It Happens All the Time...

Just when I am at my wits end...

just when I am bone weary from "the process"...

He shows up...

and it is usually through this beautiful child!

What a heart my Emmeline has!

The words and the wisdom - the "knowing" - that this child has within that sassy heart of hers, encourages me daily.

This sweet (and yes, sometimes sassy) 7 year old can bring me to my knees in recognition of just how much she "gets it"...

especially when I don't!

This morning, after a particularly tough day of corrections and attachment work and spills and falls and blank stares and even some tears...

my sweet Emmeline walked down in her PJ's and the very first thing she did was hug me and tell me that she had been snuggling with Maggie and that she had told Maggie that her life had not been perfect until she (Maggie) and Lucy had come home!

So I hugged her back (while fighting back the tears) and thanked the Lord for blessing me with my Emmeline and for once again slapping me upside the head reminding me of the journey and of the blessings and of the love that surrounds our family! 

What a privilege to go through the "hard" to be able to better recognize the blessings!

Christmas 2013

The Christmas that He built!

No job...

No problem...

The Lord showed up big time and through the hearts of some really wonderful family and friends, and some truly unexpected ways, provided our Christmas 2013!

Now if He could only provide the perfect Christmas pic!

 

hehe

 

 

 Honestly y'all, He may not have provided a job for Hubby - yet...

 

but boy how He has provided...

 

and our faith grows...

 

as well as our hearts

 

 

 what JOY!

 

 

 Merry Christmas from our crazy house to yours

Christmas Eve 2013

It started the day after Thanksgiving

when Em had her year to place the angel on top of the tree.

I love Christmas

and I love decorating for Christmas

I have decorations that are my fav

and decorations that I have had ever since I was a child

cause I have always loved Christmas!

The lights are up

the gingerbread house has been made

and eaten!

as well as the reindeer food!

Our sleepy teenager was even able to join in on the reindeer food fun!

Bwhahahahaha!

YUM!

Everything has been done...

except the annual (gulp) Christmas picture!

So with knees shaking (hehe), we will attempt this annual endeavor...

right before we go to church...

cause I may need to ask for forgiveness afterward!

Ha!

Remembering the reason for the season!

 Merry Christmas!

Insights

Our last day with our sweet Lily was hard and filled with sadness,here, but it was also an insight into the hearts of our two newest daughters.

I was worried about how they would handle this as they like to know where everyone is - all the time.

Things just aren't right in their hearts when the whole family is not all together.

They were right there when Lily passed and were witness to our grief and our tears...

and they handled it so very differently.

My precious Lucy was worried and upset but the tears really started to flow when the finality of it all sank in... the loss.

Just in the short amount of time that we have loved our sweet girl, I know that she, much like our Lizzie, carries her losses very close to her heart.

The emotion and grief is so close to the surface for both Lucy and Lizzie that any loss is hard.

I finally scooped my Lucy up and rocked her as she and I both cried...

just a baby step on this journey of healing.

Our dear Maggie, on the other hand, wasn't sad or upset as I thought she would be.

She, more than Lucy, seems to really love the dogs and I was very afraid that she would not understand and be very upset by Lily's passing.

However, she didn't seem to want us to be sad.

This sweet child kept saying, "Mommie no sad.  Mommie happy."

All the while, she was rubbing my back, stroking my face and wiping the tears from my eyes.

Maggie wants to be happy and she wants everyone around her to be happy.

She has buried her loss.

Bit by bit, she has begun to share with us, her life pre-us and it was not great...

but she is strong and found her way to survive...

just be happy.

Maggie reminds me every night to pray for Lily and that makes her very happy.

I know the crash and burn may come and I will be ready to scoop Maggie up and rock her too but for now we are just meeting her where she is.

Our precious girls have much to recover from but their healing has begun.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

Psalm 147:3