Thankful

I want to start off this entry by congratulating one of my favorite friends on the news of adding a little girl to her family. Drea, I am thrilled beyond words for the gift God has given you and Orlando (and Sammy too!). I pray that you savor EVERY moment in the days to come and that God blesses your faithfulness to Him with children that have a desire to please our Jesus! It seems as if you do everything just a little bit ahead of me. And so, I hope this too is a sign of things to come and that one day I will be asking for advice on how to raise a Godly daughter in this day and age! I am so thankful for you AND our friendship!

If I could describe my life in one word lately it would be bittersweet. This weekend we celebrated Austin with a family birthday party. It was so fun and the perfect way to celebrate his first year of life. We did the usual stuff...watched the little man eat his cupcake, open presents, and play with his new toys. All in all I feel like it was an enormous success even though I think it officially wore all 3 of us out! :) One of my favorite parts of the day was sharing a little slideshow of Austin's first year with the whole family. I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to work on the story of his first year with pictures from our first days with him to pictures of his silly antics just a few days ago. It opened my eyes to 2 things.

First, time is FLYING! Was it just a year ago that he fit perfectly on my chest snuggled up in his blanket? While I will admit that sometimes I wish I could just jump in my car and run errands without the hassel of strollers and shopping cart covers, I can't even remember what it was like to shop for groceries and other necessities without my little buddy. Sure, there are days that my head is aching and I just want some peace and quiet, but then again life was kind of boring before his little voice echoed throughout the halls of our home. His sweet smile and fun personality brighten my day. I cannot and DO NOT want to imagine life without our little gift from God, which is why the pace of life scares me just a little. All to soon, I will realize that my little boy is a grown man and the sounds that echo in our home will be those of his family when they come for a visit. It's a bittersweet feeling. I can't wait to see what God will do in his life as he continues to grow and change, but I'm not ready to let him go even in just the small things these days. So I rock him a little longer and play with him a little more in an effort to savor each moment and memory.

Second, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of love for our families. They fill my heart with joy to overflowing. If a picture is worth a thousand words then there must have been a million represented in Austin's slideshow when it came to family. Their love for us is deep and ours for them deeper still. They have made some of the "bitter" days of life a little sweeter and the transitions a little easier. There is not a special memory I have in my life that does not include our family in some way and this weekend was no different. Thank you to all of you, present or far away, that bless us in countless ways on a daily basis! To say that we thank our God each time we think of you is an understatement! Here is just a glimpse of the day and those that could make the celebration. We certainly missed those of you who couldn't come but hope your day was as special as ours!

Like I said, my life is bittersweet these days and that fact is no different when it comes to my two sisters. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon helping my sister pack for her honeymoon and life in College Station with the man of her dreams. No one could rejoice more for her than those of us in her family, but oh how we will miss her when she "leaves and cleaves." How many conversations did we all have about the man God would bring to complete her amid broken dreams and a confused heart? Too many to count. But praise Jesus that those days are over and now we sit and shed a few tears over the sometimes painful transition of sending her off to a new chapter in her life! My heart aches just a little when I think about living here without the knowledge that she's just a two minute drive away, but I'd trade a two and a half hour drive over a NINE hour drive ANY day. (And don't think I won't pack up my little family and head that way the moment she calls ready for company!) We've come a long way in our sisterly relationship and I hope she knows how much I love being her older sister.

About the time we adjust to life with Britt in CS, we'll be gearing up to send Claire to college. I almost can't comprehend the thought of my littlest sister leaving to become a college student, but it just goes to show you that life doesn't stop...EVER! :) There's been talk of Baylor and secretly in my heart I hope that's where she ends up. I have such special memories and a favorite friend (mentioned above) from that delightful school! I pray the same experience for her no matter where God sends her, but I would be lying if I said there won't be a hole in our family times until she comes home for weekends and holidays.

But no matter what life and God may bring our way, I am thankful for these two precious girls who aren't just my sisters but two of my best friends. I am so proud of the women they've become and the blessing they are to me and those around them! You will both be missed when you head to the next place and season God has for you. But know that no matter where you go, your family anxiously awaits your visits to San Antonio and the time that we can soak up the feeling of being one big family in the same place again! I love, love, love you both!! :)

Ok, so on to some lighter subjects that WON'T bring tears to my eyes. I am THRILLED to announce that Austin is not only officially on whole milk but is also drinking that milk from his sippy cup without a problem! Do you have any idea how excited I am to pack up the leaking bottles for our garage sale this fall?! Unless you have children, you can probably only imagine. He is so cute when he grabs his cup by the handles and jams the top of it into his face as he tries to get the most juice he possibly can out of his new, semi-big boy cup. Way to go, sweet boy! We are so proud of you!

The other day as I was making dinner, I thought about our Sunday school lesson about enjoying the friendship and butterflies with your spouse that was so easily felt at the beginning of your relationship. So I thought I'd put a little romance into our daily dinner routine and light a candle and set the table. Do you just love our fancy, plastic Tulsa cups? One thing's for sure, you won't find those in any nice restaurants around town! :) I know I don't tell him often enough how thankful I am for his friendship and love. Even though we are still tweaking and improving our marriage daily, I feel like we have weathered the storms and changes well and I KNOW that is because of his steady personality. He keeps me grounded (and on budget!) and my life would be empty without him. I am making it a goal to work on savoring our time together and really being present in the moments we share whether they are brief or satisfyingly long. (Hmmm, I don't think "satisfyingly" is a word but oh well.) Thank you, Jesus for my husband! You not only gave me a man that completes me but you fullfilled the desires of my heart above and beyond what I could imagine!

Finally, I am so thankful for the rain we enjoyed last week. I am one of those people that absolutely love a rainy day. It is so refreshing, especially if you live somewhere that can be a little on the dry side. Ok, ALOT on the dry side! I was once told that rain signified blessing. I should probably do a little more research on that but either way I feel like it is a major contributer to growth and that includes the storms we encounter in life as well. So I guess that means that I am thankful for these bittersweet times that sometimes bring a little rain into my life. God is using even such a time as this to show me how precious and blessed my life is and for that I praise Him!