So Very Thankful...

     At this very moment as I listen to my boys giggle while laying in their beds I am reminded how precious life really is.  We are healthy.  We are not in constant pain.  We can walk & run without assistance.  We can see, hear taste, touch and smell what life gives us.  We can eat pretty much anything.  We have each other.  We are alive. We have time.  We are lucky.  This post finds me incredibly grateful for who I have in my life and unbelievably sad for a family that I don't even know. 
     I am following a family from my community on Facebook who is not as fortunate as I am.  As I read their posts about their 9 year old daughter {same age as my daughter} who is experiencing the end of her life, my heart aches for this family.  This little girl went to the doctor a little over a year ago because she couldn't "kick" a sore throat.  In real time her little fragile body is almost done fighting of one of the most horrible diseases known to mankind...cancer.  The strength that her mom and dad find in posting on the Facebook page updating her journey is so unbelievable. They have so much strength and courage that is unimaginable.  No family should have to go through what they are going through.  No child should have to go through that! 
     Little does this family know is that they are touching so many lives with their story.  They are teaching so many parents to hug their loved ones a little tighter.  One thing that this family is teaching me is that it's not what gets accomplished each day, or what I can cross of my mile-long list.  It's not how clean my house is, or how groomed my yard is.  It's not what I drive, or what I live in.  It's the people in my life.  It's priorities.  It's the BIG Rocks that take precedence over all the loose sand.  It's the moments we take to love.  It's the memories that we make and can reminisce about at a later time.  It's teaching my kids what being a good person is by showing them.  It's togetherness.  They are teaching me to treasure each day that I have with my loved ones and not to take them for granted.  They are teaching me to give extra hugs and kisses.  They are teaching me to savor every moment of every day, one day at a time.  They are teaching me to make everything in my life intentional.

April 6, 2013
They are only little one time...good night homework-I'm going to cuddle with some shorties!

February 17, 2013
Like Mother, Like Daughter
I Love, Love, Love the little extra time that I get to spend with my daughter. I remember when I was pregnant with her, there was nothing more that I wanted than a girl. Yes, I was one of "those" people who said "as long as it's healthy I don't care if I have a girl or a boy"...well, I was totally lying through my teeth! 8 1/2 years later here we are celebrating her 1/2 Birthday. We've had some great days and some very challenging days, but nonetheless, I love her with all my heart! This afternoon we had a date out on the town...just the two of us, shopping and getting lost in conversation about all the things important to an 8 (& 1/2) year old. It was so nice to take the time out of our CrAzY, hEcTiC schedule just to reconnect, just the two of us...I love that girl!