Honestly

*SIGH*

I am choosing to praise! Its not easy….but I need to.

I am thankful first and foremost to serve a loving and all-knowing God. I am thankful for my children who even now are sleeping through the storm. I am thankful for a vigilant husband, who has his alarm set to check everything, every hour. I am thankful for the past flood, that gave us wisdom in how to prepare. I am thankful we can process what is happening and be rational. I am thankful to be awake, so I can focus on my Lord, instead of the storm. I am thankful there are people who aren’t getting the rain. I am thankful for being able to pick lima beans at midnight. I am thankful for children who remind me of things that are important to them. I am thankful for shelter from the storm. I am thankful for peace. I  am thankful for prayer warriors. I am thankful for safety. I am thankful for meteorologists. I am thankful for the ability to write this. I am thankful for these things that allow me to draw closer to my God. I am thankful this isn’t common. I am thankful we don’t have a rainy season. I am thankful for being able to make it home from my errands without trouble. I am thankful I can cry. I am thankful for advice from friends that we notched away for such an occasion. I am thankful there are people who can empathize with us.

Tonight I choose to praise. I am not diminishing the fact that I am scared, nervous, worried, frustrated, sleepy, weary, etc. Anyone who is aware of what we have been through understands this. But tonight, since I am awake, I have two choices, to get caught in the wave of negative thoughts and emotions, or to challenge myself to see God in this and praise Him.

“And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm”

-Casting Crowns-Praise You in the Storm

So tonight as I try something new, I thank you if you have been lead by the Holy Spirit to pray for us. Prayers carry us further then you can imagine. But please keep in mind, if you sincerely want to know how I am doing, and if I tell you fine, call my bluff. Its situations like this where I can put on a mask, not intentionally, but its human nature. Thank you for following us on this journey. And please help us find Praise in the storm.

Birthdays!

Starting in the end of August our birthday season begins for our family.

As we have grown as a family we try to find ways to make birthdays special, blessed and unique. This means the priviledge of choosing a birthday meal, a birthday cake, waking up to your present on the kitchen table, and the use of the birthday plate.

I have to admit I had high expectations for this birthday for myself. But the time of year and other circumstances have pushed off something special happening until later. I am okay with that. For once I had my expectations high but I am okay with the let down. A group of friends did “surprise” me with a night out. And my brother surprised me with the best ice cream cake ever….from my home neighborhood! (it survived being in a cooler for several hours and wasn’t thawed.)

We then head into my firstborn’s birthday in the end of September. ACK! Can he really be 7? Our Mighty has been a blessing since day one. He is extremely active, loves firefighting and baseball, he is a pleaser, a question asker, and the best big brother, hand picked by God for his siblings.

This year he wanted a jackhammer cake. Really? Where did that come from? Well, some brainstorming and help from my incredible hubby, who is wise in the tool area, I think he was quite pleased with his jackhammer cake (shared with family) and Lego Trio Construction Set.

Then we head into my dearest’s birthday. It happens to fall on a crazy weekend almost every year. This year it was celebrated with two of his favorite birthday dinners, and his favorite birthday cake (a day late).

We are in birthday break until November when our 2nd born celebrates right around thanksgiving, being that he was born on thanksgiving that year! 🙂 So I will enjoy our celebrating break until the holiday season is in full force!

We feel blessed to recognize that each year is another year that God has blessed us with individually and as a family. May we never loose site of the Giver and Creator of life!