HAPPY HEARTS DAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER AND MY FIRST YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY

A LONG TITLE on SEVERAL TOPICS that I needed to get in ONE POST. I think that just might be a run on sentence. First off, if you missed this post and this post , they did not stay up long, you might want to read them. I never post daily, but wanted to write about my Mom today.

Today would have been her birthday. She died 2 years ago. I would love to do an entire post on her, but as strange as it sounds, I don't feel like I really knew her until after her death. She and my Dad had been married almost 60 years and died 3 months apart. It was a hard season in my life to say the least. My Mom did not live a happy life. Her journals are a vivid portrait of her life. I will just leave it at that. But what a treasure she left us. She journaled everyday for at least 30 years and I have most of those journals. Some are heart breaking, some are hurtful but they are all brutally honest. I never felt like my Mom liked me...loved me yes, but liked me, NO. I found treasures in those journals that told me different. And strangely enough those that I thought she loved so much, she had real issues with. I have read the journals over and over. Her words were beautiful and her love for her grandchildren was so evident. When she could not say it, she could write it. She would have LOVED BLOGGING. She loved to write and this would have been a great way for her to make friends. Maybe that's the reason I finally made the JUMP into the BLOG WORLD. I want my kids to have our lives documented in written word...I want them to know how much I love them. So today, I say thanks Mom for leaving me your words. In many ways, they healed my heart.

By the time I post this it will be Valentines Day. I have been the queen to a man for 37 years and not a day goes by that he does not express that. I know that is not the norm, but how I thank God for giving me a man that knows how to express love. Jack Powell, you are one in a million!

This is the week that my ONE YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY BEGINS. Last week I ordered some Beth Moore CD's and one of them is
INSIGHTS ON MARRIAGE, a great talk she gave recently at Focus on the Family. I listened to the CD last night and it is one of my favorites. So that is my first giveaway of the week. All you have to do is make a comment on this post..That's it. I will draw Monday night. I want to put lots of gifts in the mail next week and bless many of my new friends. You have made this year so much richer.

We had a REAL SNOW WEEK here, so I had two little boys spending lots of time with me....Enjoy a few pictures of my HEART!

SWEET JACK

THIS IS THE LIFE

HE TAKES MY BREATH

THE BEST BIG BROTHER EVER

JACK CALLING HIS MOM TO TATTLE ON ME

And The Blog Begins

Where do you begin with a "first blog"? That question has been on my mind for several days. Still don't know the answer, but feel like if I get the first one done, I will be a blogger...and that's my goal. My goal of documenting our lives, recounting some highs, maybe even revisiting some lows, but trying my best to be REAL.

Tomorrow would be my Mothers 82nd birthday. She died 18 months ago of a stroke. I am so thankful that she had 79 very healthy years. I having been reading through her journals recently, as she left us at least 30. What a treasure! My Mom came from a generation that did not vocally express their feelings, at least not like we do. So many of the things I have read, I had certainly not ever heard her say, nor did I know she thought. Actually I thought she liked me least of her three girls. And maybe she did, but she said a lot of good things about me in her journals. I just wish she had said them to me. Regardless, her journals have been such a blessing and though I have journaled periodically, I want to do it more often. I want to document our families love, life and fun.

In the coming days, I will introduce you to my family. They are my life and my treasures. You will hear more than one "Grammy" story! That is my passion. You will hear "Christmas tree decorating" stories! That is my business. This year we (me along with my team) decorated 67 houses for the holidays. I have 18 years of holiday tree stories, and some you will probably not believe! You will hear some football stories. That was my husbands profession for 30 years and we loved every minute of it. And last but certainly not least, you will hear some God stories! He has blessed me beyond measure.

My other reason for blogging is hopefully to become friends with all the awesome bloggers that I read daily. Your lives have touched mine, your family stories have made me laugh and cry and your challenges have challenged me. I look forward to hearing from you. I look forward to sharing life with you. I really believe that God is in this "blog thing" and I so want to be a part of it. Now I hope I can post this!

Labels: blogging, Family, mother