kelly

I am really enjoying making this thankful list. It hasn’t been at all hard to come up with items that I am thankful for at all. I know that I am blessed and I have way more blessings than I could list anyway.

Today is my grandparents’ 59th anniversary and I am taking today to be thankful for Pop and Gran-Gran. My grandparents have always had a very special place in my heart and always will. Growing up, we spent a lot of time with them which built so many wonderful memories. They live out in the country, so we always had plenty of room to run and play. When we got older, we rode go-carts, a mini-motorbike and 3-wheelers all over their place. They have a pond where we used to fish and even swim.  Their house was like home to my brother Charlie and me.  I absolutely treasure the many memories we have with Gran-Gran and Pop.

When Charlie and I were growing up, we called them Jack and Gran. Yes, Jack is Pop’s “real” name and we always called him that. When I was little, I called him Granddaddy, but Charlie changed all that when he started talking and we called him “Jack” from that point. He loved it! He never had a problem when we called him that even though some people did. Not Jack, he let it be special between us. I called Gran “Granny” when I was little, but Charlie changed that too and “Gran” stuck with her. Macey is the one that renamed them “Pop” and “Gran-Gran” which is really sweet too. No matter what name we call them, it’s always done in love and admiration.

I could tell many a story about our time with Gran-Gran and Pop. There were the times when we’d go swimming after school in the pond and Jack would bring out a john boat for us to try to sink it in the pond. We could never sink that thing!!  Jack would often take me hunting with him even though he knew that with me in a tree stand, he’d never really get a shot at a deer. (What, with me eating crackers and whispering, etc.) We used to go camping in the summers and always loved going out on the boat when Pop drive us around the lake. Gran taught me a lot , especially in the kitchen. She showed me how to make yummy “cat head” (aka – BIG) biscuits from scratch. She took us with her when she would go to visit the shut-ins of her church and we got to see a beautiful ministry in action in addition to meeting some wonderful people. When we got sick, Gran-Gran would baby us just a little bit longer than necessary sometimes. And, she always let us have coffee milk which we thought was out of this world. Those are only a few of the many great memories I have been blessed to form with my grandparents.

Pop and Gran-Gran have been married 59 years today. That’s so amazing. And, what is awesome to me is that you can still tell just how much they love each other today. It’s beautiful and I thank God that their love created our family. We are so blessed!

Happy Tuesday, y’all! Hope all is well all around today. It’s shaping up to be a busy day for me today, so here’s to hoping I get it all done.

Today, I am thankful for the moms in my life. That’s right, plural momS.

I have an amazing mom (Pattie) who is one of my dearest friends. I talk to her every day and we have a very strong and close relationship. We are so much alike that we agree strongly and on rare occasion clash mightily. Fortunately, the clashes are very few and far between these days. (Let’s not talk about my stubborn/know-it-all teen years, okay?) We are able to lend a listening ear when needed and to “tell it like it is” when that is needed too. We have so much fun hanging out together too. We like to shop (mostly for antiques or “junk”), we like coming up with new kitchen ideas and neither one of us would mind being at the beach for any given length of time.  I am blessed to have this strong bond with my mom and I’m very thankful for it. I love watching her bond with my girls grow too. Motherly love never divides – it always multiplies and my mom is a wonderful example of that through all three of her precious grandchildren.

My step-mom Dorothy is another blessing in my life. She has been married to my daddy for over 20 years now and has really been a special person in my life for all this time. We have a wonderful relationship. We can laugh at the absolute silliest of things, but to us it’s the funniest stuff we’ve ever heard.  We share a love of music and appreciate much of the same works.  She brings a lot of joy to my life. And, I love the way she loves my girls and they love her too. The old stepmother myth from fairytales simply isn’t true here.  Far from it. I couldn’t have prayed for a better step-mom than Dorothy.

My mother-in-law Linda is the kind of mother-in-law every woman should be blessed to have. She  is thoughtful, generous and loving. She accepted me pretty much immediately. She offered to buy me a wedding planner book before Mickey and I were even engaged. 😉   She has been incredibly supportive of me and of us as a family.  It’s so obvious how much she loves the girls (and all four of her grands!) and they love her too. We don’t get to see Mickey’s parents all that often because we live 800 miles apart, but our time with them is always very special. And, I know that I am blessed to have a genuinely precious mother-in-law.

I have also had some amazing “other mothers” in my lifetime. I moved to this area by myself in 1998. I didn’t have much money to my name, didn’t know anyone and basically starting a new phase of life on my own. I started working a hospital in Atlanta when I moved here.  There were some ladies there that really took me under their wings and helped me to not only adjust to being here, but to grow into my own. Those ladies were Joan, Janice, Mildred, Peggy-Ann, Paula and Debbie.  Almost immediately, they surrounded me with love, friendship and guidance. Sweet Mildred has gone on to Glory now and I think about her often. The other ladies and I keep in touch, mostly via the internet through email and/or Facebook. I hope they know how much they mean to me because they stepped up for me at a time when I needed it the most.

Last, but certainly not least, I am blessed to have other family members and friends who are moms. Becoming a mom has such an awesome blessing for me. Being a stay at home mom is an absolute dream come true. Still, it’s not always easy. Having other moms around for advice, support, guidance, help and friendship is so important. Other moms have offered me more than I could ever put into words. It’s a beautiful network and I know that I couldn’t make it without other moms.

Thank you to all the moms in my life. You are all amazing!!

Good morning!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Our was nice, but it went by like a flash. The good news about that is that we are on the final countdown to our Disney trip!! We are driving to Orlando on Saturday and we cannot wait! When we planned this trip, we had over 70 days to go and now we’re down to five days before we leave to drive down there. WOO HOO!! We are all very excited, of course. Can’t wait!

I had a hard time waking up and getting going this morning. I had one of those nights in which I couldn’t stay asleep for any decent length of time – or, so it felt. I felt like I woke up a lot and slept very lightly when I was asleep. So, I don’t exactly feel rested and refreshed this morning. But, that’s okay because at least I get another day with my family. For that, I’m thankful.

Today’s item on my Thankful List is fresh clean sheets. Ironic since I didn’t sleep well last night, right? But, oh…seriously…what is better than fresh clean sheets on a bed? I might not have slept very well, but I was extremely comfy and cozy. A few weeks ago, I switched our sheets from the cream colored sheets we use all summer to our dark green Egyptian cotton sheets. There is just something extra warm and cuddly about dark colored sheets in cool months.  Love ’em!! Yesterday I washed and dried the linens from each of  our beds, so we all slept on fresh clean sheets last night. I only wish I had slept better, but at least I can say that I was snug as could be in my bed. AHHHH!!

Hope y’all have a wonderful day!

Kelly

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
Psalm 3:5(NIV)