Home School Graduation - Planning Is Over and Party Begins!!!

Continuing on with our last post about our home school graduation.....

We decided to hold our graduation outside due to the fact that we have wayyyy more space outside than inside!!  We set up the ceremony space on the west side of our home, facing east. This allowed the sun to be behind our sweet guests and not bother their eyes.

We set 75 chairs up divided into two with an aisle down the middle.  You will also see in the picture above the tv screen that we brought out to play the slide show on.  It was soooo windy that we ended up having to strap it down!!

So the ceremony began and my baby came down the aisle dressed in her graduation cap and gown. 

I can't even begin to express the love that exuded from all of her family and friends at that moment.  It really was almost tangible.  Her home schooling journey would not have been nearly as fulfilling had she not had the love and support of everyone around her.

After a couple of speeches from some old foggies (her Daddy and I :)), we opened the floor up to give our guests an opportunity to share.

Then BAM!!  Before we knew it, it was over and she was a high school graduate!!!  Woohoo  girly!!

In my opinion, one of the most special parts of the ceremony was when everyone came up and prayed over her and the journey that she is embarking on.

Inside the house, we had set up a photo line with various photos from her life as well as a graduate table where she displayed and shared some of her life with everyone.

After all of that was done, we partied down!!  We ate fajitas, ate tons of desserts and had a great time visiting!!  Because of the wind we were unable to light the bonfire and cook s'mores, but that's okay!  It just left more time to visit.

Having never planned or attended an individual home school graduation, we did not really know what to expect.  But this celebration of my daughter and her leaving this one journey and heading onto a new one was, for us, the perfect way to close this adventure!

Home School Graduation

Howdy blogger friends!!  Sorry for the silence last week, but we were recovering from our oldest daughter's graduation and then we went head first into fence building!!

I know that many of you have never been to a home school graduation before, so let me start by giving you a bit of background info.  There are as many different types of home school graduations as there are home schools, so no two are the same!  The biggest decision that my daughter had to make was whether or not she wanted to graduate with a group or as an individual.  She decided that she wanted a more intimate graduation with her family and friends.

 

This is one of her senior pictures

So then the work began....how in the world do you plan a home school graduation??  What is it supposed to look like? 

We began with the basis of a party!  She knew that she wanted a large celebration involving the many people that have played a part in her schooling be it through church, co-op, life skills, etc.  After deciding on a celebration involving dinner, we moved to the guest list. 

Our plan was to have approximately 100 people celebrate with us on this day.  Well....with that many people our food options were limited.  We either cater it out (which was wayyyy too expensive!), or we find a food that can be mostly prepped beforehand.  My stepmother suggested fajitas and we thought that was a brilliant idea so we went with it!!

Then we moved on to the actual schedule.  We live about an hour from most of our family and friends, so we decided to begin with about an hour set aside for fellowship and hors d'oeuvres.  This would allow extra travel time for those who might underestimate the drive time as well as allow extra time for traffic.

After that we went into the actual graduation ceremony.  I allowed about 45 minutes for the ceremony and in the end, that seemed to be a good estimate.  The ceremony was followed by dinner and an hour after dinner we opened up the dessert bar!!  To end it all, we planned on lighting a bonfire once the sun went down and bringing out the S'mores material!!

Schedule complete!  Now on to planning the ceremony.  I found several ideas online, but this is what we ended up going with:

Prelude:  One Thing Remains by Passion - we asked her to choose a song that summed up her mindset as she goes forward in her life
Welcome and Prayer:  Farmer Willie - this was a time to thank everyone for coming to celebrate with us as well as open us in prayer
Processional:  Pomp and Circumstance
Our Homeschooling Journey:  Me :) - here I gave a little background info regarding our homeschooling experience as well as a few lessons that I have learned along the way
Shared Words From Family and Friends - during this time we asked if any of her family or friends in the audience would like to share anything with her or about her
A Pictorial Transcript:  Created by her sister!! - this was outstanding!  Her sister took photos from birth up to her graduation pictures and make a beautiful slide show set to music.  I still tear up when I watch it!!
Charge to the Graduate:  Farmer Willie - for this, her Daddy took time to share a few words of advice and to express our confidence in the fact that she is well prepared to go and do what the Lord has called her to do!
Reflections from the Valedictorian:  The graduate herself!! - mostly she thanked people for the part they have played in her life and expressed their importance to her
Presentation of the Diploma:  Farmer Willie and I - we  found a beautiful diploma template online so we made the necessary changes and printed it on beautiful paper for her
Closing Prayer and Blessing:  All attendees led by Farmer Willie - to close it up, we asked everyone to come and lay hands on her as her Daddy led everyone in a prayer of blessing

We printed the schedule for the afternoon/evening as well as the ceremony on some cardstock and DD#2 cute-i-fied them!!

With the scheduling and planning now complete, we moved on to carrying out the logistics!!  We sent out invitations, ordered chairs from a local party company, borrowed several tables, went shopping at a local Sam's Club, got the house all picked up and were ready to go.

We had the invites printed at Walgreens.  Obviously I blurred out her name and our address :)  It was not like that on the actual invites!!!

Oops!!  Then I realized that I forgot to order her cap and gown!!!  In the end, finding a gown was easy, but we were down to the wire on the cap!!  We finally found one about an hour away and Farmer Willie walked in to pick it up 15 minutes before they closed!!  Whew!!

Getting ready to graduate!!

My fabulous sis-in-law and her sweet family came a day early to help get everything ready as well as volunteer her services for making an outstanding graduation cake!!

 I will give you more pictures and details tomorrow!!

A Day of Practicality!!

Okay, those of you who know me know that practicality is not my strong suit!!  But...I occasionally come up with a good idea that is also practical!!

We are on the cusp of a graduation ceremony and party for our oldest daughter and my lack of practicality is coming back to bite me in the tushy!!

Big plans....but no way to carry them out.  Yuppers, story of my life!

Anyway to remind myself that I do come up with an idea that is capable of being carried out, I will share some of them with you!!  (Okay, some of these might not be TOTALLY my ideas, but I have no idea where I got them from!!)

*  Let your children work out their issues with their siblings without your involvement.  Now, before you go thinking we just let the girls duke it out in the boxing ring, we do have certain parameters that if crossed, we will intervene.  But for the most part, we stay out of it.

*  Mom is not a short order cook!  I will not cook-to-order our meals.  We have a daughter that is a vegetarian.  When we have hotdogs, raw veggies and baked beans, she has invented the bean dog! 

She will take a bun, fill it with beans, add a little mustard and Wahlah!!  She has a bean dog!!  Put that with some of the raw veggies and she has a meal.  Not one single child has distributed signs of starvation and in fact, they now will try almost anything and enjoy a wide variety of foods!!

*  Chores!!  Don't shy away from sharing chores with your children.  When they were young, I explained that they were learning how to be wives and mommies by my teaching them how to run a household.  As they got older, chores were a tangible way to show them that they were needed in our home and that we all had to work together to make things run.

*  Colors.  What??!  Colors!!  When the girls were young we assigned them each a color in order to keep toothbrushes, hairbrushes, towels, etc. separate.  I must give credit for this one to a sweet lady that I went to church with who had 12 children!

*  Teaching them how to choose appropriate things to watch and listen to.  Now this is a whole other blog post that I am working on for next week. The gist of it is that we teach our children when they are young how to guard their hearts and why they should, so that when they are teenagers, they can regulate themselves.

*  A time to sleep and a time to rise and most of the time, the time to rise is earlier than they might like!!  The girls have always had a bedtime and wake up time that we try very hard to adhere to.  My oldest has told me that this is one of the skills learned that she is most thankful for.

*  Travel as much as you can.  We can't hop across the ocean and tour Europe (though we certainly would love to!), but we have found other ways to travel and see the world.  For us, this has been camping in state parks, flying to NYC, taking a family trip to Alaska, going to Oklahoma City, and so forth.  Just go!!  Traveling pulls your children out of their comfort zone and it allows them to see that a world exists outside of what they see every day. 

 
*  If you don't want to share it, don't keep it out!  This was our rule when the girls were young and struggled with sharing their toys.  We did not make them share everything as most of us have items that are special to us.  But if they did not want to share it, they had to put it up when friends came over.  If it was out, it had to be shared!!

Well, I feel better now and more able to go and conquer the world of high school graduation celebrations!! 
 
I probably am not going to blog anything else this week so that I can concentrate on getting ready for our get-together, but I will let you know how it all goes next week!!
 
See y'all then!!

This Too Shall Pass...

My baby girl graduates from high school on Sunday.

My baby girl graduates from high school on Sunday.

My baby girl graduates from high school on Sunday.

Nope, it doesn't get any easier to say it!!  And I still can't believe it!!

Eighteen years ago I remember looking upon that chubby face and covering it with mommy kisses.  I promised myself and her that I would absorb every day, every minute of my time with her.

Fast forward a few weeks and after three weeks of nursing her every two hours, several bouts of mastitis, and complete sleep deprivation, I started to wonder if I might be absorbing too much!  I mean a sponge can only hold so much water!!  Ya know what I mean??!!

But a wise friend gave me some advice for the parenting journey that was just beginning....This too shall pass. 

She told me to remember that when the nights are short and I feel like I can't go on another minute..This too shall pass.  She also told me to remember it when things were going great and I thought my kid was the smartest, most talented, bestest kiddo on the planet!!

As that sweet baby grew older, our days went from ones of constant nursing and no sleep to days of grabbing sticks of butter off of the table (while we had company over of course!!) and eating it!!  Her favorite word was "NO!" and if I said go left, she would look up at me with that beautiful smile and turn right!!

So I remembered.  I remembered that This too shall pass.  I tried to appreciate every day I had with her, even when I was pulling my hair out by the end of it!!  Now, don't get me wrong, some days were easier than others and some days I totally sucked at the appreciating every day thing....but we tried.

Then it stopped!  As quickly as her defiant stage started, it stopped!!  Oh how wonderful my child was.  Obviously I was a fantastic parent to have raised such a joy to be around. 

Oops!  I had forgotten the wise advice...This too shall pass!  Because then we brought in a baby sister!!

Well, my first baby girl was not too pleased to share her life with my second baby girl.  She became a whining, complaining mess!!  I tried to remember that this was a huge adjustment for her little self, but on the days when I was sleep deprived...again...it was a bit hard.  But my wise friend reminded me again...This too shall pass!

When my baby girl was around six years old, they thought that she had a tumor on her thyroid.  We went through one week of test after test and scan after scan.  I was terrified that something was wrong with her.  What if the Lord took her from me?

It was during this time that the Lord really taught me about the frailty of life and how we only have today.  He taught me about making each day count for the kingdom and as a parent, that also equates to making each day count in the life of my children.

As the years went on, we had our good months and our not so good months.  But I kept in mind that This too shall pass. 

I remember thinking that twelve years old was soooo far away.  I could not imagine her ever being that old.  Then POOF....she was!

I remember thinking that it would take forever for her to turn 16.  Then POOF...she was!!

Now POOF...she is 18, graduating from high school and leaving for college in a few months!!

Now, when I think of the saying...This too shall pass...it means something different to me.  I don't think about it as often as a way to help me get through a tough day, or a way to keep me grounded.

No, I think of it as a reminder that I only have three months left to instill in my baby girl all that she needs to know to be ready to head into the college world. 

I only have three months left to make sure that she is thoroughly grounded in the Word before she is surrounded by the world.

I only have three months left to look at her sweet face every morning while she is sleeping and watch the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. 

I only have three months left to listen from a different room to her laugh with her sisters.

Then she will go away.  I know that her journey is only temporary and she will be home during school breaks and summers.  But you and I both know that it won't be the same.  She will leave our home in three months as a child, but she will return to me a young woman.

I have known for 18 years that This too shall pass.  That childhood would pass for my daughters and they would enter adulthood.  I just did not think it would come so fast!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I KNOW that the Lord is in control and that she is walking in His plan.  I also know that if we missed teaching or instilling anything in her, the Lord will provide another way!!  But my mommy heart hurts.

So for all of my friends out there who have young children.  Those who are exhausted and frustrated...remember that This too shall pass.

For my friends who have teenagers who might be causing a ruckus right now...remember This too shall pass.

And for my fellow moms of children who area about to graduate and their hearts are excited for their children, yet are a bit broken for what is changing...remember This too shall pass!  And from what I hear...the next journey is awesome!

Homeschool Co-ops: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!!

Ahhh....the ancient home schooling question...Should we join a co-op?

Okay, so maybe the question is not ancient, but it is a good one that comes up at least once in most home schooling families!!

I had never planned on joining a co-op until a good friend of mine joined one and invited us to join as well when my oldest was in 6th grade.  It sounded like fun, so we jumped right on in!!

(Oh, by the way, I can't believe that I have so many picture of peoples backs!!  I did not want to show the faces of anyone except my girls in order to protect the privacy of my friends and I thought it would be wayyy hard!!  I am amazed by the number of "back only" pics I found!!)

This was taken when we were at our first co-op!

We loved our co-op!  It was nice to have incredible teachers instruct the girls, as they got older, in the advanced maths and sciences that I felt inadequate to teach at that point in my life.  Friends were made by both mom and daughters!  I would definitely call it a success!  There were so many opportunities for a wide variety of classes!

We spent five years at this first co-op and really enjoyed it.  I was blessed to serve as director for some of the time and this really allowed me to get an inside look at how these co-ops work.  Trust me, it is wayyy more complicated than you would think!!  Managing 80 families takes some work!!

Ballet class getting ready to perform!

Little House on the Prairie class demonstration.

After a great experience in a large co-op, we began to have a need for a smaller one geared toward our curriculum, Tapestry of Grace (TOG). 

This particular curriculum is built on a weekly climax of group discussions for the middle school and high school group.  We were blessed, yet again, to find a few families working on the same curriculum and thus started our TOG co-op. 

This one was much smaller, having on average only five families, and more specific as far as what needs it met.  We were mainly there to hold weekly discussions around our readings in literature and history/worldviews. 

We also added a few extra classes such as writing, art, and science classes for the younger set!!

Science for elementary!!

High school writing peer reviews.

 

This co-op has been a great experience as well!  We love the families that we meet with and have all been together long enough that we know what to expect from each child, etc. 

So coming from someone who has had experience with no co-op, a large co-op and a small co-op I have learned some lessons.

1.  A great co-op will work for a great family only as long as it fills a need.  What that need is varies from family to family.  Some people use it to fill a social need, some an educational need and others an accountability need.  When the need has been met and is gone, the co-op just becomes another item on the long to-do list of a home schooling mom.

2.  If you choose to participate in a co-op, get involved!  Remember, you are still the primary teacher for your children and the one ultimately responsible for making sure they are provided a well-rounded education. 

Sometimes parents have the tendency to mentally "check out" of co-op classes assuming that the teacher will take on the responsibility.  You must remember that most of the time, the teachers are other home schooling parents with their own families to educate and they are volunteering their time and gift. 

3.  If you are part of a large or small co-op, make a point to meet other parents.  One of the benefits of co-ops is the fact that you form a support group!!

4.  If you are part of a co-op, make sure you stay committed whether you are teaching a class or cleaning up afterwards.  You might have great reasons for needing to change plans, but just keep in mind it will effect the others. 

5.  The biggest lesson that I have learned from participating in co-ops is that I CAN do this!!  I CAN teach this!  With all of the support that is now available, there is no high school subject that I can't teach if I choose to.  Now, it will take a lot of work, and sometimes we are at chapters in our lives where we must co-op or hire subjects out, but know that you don't have to. 

Yes, I taught a chemistry lab!!!

6.  I have met hundreds of home schooling families and have encountered hundreds of schooling styles.  Everyone has their own way that works best for them.  But co-op or no co-op, the most important thing is to stay focused on the Lord and what He has planned for you.  Sometimes that might not look like the path that makes the most sense to You, but His is ALWAYS better!!

This coming year we will be with our small co-op for the third year.  I absolutely LOVE the families that we are with.  I have worked mostly with the teens and I can tell you, this up and coming generation will knock your socks off!!!

We considered all going our separate ways for various reasons, one being that I have moved over an hour and a half away from where we were meeting.  But after a lot of prayer, we have decided to carry on another year!!

We have no idea where we are going to meet, or who all we will add to our core families, but we know we are walking down the Lord's path.  And right now, at this point in time, that is all we need to know!! 

I M.E.T. Him on Monday - In the Labor and Delivery Room

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to share one of my miracles/experiences with you that happened when I was giving birth to my youngest daughter.

Rewind eight years ago plus a month or so.........

I was about one week overdue with delivering my youngest daughter.  Boy was I ready to hold her in my arms as opposed to my belly!!

I went to the doctor for another checkup and everything looked great, but my doctor mentioned wanting to induce my labor.  There was no medical necessity for it, but she was suggesting we think about heading any problems off.

Now, as soon as she mentioned it, I clearly understood that the Lord wanted me to question it and ask her to wait a while.  I KNEW this without a doubt. 

But, I was so worried that I would offend her by questioning her that I kept my mouth shut.  Can we all say people pleasing issues??!! 

Now the funny thing about this is, my OB/GYN was a fantastic lady and most likely would have had no problem at all discussing this with me.  Hindsight 20/20!!

So we schedule an induction for the following Monday.  I spent the weekend stewing over the fact that I knew I should not be induced.  I knew that it was not time, but still....I stayed silent.

I tried everything that weekend to induce labor on my own.  I walked, planted flower gardens, drank and ate every food or drink rumored to start labor and nothing!!

So come Monday morning Farmer Willie and I head to the hospital to begin.  They start all of the meds and get labor going.

All is going well for about an hour and then my blood pressure begins to creep up so they won't let me out of bed.  Labor stalls and they break my water.  This helps and I am laboring pretty good.

Then, we figure out that she is still floating in the uterus.  Her head is in no way coming into the birth canal.  She is soooo not ready to come into this world!!

We try for several more hours, the doctor tries various ways of coaxing her down, but she is not obliging!! 

After deciding that we have done all that we can, the doctor makes the call to perform a C-section.  Now, to some of you this will not seem like a big deal.  To me it was a huge deal!!

My sweet OB/GYN had known me for quite a while and she knew of my strong desire to stay out of the OR.  She told me that she had been praying for the baby to drop so that we could proceed.  But that at this point, the baby was distressed, my blood pressure was going up and she had no choice.

The doctor checked the progress one more time and she said that there was none and no hope of it changing any time soon.

Farmer Willie and I consented and they went to get the paperwork for us to sign.

To say I was devastated was an understatement.  I was devastated and terrified!  I felt like things were not going the way that they were supposed to, but everything was out of my control.

Then I remembered.....Yes, I remembered the nagging voice all weekend telling me to talk to my doctor about not inducing. 

Farmer Willie and my mom were in the room with me.  The nurses had left us alone to get the paperwork together, so we began to pray.  We were praying for peace regarding what had to be done as well as safety for the baby and myself.  As we were praying, I knew then that I had sinned.

I had sinned by keeping my mouth shut when I knew that I should have spoken.  I knew that if I had asked the questions that needed to be asked, I would not be in this situation right now.  I had sinned and it was affecting not only myself, but my child.

As Farmer Willie was praying for safety and peace, I began to pray for forgiveness.  Forgiveness for not listening and obeying and for putting someone else's opinion of me above God's. 

As I prayed for forgiveness, I also prayed that the Lord would take this current situation away, and if not, that He would give me peace.

I suddenly felt the baby drop and an overwhelming urge to push.

I stopped Farmer Willie in the middle of his prayer and told him to get the nurse, I thought that the baby was coming.  He looked at me with sad eyes (thinking his wife has gone delusional!!) and walked out into the hall to get someone.

The nurse also looked at me with sad eyes and said, "Honey, we just checked you.  There is no way that enough could change over this short amount of time that would change the doctors course of action.  But I will go ahead and check for you again."

Well...good thing she did!!  As the doctor walked in the door with my paperwork, the nurse yelled that the baby was coming!!

Everyone whipped into place and readied to deliver her.  They called in the NICU as they were expecting her to be distressed due to the fact she was distressed in utero and also the fact that she traveled down the birth canal too quickly.

Then...pop...out she came, crying and screaming as loud as she could.  They checked her out and she was perfect!!

I was overwhelmed at that moment.  Overwhelmed with the joy of becoming a mommy to my fourth daughter and overwhelmed with thankfulness for the mercy I was given in the face of my sinful choice.

There have been many times in my life where I have seen direct consequences of my sinful choices come to pass, even when I have repented and pray for them not to come.  When we make certain choices, consequences regarding that choice, whether it was a good or bad one, are part of the human world.  What makes this different for me is that it was such an obvious testimony of the presence of God.

I go through my life and sometimes I get so caught up with what is going on that I forget how involved that the Lord wants to be if I will only call on Him.  And I forget that He knows the best path for me to take, if I will only ask Him.

What this miracle and experience does for me is that it reminds me of His presence.  It reminds me to listen to that still, small voice when I hear it.  It reminds me to put heavenly instructions above earthly desire. 

And finally, it reminds me of the power of repentance, whether it is through a change in circumstance or through a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Farming Update

Can you believe that we have been here on the farm for almost 6 months??!!  I sure can't!

Each day has been an adventure :)  This spring it has been so neat to see all of the trees, flowers and grass come to life!!

As you know, we are down to just three chickens.  We did their yearly deworming, so we have been eggless for a couple of weeks.  I think after this week we will start to eat the eggs again.  They say you only need to wait two weeks, but we are waiting three just to be safe.

We are looking at adding a slew of broiler chickens and increasing our egg layers over the next couple of weeks, as well as adding the two goats I told you about.  Fencing has been a major issue around here and has been causing lots of grief for us!!

With our daughter's graduation, prepping to head out on a mission trip, debate tournaments, etc., we are having trouble fitting everything in and that is frustrating.  But a sweet friend has been encouraging me to just take it one day and step at a time and rest in the fact that the Lord will carry us through!!

So, have you ever tried to take it one day at a time??!!  CRAZY hard isn't it??  It certainly does not sound like it would be difficult.  In fact, you would think that it would be easy...but no!  Hard it is!!

So many scriptures tell us to embrace the concept of one day at a time, such as:


"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt. 6:34).

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow . . ." (Matt. 5:33).

"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (Matt. 5:31-32).


Why in the world is this so hard? 

I guess it is because I like how it sounds but...

I want a plan. 
I want control. 
I want security. 
I want to know that what I do today will benefit in some way my tomorrow.

Ummmm.....see a theme here?  How about "I"...."I"..."I"...??  Instead of Him...Him...Him.

So I am learning that plans and security are great, but I need to make sure that they are His plans and that I am finding my security in Him, not in what I can or cannot do.

I will find what work I can that needs to be done and I will do it.  I will make plans for tomorrow, but only after consulting Him.  And if those plans don't turn out the way that I think they should, I will rest in the security of knowing that His plans are better than mine!!

So today I will work on organizing the laundry room and setting family and personal goals for the summer.


But I don't start with a pen and paper to make my list. 
No, I start with a prayer. 

And I won't finish when I run across the finish line. 
No, I will finish when He carries me across!

(As you can see, it definitely needs organized!!)

I M.E.T. Him on Monday-Wonders, Signs, and Miracles!!

Good MONDAY morning to ya!!!!

Last week we started a weekly Monday series called "I M.E.T. Him on Monday."  So every Monday I will share with you some miracle or experience that the Lord has revealed in my life. 

The story below is a continuation of the one I began last week....The Answer Before the Question.

Below is the rest of the story, looking back a year later.  I choose to use the entry from a year later because I feel it has good perspective of what I learned through this miracle and experience!

Oh, and sorry that I did not post more last week!  DD's #2, 3, 4 and I were out of town at a debate tournament all week!! 

So....here ya go!!.......


They performed a lung biopsy on the last day I was there and came back telling me that it still appeared I had something called MAI, which is a rare lung infection. The treatment was 18 months of a chemo type drug cocktail with many yucky side effects.

Well, during the biopsy they cut out pieces of 6 different masses that were found in my lungs and sent them off for biopsy. The following day, when I was released, a friend was coming over to pray over me.

All week the week before we had been fervently praying for complete healing from this. Well, as she walked in the door, the pulmnologist called and said that though he still thought I had MAI, when looking at the biopsy under the microscope, the cells appeared to be healing themselves! He was surprised because this infection does not normally work like that. Of course, I told them that I was not surprised!! Praise the Lord!

Well, 6 weeks later they performed another set of CT scans and the lung spots were all completely gone! And there was no lasting damage!

So this week, as I have been participating in tons of fun Christmas activities with my family, I keep remembering where we were this time last year. I remember how scary it felt for us and how lonely the hospital feels, especially this time of year. I remember the look in my girls eyes when they walked in with their face masks, gloves, hat and hospital gown on. I remember how desperately I wanted to touch them and feel their warm skin.

I remember how huge of a blessing it was to have friends step in and do fun activities with my girls when I could not. I remember a special friend bringing flameless candles and food up to the hospital so Farmer Willie and I could celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary together, despite us being stuck up there! I remember special people bringing Christmas decorations and music up to my room to make it festive. There was even someone who brought up small gifts for me to give the girls when they came to visit.

I remember the lessons that I learned. First and foremost, even when we are isolated from everyone else, God it there. Not only is He there, but He cares that you feel sad, worried, scared, etc. I learned how important it is to listen to the gentle voice that tells you to reach out to people and how much of an impact a small act of kindness can make on a person. I learned that life can change directions on a dime and we absolutely can NOT take a single moment for granted. I learned that God hears us....ALWAYS!

So during this Christmas season I am going to hug my girls a little tighter. Smooch on Farmer Willie a little more! Fret less when my cookies burn. Forget about finding the perfect gift.

I am going to take the time to sit in front of the fire longer. Play baby dolls with my girls more! Care less about what people think about my wrapping job, my house, my clothes, my kids' clothes, my decorations and my gifts. Care more about making sure that absolutely EVERYONE in my life knows that I love and appreciate them more than they can imagine. And most importantly, during this Christmas season, I am going to do everything, and I mean EVERYTHING for His glory!