't imagine the memories this brings up. First of all, to be able to pay tribute to the "women we came from", especially now that so many of them have gone on to be with the Lord. I can hardly believe this was 13 years ago!

This is not to boast or brag over. We are really not great vocalists...well, the first one is! (Remember, this was for our own Mommies) I just wanted to share with you something deeply moving to me - I guess because the holiday season is kind of a bittersweet time for me now, with both of my parents gone.

But, it is also a very special Christmas this year because God has truly given us a miracle in Sarah's pregnancy! Praise God for He is faithful! And with Matt and Susan expecting too, it is quite an emotional season for us all! Please know that those of you out there who are still waiting for your "miracle" - my prayers go faithfully with you! God will be faithful to you too, in His time and in His will. Do not give up hope! And when you are hurting and feeling hopeless -reach deep down inside...Hopefully it will draw you nearer to God and to the "women YOU come from."

(don't forget to pause the playlist music at the bottom of the page and after you click on the video, pause it to let it download just a few minutes...its just not the same with all the stopping, and skipping, etc.)

THESE ARE THE WOMEN WE COME FROM

Thank you Lord, for the strong, wonderful, amazing women I came from! I have been truly blessed! Mother, I love you and miss you so very much!

Okay, I'm On a Roll!

I can see Russia from my house!