HEROES IN MY HEART

I have spent the last 10 years compiling a personal list of people I consider to be heroes. My husband, a fireman, was always my hero way before the title of fireman was next to his name. I have added countless others and I would just like to share information about a few.
My sister-in-law was one of the first. She conquered CANCER with the greatest amount of grace and humility I have ever witnessed. Today, a survivor, she deals daily with the trials and tribulations of being a single mom raising a teenager and a tween. Each and every day of her life she puts others first. She is absolutely amazing.
My mother-in-law is another personal hero of mine. She has taken care of my father-in-law for the past 20 years as his health continues to decline. She has taken on the good, the bad and the ugly with such grace. I am personally in awe of her most days.
The countless women I encountered while going through infertility treatments. I just sat with them each and every week and heard their personal stories of courage and strength. Many times I was just blown away by them.
All of the women I met through the bereavement blog that I was a member of for several years. Many of those women continued to fight to have children even after much loss. I am still amazed by the strength GOD has given them.
The hundreds of mothers of adoptive children that have fought to bring their children home. They have gone through much just to be a mom to a child that others might consider broken or damaged. These women rise up to GOD’s calling and just do what they have to do to bring their children home. I am just in awe of them all.
Today, a heart felt, wow to the adoptive mother’s of Nepali children that sit in limbo in Nepal waiting for U.S. visas to bring their children home. They are loosing their homes and everything they have worked for just to love a child that no one else wanted. I am truly in wonderment of what GOD is doing in these women’s lives. I also think back to a group of women that went through the same thing in Guatemala several years back. Some of them waited up to 3 years to bring their children home. GOD knows you by name.
My friend TC. Today, I share what an awesome GOD we serve. More than a month ago a friend of mine succumbed to brain cancer. She was diagnosed about 2 years ago. At the time she had a young toddler at home and a Kindergartner. She loved her kids with all her heart. She and I had a little secret bond. Her daughter was a twin just like mine. She lost her baby girl 2 days after she was born. We sat at a school function one day and just shared our stories. She was a blessing to me and I hope that day I was a blessing to her. As she left to go to the LORD in December I prayed that day and many days before that when the day came she would meet her baby girl at the Pearly Gates. She would not be alone when she went to meet the LORD. I told her last spring that she was one of my special mommy heroes. She could not believe that I would think of her that way. I told her that she had so much strength to be going through what she was at the time, but still trying her best to be there for her two kids that she truly adored. Her whole life was about those kids. She understood the pain of loosing a child and she did everything within her power to love the two GOD left in her care. I totally got that. I am not sure how many people did. She inspired me up until her last week of life. Two days before her death she celebrated Christmas with her children and her husband. GOD gave her the strength to have one last GREAT EVENING with her babies and the love of her life. GOD gave those children one last great memory of their mother to wipe away a year of some really sad ones.
I have some mommy heroes to add to this story. The ladies that have spent the last year taking care of TC and her family. They have spent countless hours taking care of her children and doing all of her normal motherly duties when she could not. They spent their time babysitting, cooking, cleaning, listening, and at times just sitting next to a woman that needed someone with her in the quiet. They gave up the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season to just sit in the quiet or to talk to a woman that was slowly dying. They gave her the ultimate gift TIME. These women have families. They have children of their own, they have husbands, but those husbands understood that housework might not get done. These men gave their blessings as their wives took care of another family that need them. I have been forever changed by witnessing GOD giving these women the strength to be a friend to someone at a time when she needed them the most. We need friends not in the good times, but in very worst of times. This is where true friendship shows up. I will never look at friendship the same again. I am still very emotional as I think about it. I know that these women truly have the HOLY SPIRIT within them. I am forever changed for the better. They were a gift to this family and they continue to give of themselves to this father and his children. They will never abandon him. He will always know he is not alone. They share a bond with him and his children that GOD created. Again, I am in awe.

There are many more mommy heroes on my list. Included in those is my own mother who went through “…the Valley of Death…” with each of her children. She endured much and at times she had to endure it alone. GOD always gave her the strength to continue. I am in awe of her as well.

Think of all the women you know. I am sure you have some MOMMY heroes of your own. Thank GOD for blessing you with the opportunity to know them.

Another Year is Here!

Another year is here and I am putting off my blog duties. I loose track of how long it has been. Daily life with kids is just odd that way. You do just loose track sometimes. I get so tied up in their lives that sometimes mine gets shuffled to the side. It is fine with me. I only get to have little peeps at my home for such a short while. I appreciate it while I have it. Many things have happened in my life in the past few months so I may blog a lot over the next few weeks to get everything up to date. My goal for the new year is to blog three times a week. I am off by like 9 blogs currently. I have decided to review my plans for the new year and those that follow can check in to see how it is going and keep me accountable.

GOALS:
1) Be a better Christian me. Improve in my walk with Christ.
2) Take serious time to be with my husband. (Not just five minutes on the way to carpool)
3) Really listen to my children and spend quality time sharing the gift of Christianity with them.
4) Take more time to spend with friends.
5) Help others in my neighborhood and in the community
6) Balance my work and household responsibilities
7) Focus on being more responsible with our finances (savings, charity, etc.)
8) Delete a lot of materialism from my house, life, etc. PURGE
9) Organize, organize, organize
10) Share GOD's love in all I do!

We will see how it all pans out. I should note that I cleaned out our garage and did some serious purging there. I am working on closets next. I am trying to go to bed early at least four or five nights a week to be a nicer person in the mornings to my family. I drank too much coffee today so it is not happening tonight. I hope to get at least half of them as part of routine by June. We will see how it goes.