Last day of March-my birthdate!

March 31, 2011

Interesting how life can present you with little "gifts" for your b-day.  I was enjoying my rest last night and behold, my "aging" body decided I needed a mid-night trip to relieve my bladder and I could NOT return to sleep.  Alas, the gift of aging.  What happened to the day that I could sleep ALL night without waking up?  Those days are a part of my past.  At first, I was irritated that I could not get back to sleep, but then I was reminded that "it gives me the blessing of an opportunity to blog"...now that is a thought that I enjoy and a very special gift on this b-day:)  As I mentioned during my last blog (3 weeks ago), life has moved to fast paced mode here in my house.  Mainly due to the fact that I have a daughter graduating from H.S. in 5 weeks and a husband that is going on a duty assignment for a year in about 90 days!  So many things to get completed, details to finalize...this is the reason I decided to leave my job at the end of last school year.  I knew this time was coming and I wanted to be able to savor every moment, not feel "rushed" to complete things, etc...

Update on what has been happening in my life.  Well the second full week in March-we had a week long gospel meeting with brother Simon Harris from Jonesboro, Arkansas.  We started the week with a potluck for all members of the church that Sunday at my friend Jen's.  On Thursday night, my family hosted brother Harris/his family for dinner before the evening service.  It was a joy to meet/get to know this family better.  So many blessings in being able to spend time not only listening to brother Harris speak the words of truth from God's word-but also to hear of his mission work overseas, as well as their daughter, Kelsey's story.  The last night they were with us, brother Harris wore a tie that said, "Life is more interesting when you're happy."  I admired the tie, most especially the sentiment.  It was at that point that he gave me a business card with a website that they have designed to honor their daughter Kelsey's memory.  You see, the sentiment contained on the tie was Kelsey's life theme.  It was discovered that Kelsey had an inoperable aggressive malignant brain tumor in Feb of '08(age 14) and she left this life to be with God in April '09 (age 16).  Her story is an amazing one...one of courage, strength, faith, definitely an example for all of us "older" folks as well as younger.  Her message was one that reminds us all that no matter what we are going through, we can choose to be happy-we don't have to allow unpleasant circumstances dictate our ability to enjoy this life. Kelsey enjoyed every moment-though I never met her, I feel as though I know her through the writings she left behind and the testimonies about her from her family.  Check out the website at http://www.lifeismoreinteresting.org/, I think you will find Kelsey's story to be very encouraging!

The Saturday following the meeting, we drove 3 hours to Missouri (and back, in the same day) to enjoy celebrating my lovely niece, Bayleigh's, 6th b-day. I love that sweet girl-both of my nieces are absolutely precious and priceless treasures to me.  They are my pseudo grandchildren-as I pray not to have any of my own "real" grandchildren for at least 6 more years-so I enjoy these girls immensely.  It's so hard to believe sweet Bayleigh is 6, she has grown up so fast.  She is absolutely a joy.  So smart, funny, loving and it was SO worth the 3 hour trip just to have her spot us across the room and run/jump into our arms to hug our necks:)   I understand/realize how quickly this time passes in Bayleigh's life.  I don't want to miss any of those "special" moments in her life.  I do all that I can to "make" the time to spend with her.  It's worth any small inconvenience to me-because I know that in a few years, it won't mean as much to her that I am there. She will "grow up" and having peers at her parties will be more important.  Then someday, she'll have a family/life of her own to celebrate with.  Right now, it is important to her, and I feel blessed to spend time just watching her "be a child" and know that she understands that by my presence, I care for her/love her.  Though she certainly can't fully understand it now-in a few years she will look back and realize that we traveled many miles to just "be" with her.  These are the types of memories that are forever etched in a child's memory.  Who was it that made the time to spend with them?  I had a most excellent example in my mother as she was a g'mother to my own girls. My mom was working 2 jobs and had 6 foster children-but she always "made" the time to spend with my girls when they were young.  I respect that/appreciate that about her.  I am trying to honor her memory by "being there" and "making time" to spend with her grandchildren-Bayleigh and Brylea-that she never had the blessing to know/meet.  Mom would have SO loved spoiling these girls, just like she did my own.  Bayleigh/Brylea deserve that type of love/attention/affection.  They cannot help the fact that they never had the blessing of having my Mom in their lives, this situation is out of their control.  But, it doesn't mean that they can't enjoy the same type of love/devotion from me.  I know that a person can't be replaced and I will never "try" to replace my Mom.  I merely desire for these young precious girls to know that they are loved, they are a joy, and their company is always desired by me.

Last week was Spring Break.  The girls/I just spent the first 3 days hanging out, going to the gym, going to the movies, going to lunch, did a bit of shopping, etc... These days in our life together as mother/daughters are quickly drawing to a close.  The thought occurred to me that it is likely that next spring break (2012) will be the last one that the 3 of us spend together.  It is unlikely that Michaela's spring break (once we move to Arizona) will coincide with Rebecca's while she's in college.  So, I soaked it UP!  We had some fun days-laughed a lot and made some great memories.  At the end of last week, we were able to go "as a family" to Dallas, Texas for 4 days.  Dallas was enjoyable.  We enjoyed a real Texas steakhouse with the most delectable steak EVER, went to the Medieval Times dinner theater, watched a real live cattle drive (longhorns) down the streets of historic Ft. Worth, enjoyed an entire day on roller coasters at 6 flags, and enjoyed worshipping with/meeting some fine brethren in the area before returning back home on Sunday night.  It was a good trip.  We had a "few" treats for ourselves-we all shared a HUGE (yes, everything really is "bigger" in Texas) piece of cheesecake after our steak dinner (which Rebecca and I shared).  We enjoyed some "fudge" at a specialty shop in Ft. Worth.  We delighted in a serving of Cold Stone Ice Cream at 6 flags on Saturday.  I'm happy to say that we actually also worked out at the hotel fitness center ALL 3 nights that we were there:)  We're hoping that it helped us "maintain" our weight last week-but none of us got on the scales to find out!lol  We decided to wait til the end of this week (after we'd returned home to normal routine) to find out what kind of damage was done! 

All of this talk about "eating/fitness" reminds me that I need to update my current status with my "word of the year"-health.  To date, I have lost 32 pounds since the beginning of the year.  I have added the powerpump class on M/W/FR mornings to my weekly workout regiment at the gym.  I had to proceed slowly with adding that in due to the fact that I overdid it the first time I went to that class and ended up with pneumonia:(  Physically-I continue toward my goals for health.  I now have "new" motivation for continuing on this journey-our move to Phoenix, Arizona next summer.  I pray that I will be able to continue progressing in my fitness so that I will be able to do a lot of trails/hiking in the desert mountains once we arrive there.  Too much beauty to miss out on just because you're not in good physical condition.  I don't intend to miss out...I intend to continue to push myself toward better physical conditioning so that I can fully enjoy each moment of our 3 years in the lovely sunshine/heat of Arizona:)  Also, in regards to "health", my spiritual health is prospering.  It was such a faith boosting experience to watch/wait for God to work in our lives with regard to our new duty assignment next summer.  At first, there was disappointment because we weren't going to be able to get the assignment in Missouri or Illinois so that we could be "close" to my sister/her girls:(  However, I am not one to question God-we had prayed, God had answered-it was not the right time for that move.  So, we considered other options-where could we/would we want to go (in the U.S.) on a 3 year adventure?  John has always wanted to live out west-given that Louis Lamour is the ONLY author he reads, you can easily understand why!  So, after considering several factors-namely finding a place with several local congregations of the church to choose from, decent schools for Michaela, lower cost of living, new travel opportunities, and finally opportunities for college for Michaela.  Alas, we chose Phoenix and God said, "yes"!  We feel doubly blessed because some very dear God peeps-the Harper's-live in the Phoenix area and Steven preaches at one of the congregations there.  They have 4 children-their 2 daughters are in the "middle" and they are in the same age group as Michaela.  They were all good childhood friends and we've been blessed to visit with them in '09 while Steven was holding a special meeting here in Arkansas-of course there is also facebook which they are "friends" on:)  So, we feel so incredibly blessed to be going to a place where Michaela will "know" someone and have some things in common!  We knew this move would be very different for all of us.  Rebecca will be staying behind here in Arkansas going to college, Michaela will be moving (for the first time) without her "built in" friend (her sister), and this will be our "final" military assignment...it is during this time that we have to decide where we will live/what we want to do with the rest of our lives.  Once again, we are humbled by the blessings of God's provision for our family.  We look forward to the 3 years we'll spend in Arizona and the new opportunities it brings us with regard to the work of the church, new relationships w/brethren, renewing old relationships, new opportunities for travel, and possibly future opportunities after John's AF retirement. 

This brings me to this week-what a whirlwind it has been! Of course doing laundry after a trip is always a half day chore! I've spent a LOT of time doing some final prep for this end of H.S. time for Rebecca.  Graduation invites designed/ordered, invitations to a graduation/reception printed, mailing labels printed, name cards printed, and a graduation party/potluck for all of our Christian H.S. Sr.'s and College Sr.s planned/invites ready to get out.  Also, trying to help Rebecca get all of her info together for summer hire program at the base.  Had to get her H.S. transcript so I can go pick up her acceptance letter at the college.  Which brings me to a "proud mommy" moment...when I picked up her transcript, the counselor asked me if I'd like to see it before she sealed it.  Of course I did.  One of the things on the transcript is the "position" she holds in class ranking.  I am SO proud of Rebecca...she is number 28 of 629 graduating Sr.'s this year-top 5%!  Wow-what an excellent testimony it is to the hard work she has put in for the last 4 years.  This will go a long way to boosting her confidence in college!  It is no easy feat to place in top 5% of any class-the competition here is EXTRA tough!  It is not uncommon to have several straight A students that have strictly AP classes!  Rebecca has taken several AP classes and they were the "tough ones",but she worked hard and did the best she could.  She learned a lot about "studying" and habits for study in those classes.  They were not enjoyable for her, she struggled through a few of them.  Even after that, she is in the top 5%-I could not be more pleased for her!  I have tried to encourage my girls to always "do their best" in whatever they do in life  I don't expect them to be perfect, I've never expected them to be straight A students, just do their best and "learn" some things along the way.  I have also never tried to "pressure" my girls into pursuing a college education.  I want them to understand that while education/book learning has it's place, it is not the end all of all.  The most important thing I want for them is that they learn to serve/love God better each day.  To always put His will above their own wants/desires.  I have encouraged them to understand that being a Christian is the highest calling on their life and the most blessed privilege of all.  Anything else they do, is optional.  I know that if you put God first in your life, the other stuff falls easily in line.  This would mean they would "do well" in school, academically.  This would mean they will "do well" in life as an adult, whether they choose to complete a college education or get out of H.S. and work a job to support themselves.  I pray each day for my girls to find a Christian mate and have grandchildren for me one day.  Not because it's what "I" want, but because it is what they say they desire.  If they choose to remain single and serve the Lord all of their days-it is their decision-and I will support/love them.  I have tried to impress upon them that God created women to be a "help meet" for a husband and to bear children to honor/serve Him.  Besides their own salvation, being a wife/mom is the greatest blessing they'll ever receive from God.  However, I also remind them that if they don't have a close relationship with the Lord, they will struggle in the calling of being a wife/mother.  If they are confident/secure/maturing in the Lord-these other roles will be much more of a joy.  I also try to present a "realistic" picture for them.  Life has it's struggles-most especially for the Christian.  It is through the trials/tribulations of this life that God proves us, that our faith increases, our dependance upon ourselves/others decreases while our ever growing dependancy upon God increases.  We would not want to live life without the struggles-they are what help us appreciate and long for the goal of Heaven!  So, wherever this life leads my hubby/I after retirement and our girls after H.S.-I know that as long as we are all "fighting the good fight" and "running the race" toward Heaven-we will all be reunited again in that great home above!  In the meantime, we will just each enjoy the journey here below.