Being Thankful

This is a BIG thing in our household! Nick and I want our girls to be thankful for anything and everything that they have. We talk often of God's blessings and how He wants us to be thankful. Today, I had to take an outfit of Ally's back to the store. My aunt bought it for her and it didn't fit. I found a shirt to exchange it for and left. When I picked Ally up today, I showed her the shirt that I had gotten in exchange for the outfit that didn't fit. You would have thought that I had given her the moon. She just thanked me and thanked me. Then later when we got home and she saw the shirt again, she ran up, hugged me, and said, "I just wanted to say thank you again for getting that shirt for me!" My heart melted!

I must admit that I am guilty of not being as thankful as I should be for all of the countless blessings that God pours out on me. I pray for the thankfulness that Ally showed today! It was something small and yet she was so very thankful! Isn't it funny how much we can learn from the very children that we are teaching!

Thank you, Ally for reminding Mommy to be thankful...even for the small things!

Love/Hate Relationship

I love how loyal he is to our family.
I hate how he smells.

I love how he curls up at my feed when I watch TV.
I hate how he chews on everything in sight.

I love how happy he is to see us when we have been gone.
I hate how much he sheds.

I love that he lets the girls lay on him to cuddle.
I hate how he gets so excited that he knocks someone over or scratches them when he jumps.

I have a love/hate relationship with our dog, but if I have to admit it...I love him way more than I hate him!

Hello Summer

I am officially done with my first year of teaching! Not going to lie, it was a rough year and there were many times when I questioned my career decision. Now looking back, God knew what he was doing and I was right where He wanted me to be! I tend to forget that He won't always put us in great, comfortable places but He never leaves us.

Now, I get to enjoy some great, quality time with my family! So far we have traveled to Bull Shoals Lake, Bar-B-Qued, played outside, enjoyed time with our wonderful friends and family, and eaten more sno cones than I can keep track of! I would say that the summer is off to a fabulous start! Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with my blogging and share more thoughts with you all!

Happy Summer!!!
~Britt

Warning...Sad, Emotional Post Ahead - Read with Caution

15 days. Just over 2 weeks ago my family and I had to say a temporary good-bye to a wonderful woman. Already 15 days have passed. The world continues to spin. Life goes on. Things return to "normal". And that, makes me so angry. I know deep in my heart, that my Grandma would want those things to occur. She would want us to laugh and smile. I do that for a period of time and then I just feel like exploding. My heart hurts so bad and I feel a literal empty hole inside. While I know this good-bye is only temporary, it feels so final at the moment. I want to see her face. I want to hear her voice. I want to feel her hug.

I know - big pity party! I warned that it would be a sad, emotional post.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Our first holiday without that bright, shining smile. It will be a rough day. My mind keeps going back to a song that was played during my Grandma's funeral - "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood. Here are the lyrics...

Old man, hospital bed
The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers don't cry for me
I'll see you all someday
He looks up and says "I can see God's face."

"This is my temporary Home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This was just a stop,on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home."

In the midst of my sadness, I am so thankful that this is our temporary home and that I will get to see my grandma someday. I will get to feel her hug and see her sweet smiling face. I am also so thankful that I got to have a Grandma that was so strong in her faith, that she shared that faith with all of us, and that she was EXCITED to see Jesus. She used that phrase before she went in for surgery exactly one month ago. She said that if she didn't make it through, she was EXCITED! How impressive! What a wonderful lady! How lucky I am that she was in my life!

Writer's Block...Already!?

Could it be that I am already suffering from writer's block? Just a couple of posts and that is all I can come up with?

Maybe it is the extra time we are spending trying to get a swing set built. Maybe it is a little bit of depression sneaking into my body.

Hopefully I will come up with some good posts soon! I have lots of ideas but no words to go with them!

Don't give up...keep checking back...I am sure I will find something to write about! Meanwhile, if you have any good ideas that I could write about, feel free to share them! Maybe that would jump start my brain!

Nick's Adventure

I know this is my blog but I must tell you about Nick's upcoming adventure. I am sure it will forever change his life and ours as a family too.

Nick will be traveling to Kenya this summer (Mid June) on a mission trip with three other men from our church. They will be working with a well digging team to dig a well for a village that desperately needs clean water. We are both very excited and admittedly a little overwhelmed. Nick had been feeling God leading him to a mission trip. He was introduced to two possibilities for this summer and felt the Kenya trip to be the best fit. He is currently busy making sure that he has all of the vaccinations needed and that all of his paperwork is in order.

I am so proud of him! I am amazed that God has put such a wonderful man in my life. It is so wonderful to watch God work in our lives and in our hearts as we strive to honor His kingdom.

I ask you to pray for Nick as God prepares his heart for this trip. I ask for your prayers for myself, that I would be a supportive and helpful wife.

I pray that our hearts and minds would be ever open for God's prompting and leading.

Unspoken Words

It is a well known fact that women have MANY more words to express throughout a day than men do. I need an outlet!!! An outlet for all of those extra words that never seem to make it to the surface. Words that could make a difference or speak to someone. Words that just need to escape my brain so that it can rest.

So, my outlet...blogging! I am BACK! :o) I won't promise daily writings, but I will write and post as much as possible.

Please return tomorrow to see what words come spilling out!
~Britt