Charlie

Tonight Heaven is a much brighter place because Charlie is there. He left his earthly family tonight to be with his Heavenly one. We will miss him so much and our prayers are with his sweet family.

Never Forget

Today my little family went to the veterans' cemetary to visit Daddy's grave. One of the most touching things was my sweet Savannah. She had wanted to bring one of her flowers she received after her ballet recital to put on Papa's grave. It got left at home on the couch where she laid it down just before we left, she was so sad, "I don't have anything for Papa." She was crying. I explained that Papa knew that she wanted to bring him a flower and that we'd put the flower in it's own vase just for Papa when we got home, this seemed to help some but she was still sad. When we got there the clover was blooming and she searched and searched for the perfect flower and placed it in front of Papa's grave. I was so touched.

I also had a chance to meet someone who was visiting her brother's grave, her story was so moving, we shared hugs and tears and a love for those who gave their lives to service.

I am grateful for all those who faithfully served and serve their country. I am also grateful to those who supported them, following them around the globe, staying behind when called upon, keeping the home fires burning. Thank you to the wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, children, siblings and friends who give these heros strength to continue and a "home" to fight for and to return to.

I miss you Daddy

Little Dancer

Well tomorrow is Savannah's first dance recital. I am so excited for her. They won't allow us to take pictures during the recital so I went and had her pictures made and thought I would post some of them here for your enjoyment. I know that they made me smile hopefully they will make you smile too.

A Thankful Mommy

I had a beautiful Mother's Day. I received breakfast in bed brought to me my my sweet husband and darling daughter; Savannah chose to share her testimony in church today; Christopher was very sweet and mostly quiet in church today; we were able to create gifts for our mothers today that were unique; we spent the afternoon after church with my brother's family. All in all an amazing day.

But the day would not be complete without mentioning the fact that I wouldn't be a mommy if it wasn't for a couple of pretty amazing women. "C" & "A" gave me the chance to celebrate this day in a much more personal way. It was in May five years ago that "C" asked us to take custody of Savannah, it may have been after Mother's Day but it made me a mommy and it was so touching today to see Savannah up there with the Primary children singing about loving her mommy - it's something I dreamed of for years and I'm so grateful to be able to experience something that so many take for granted.

Three years ago today we received a phone call from our case worker telling me that my Mother's Day gift was the gift of a child. "A" had wanted to give me that gift on Mother's Day and also to give the baby she was carrying (Christopher) a mommy for Mother's Day. What an amazing day that was, and it was the beginning of an amazing journey. My beautiful little boy watched me share my testimony today by saying "my mama" over and over again, what sweet words to hear from my little boy who doesn't talk much.

Thank you "C" & "A" for the gift of motherhood, I pray for you constantly with gratitude in my heart for the precious life you entrusted to me and for the blessing of holding these precious children of God in my arms and hearing them call me Mama. Your love for these sweet babies (and they will always be my sweet babies even when they're 50) is a blessing I will always count and always remind them of.

I am indeed grateful to my Father in Heaven for the love and trust he placed in me when He placed these children in my care and these beautiful women in my heart.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this Sunday and I'm not sure that I'll have time to update this before then so I'll share my thoughts now.

How many jokes are there out there about Mothers-in-Law? I however have no material here because my MIL is great! She is a doting Nana, a scrapbooking buddy, a friend and she raised the most awesome son. Thanks Mom for my wonderful, sweet hubby, my best friend. Thank you for all that you do for us, for being the on-call babysitter, for frequent Sunday dinners and for often spoiling all four of us. Love ya Mom!

Motherhood is amazing, I love being a mommy, I love my children beyond distraction but most of all I'm grateful for having a Mama who is such an inspiration to me. Thank you Mama for all that you do, for your love and support, for your advice and guidance and for your time. Thank you for always loving me no matter how much of a pain I've been. Thank you for loving my children so completely. Thank you for being my friend. I love you Mommy ..... MOST.

Thank you Savannah and Christopher for giving me my favorite title ever, Mommy (tied actually with Wife). Thank you for the joy you both bring to me, you are my sunshine, my happiness and my little touches with heaven. You enrich my world and brighten my days. Mommy loves you so much, forever and ever.

For those struggling to become mothers, for those who are missing their mothers, for those missing their children, my heart is with you, may you be blessed with love and peace on this day and every day. For the new mommies and all mommies, treasure your blessings, enjoy each day of being a mom; the title comes with great responsibility and even greater rewards.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life.

We are Blessed

Our Savannah is such a joy. She is a great little helper with Christopher and is the most lovable, compassionate child I have ever known. I couldn't believe how grown up she is getting, I am so grateful that she is a snuggle girl and that she still thinks that Mama and Daddy are awesome. I know that there will be times when this won't be the case but I have great faith in her ability to make good choices.

I am truly grateful to my Heavenly Father that he has entrusted us with her care and we are greatly blessed to be parents to such a beautiful little girl.

Christopher Update

Christopher usually has a busy schedule, speech therapy twice a week and a teacher twice a month but this week we had added appointments. Wednesday we met with the school system to see what our options are once Christopher turns 3. The verdict is ... both of my babies will be starting school later this year, Savannah in the fall with the rest of the kindergarteners and Christopher right after his 3rd birthday. ****sigh**** It is so hard to have my babies grow up.

The other appointment for Christopher this week was with the Child Development Center at Vanderbilt. The diagnosis was ... "let's not diagnose yet" I actually appreciated this response. Christopher shows some of the signs of autism but not enough that Dr. Cooper wanted to tag him with that label. He said that he has way more positives in his behaviors than he has autistic traits. He wants us to have him in devopemental pre-school for a year and then bring him back for evaluation again. He said that he presents more as a delayed child than an autistic child. This is great news! Dr. Cooper was also very impressed with his progress since he started speech therapy.

My little man is so smart in his logic and problem solving, has a very firm grasp on cause and effect but is "significantly delayed" in his communication skills. Lakin and I joke that Christopher is going to be an engineer, brilliant but not very socially ept. That being said he's a very sweet, loveable boy and his behavior has improved greatly with his increased ability to communicate. His teacher, Ms. Christy, said that he has picked up on sign language quicker than any child she's ever worked with. He's working hard and we are very proud of him.