So Very Thankful

I guess that Thanksgiving is the one time of year, if none other, that we consider all we have to be thankful for. I try, especially when I'm feeling sorry for myself, to make a mental list of all that God has done in my life and blessed me with. If I strive to remember each and every blessing in my life, it doesn't take long to realize I have no right to feel sorry for myself!

Thanksgiving this year was a little different--there were family members who couldn't be there for various reasons, the crowd was down, but still, as a family we have much to be so thankful for. For example, at my age, I still have both of my parents alive and in relatively good health. That is a blessing to be sure! I have been married to my very best friend for 31 years--for him I am very thankful! God has given me 3 wonderful children, who have over the years become the best friends I could ever ask for. God has also blessed me with 2 great sons-in-law, who not only take care of their families physical needs, but are very involved in the spiritual health of their wives and children. Over the last almost 2 years, my son has grown so much spiritually that he never ceases to absolutely amaze me--or should I say God's work in him continues to bless and amaze me! Josh has such a talent for remembering things he reads, learns, etc. and is just really growing in his faith! Then, last, but not least, God has blessed me with three of the most beautiful, wonderful, funny grandchildren ever! And, if that isn't blessing enough, He's developing a new grandson that will arrive sometime in February to join our clan! The greatest gift/blessing I have received is by far my salvation. Without the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I would not have the hope and confidence of a life with Jesus forever! Wow....like I said, how much more could I ever ask for....and I truly AM thankful for all that I've been given and blessed with.

I guess on Thanksgiving we do tend to remember all these things. And, we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I was able to spend time with my big brother--that's always a blessing! So, anyway, I thought I would share a few pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend. May I remember to be thankful throughout the year--not just on Thanksgiving!

First, here are a couple pictures of my daughters and their families. It was a little chilly, so if the kids look cold--they were.

Here is the Greene family. Josh, Jayme, Bryce and Collin. Bryce is at that age or stage where it's really hard to get a good picture of him. He's an adorable little boy, as is his brother, but he just has so many more important things to do than get his picture taken. :)

And, here are the Dunhams. David, Krista and Mia...(baby Zane is below where the picture ends). We are all excited to meet Zane sometime in February. He's going to get lots of love from his big sister, that's for sure.

Uncle Josh played Tinkertoys with Bryce and Mia. He did, however make sure to tell everyone that he did NOT want any Tinkertoys for Christmas. :) Not that any of us would have bought him any, of course.

And, this picture cracks me up. I said "Hey guys, can you hug each other and look at Nana"...and THIS is what I got..

And, yes, I'm even thankful for that silly boy! :) God has certainly blessed me, huh?

Trick or Treat and Trick or Treat!!

So, Thursday, October 29 was the day designated for Trick or Treat this year in the county. It was from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. that evening. Well, on Wednesday of that week, Mia started throwing up in the evening. It lasted the evening and on Thursday she was feeling better. However, after an early nap, she woke up when I stopped to drop some things off. I held her and told Krista I was pretty sure she had a fever. She got the thermometer and her temp. was 102.1 under her arm, so it was like 103. Poor little thing was pitiful. It ended up that Krista took her to Urgent Care to rule out the H1N1 virus, since Mia is only 2 and Krista is pregnant. They ruled out the flu and said she had a stomach virus. Anyway, because she was so sick, she didn't get to go trick-or-treating with the boys this year. Let me share a few of the pictures of the boys actually going trick-or-treating first, then I'll explain the other trick-or-treat in my title. :)

We had a cute little pirate, who had quite a bit of trouble with that pesky eye patch. But, he loved the weapons (I'll show you that in a minute) and loved the actual trick or treating.

We had the cutest little frog...this costume was a hand me down from Bryce. The year Bryce wore it, he was just past 2--we have the cutest pictures of him in this costume too. One of him with his princess (Anna Kate) kissing him on the cheek. So cute! Anyway, Collin wasn't real fond of the costume (the hood mainly), but rode along in the wagon. When he got his first "treat", which was a sucker, he was happy. He loved looking at the stuff in his pumpkin and trying his best to get a sucker opened.

The boys had a great time walking around and getting treats. Bryce was really surprised with the biggest Tootsie Roll he had ever seen. His Aunt Bev had gotten special treats for him and his cousin Kylee. His had this huge Tootsie Roll in it and he was EXCITED!

And, here are both the boys. The pirate, complete with his weapons and the cute little frog! These are just a few highlights of Trick or Treat night. A fun time with the Greenes. :)

Then, because we were sad that Mia didn't get to go trick or treating, we decided to get together on Monday, when she was all better and let the kids dress up again. Actually I was really sad that she didn't get to go too as was her mommy. She was happy with just coming to Nana's house in her Tinkerbell costume and saying "Trick or Treat" when I answered the door and spending some time with her cousins. :) She sure does love those boys!

We had time before dinner to take some pictures of the cuties outside, then enjoyed dinner and some fun time before the Dunhams had to leave for Krista to go to Bible Study. Here are a few of the pictures from that night.

Mia loved wearing her Tinkerbell costume. It's the same one she wore for her birthday, but she felt like a princess all over again. She was adorable in it too. :)

The boys and Mia all love one another so much. I can't wait to see how things change or remain the same when Baby Zane arrives. I am so thankful that God gives me a chance every now and then to enjoy all my grandkids together. It seems like we never get to spend enough time together, but I guess that's how it is when life gets busy and people get busy. Here's a picture of Mommy, Mia and Baby Zane. I'm having trouble figuring all this blog stuff out on the new computer, so I'll end with that picture. Don't know why this part is underlined and blue....:) I hope I'm not linking to something way "out there". There, I think I fixed it. Anyway, I praise God for the wonderful kids and grandkids He has seen fit to entrust me with. I pray that I will have many, many more opportunities to spend wonderful evenings with them in the days to come.

Our Little Mia

We took Mia recently to get her hair cut again. As you can see, she didn't care much for the actual process of the new hair do....

The process wore her and us out, but the end result was so cute. We brought her back to Nana's house (she and Krista were staying with us for a few days) and curled her new "do" and then went outside and took some pictures of her with the new style. She looks so adorable with the new cut. Krista actually cut a little more off of it after these pictures were taken. She's such a sweet little princess girl. Enjoy the pictures

She loves to pose and say "cheese"....isn't her outfit adorable? I got her the red shoes and then her mommy found this adorable outfit for her to go with them.

She even sat and posed for me for several pictures. She is growing up so quickly. It seems like if I go for 2 or 3 days without seeing her, she is talking about different things and just changes. She's going to be a really good big sister, I'll tell you that. She can hardly wait to hold her baby brother and kiss him.

I even got her to do some of her great jumping skills for me. Isn't she just adorable? Funny story of this day....we went out to eat dinner that night before church and it was a little windy. She put her hands up and said "Oh, no...my new hair". :) So cute...and so funny.

Happy Birthday Bryce

I'm afraid I have been a little lazy on keeping up my blog lately. Bryce's birthday was on the 22nd and I'm just now posting a birthday wish to him. But, to be honest, last week was a blur and I didn't seem to have an extra 10 minutes to sit down and type out a post. :) Jayme, Bryce and Collin stayed here with us on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday while Josh was away on his annual fishing trip to New Orleans. (He had a great time and caught lots of fish, by the way) So, I had the privilege of spending Bryce's actual birthday with him--which was exciting.

Here's a picture of Bryce on his first Christmas. I don't have any earlier pictures on this computer, so I will try later to find his newborn pictures and post some of those. A "watch him grow" type thing.

I don't think I'll ever be able to thank God enough for allowing me to be a Nana to this little guy. Well, actually to all 3 of my grandbabies. They are each so special in their own way, with special traits all their own.

Since Bryce was our first grandchild, I never knew until he was born how excited I should have been all along. :) I guess it was a concept that I didn't understand until I laid eyes on him that first time. Wow...talk about a flood of emotions!!! There was that beautiful, perfect little boy and he was being handed to ME! My heart filled with love that day and has continued to grow bigger and bigger with love for this little man!

We celebrated his birthday on Saturday evening, since his daddy was gone for his actual birthday, and it was on a school night. Yeah, he's in Pre-Kindergarten now and has to be in bed by 8:30 or so. That makes it difficult to have parties during the week. :) He is loving school and really loves his teacher. He told me the other day that I looked like his teacher. Knowing how much he loves her, I know that was a compliment. :)

Here are some pictures from his party on Saturday. He had so much fun and was a real gentleman. He played nicely with the other kids, allowed his cousin, Mia to help him open presents and thanked everyone for the gifts.

Here's what he looked like when he walked outside and saw his present from Nana and Papaw and Mamaw and Grandpa. (He had a Super Mario Brothers party and wanted to dress up like Luigi! He is his mother's son)

We all went together and got him a trampoline. He was shocked and surprised. He knew that there was going to be a surprise and asked me where they were hiding the surprise. He guessed the kitchen cabinets, Josh's work room downstairs, etc. I don't think he would have ever guessed it!

All the kids had such a good time jumping (once the rain stopped a little). The big kids jumped for awhile and then got off and gave the little ones a chance to enjoy it a little. They all had a lot of fun.

This is Bryce doing his Luigi pose. Yeah, from the video game. :) He's such a character. So creative and has a great imagination.

We talked him into posing with his cake for a few pictures. He's just not so into pictures these days. Makes it hard to let others see how he's growing. :) But, we're always able to sneak pictures here and there. I'm not sure what this face is, but it's supposed to be a smile. hehe...

He found some dinosaur figure things at Walmart one day when Aunt Kiki was with us. He really, really wanted them. So, she told him that she would buy them for him for his birthday, but he had to forget about them. (That's like telling an elephant to forget) Here he is opening those dinosaur things. He was funny about it--tried to act surprised.

Here's my favorite picture of Bryce from his party. He was blowing out the candles and was having a rough time with all 5 candles. I guess 5 candles take a lot of wind. :) By the way, I put a candle in his wassles (waffles) on Tuesday (his actual birthday) thinking he would love it....well, he did NOT love that. Almost ruined his whole day. He went to school and told his teacher about what his Nana had done to him. Put a hole in his waffle! (Oh, my!!!)

What a special night this was for Bryce. I am so thankful to God for this little boy. The week of his birthday had been kind of a hard one. I had some emotional ups and downs that just about did me in. :) But, praise the Lord I was able to share in this special time with this special boy. I do thank God daily for my kids and my grandkids. I love them all so.

Beware David Beckham!!!

Bryce has started playing soccer this year. He seems to enjoy it, even if he sometimes doesn't look like he is. His first game, I asked him if he was "raring to go" and here's what he looked like. What do you think, was he raring? :) He's so adorable, isn't he?

He really didn't mind when it was his turn to sit out a quarter and sit on the bench. The first game he told his mom (after getting off the bench) "I made a new friend...it's that one over there, his name is Tucker". He was telling her all this while he was out on the field. :)

His second game, I told him that if he would go out and play hard and try to kick the ball I would give him a surprise. And, Mamaw told him that the first time he kicked the ball, she would give him a dollar, then the second time he kicked it Nana would give him a dollar, then Grandpa, then Papaw, etc. He had it figured out that he was going to get a lot of money! Well, he did kick the ball a couple times and really played harder, so he got his surprise (a package of Cars Mini Adventure cars) and a couple dollars. :)

Josh was older when he started playing soccer (2nd grade) so I am getting to experience a whole new thing--little guys at soccer. It is so fun to watch them though and know that Bryce is so excited to have Mamaw and Nana there (and everyone else!) to cheer him on. He's learning the concept of "team" and having a little fun. It's so wonderful to see that God has created such a perfect little guy--physically able to play soccer, run, talk, laugh, love...even when he gets in trouble, I love him so. Of course, I think God created three pretty wonderful, perfect grandchildren...MINE. :) I am so thankful for each of their little lives and especially to see how God works in their lives. I have a feeling that God has some big things in store for those three special little people...well, four when you count that little he/she Krista is carrying. Can't wait to meet him/her. :)

Here are a couple more random pictures from Bryce's first soccer game. Like the title says, Beware David Beckham!! Bryce Greene is coming up!! :)

He got to do a throw-in! Look at that form!!

Apology

If you read my blog entry from Saturday before yesterday afternoon, I need to apologize! Apparently I did a link wrong and my video link was taking people to a place that I did not intend! A friend called yesterday and said that she was pretty sure that it wasn't working right. So, if you read it before, I'm so sorry!! :) I removed one link and just typed out the website on the other one. Perhaps I'll learn what I did wrong before I try to link again. :)

A Week to Remember

This week has been a week I won't soon forget, that's for sure. On Sunday evening, Krista, Mia and I went to Cincinnati to spend the night in a motel so that we could get to Mia's doctor's appointment on time on Monday morning at 9:15. We had a lot of fun on Sunday, going to Target, eating dinner out, laughing at Mia's funny antics, etc. We had an interesting time getting checked in our motel and all headed to bed about 10:00. God is so good--we went to Mia's appointment on Monday and he said that her tests all looked good and that he would say that she had experienced a "successful tethered cord release". She no longer had the reflux that she had been experiencing before with her bladder and kidney. He does want to keep an eye on her and check her again in 3 months, but all in all, the appointment was great. What an answer to prayer!!!
Late last week, I learned of a situation that burdened my heart so deeply that I truly felt sick so much of the week. I prayed, crying out to God for His intervention. I was made aware of the situation when I was asked to pray about it--and praying I did! It appears now that God's will was not as my prayers had been and I've had to remind myself today time and again that God is still God. He is still good and He is gracious and righteous and Sovereign about all! It's the first time in over a year that my heart has been so burdened. I think God was reminding me that there are so many times in daily life that I need to call upon Him--to ask for His guidance.


Then, on Wednesday when I went to work, I found out that a young woman whom Krista had gone to school with had died. She was only 26. I suppose I will never understand the death of a person so young with so much ahead of them, so much to do for God and so much to experience. She left behind 4 young kids. I was reminded of how each day we awake, we should praise God for the day--another day of life He has given us. A day to love, to laugh, to serve Him. It reminded me that I don't know what each day holds...how many days do I have left here? How will I spend them? Will I freely share the love of Jesus Christ with those around me? Lord, help me to live each day with a heart thankful to You and a heart willing to love others and share your love with them.



Today, there was a fundraiser for a young man in the area who has been falsely accused of a terrible crime. My friend and I went and walked a mile in support of him. It was one of the fundraisers where you get sponsors and then go and walk. There were so many brothers and sisters in Christ there--showing that family support and loving on them. God has blessed me with so much--a wonderful family, a wonderful Heavenly Father who loves and blesses me daily. Please pray for this godly, young family. If you are interested in finding out how you can help support them you can go www.support4milesferguson.com Please pray for them. Here's Collin sporting Mamaw's Support bracelet. He's such a sweetie too!


After the walk, we got to go to Bryce's soccer game. It was a nice way to end this very emotional week. He was funny and actually kicked the ball a couple times. Have you ever seen a cuter soccer player? He's doing his warm-up lap!



I'm so thankful to have survived this emotionally challenging week. I pray that I will learn lessons from this week and apply them to every area of my life.

Princess Maleigha is TWO!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009, Maleigha turned 2!! I can't believe it's been two years already! I will never forget those long few days waiting for her to arrive. Nana, Papaw and Aunt Jayme took off for Louisville as soon as we found out Krista was in labor. However, her labor progressed rather slowly and we ended up being there for two full days before she arrived. But, it was fine--she was such a welcome sight!

Mia has been through some pretty serious things in her two years--spinal surgery, a lot of yucky tests, etc. However, God is good and He is faithful. He has taken such great care of that little lady. She is a joy to our family! She loves her cousin Bryce so much and tries to do everything he does and likes what he likes, etc. She is sweet, lovable and kind--most of the time. :) She IS two after all.


Saturday we had a birthday party for her. We had a houseful of people there to celebrate with her. She had such a great time and loved all her presents--thanking each person for their gift. Uncle Josh got her a Dora riding toy thing that was the hit of all the kids--they all loved it.

Mia with her wands--she loved them and shared them with Uncle Josh. :) He loved the pretty purple wand.



Mia brought this heart from home and kept saying "It's Mia's heart".....she's funny.

Nana got Mia a new "Ellie" doll. She has a doll like this one that I got her for her first Christmas--she loves it and was thrilled with the new, clean Ellie. :) The first one is looking pretty rough.




This is the famous Dora car that was the big hit. Here are all the kids around it. :) They each got a turn on it. :)



Mia blowing out the "2" candle on her cupcake cake. She blew it out 3 times--Mommy had to keep lighting it so we could sing to her. :) What a sweet girl.

Happy Birthday sweet Maleigha. Nana loves you so much and praises God for you and for your life. I know that God has some wonderful things in store for that little lady. I'm going to include some more random pictures from her party. Happy Birthday Mia....we love you. I know she's going to be a wonderful BIG sister in February!!

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

So, it's been 17 months since our wonderful Pastor Scott and his fantastic family left us at our church. Have you ever thought about how good God is and realized what a blessing He gives us so often through church family? Well, when the Duncans left, there were many, many people at Grace that felt like our world had collapsed. God had another ministry for Pastor Scott, and for that I am thankful--especially for everything he has done for my son. He has been a friend, a godly example and a wonderful mentor for Josh. However, when they left us, I realized how much I had taken them for granted. I longed for the long talks Jennifer and I had, I cried over not having Pastor Scott to go to when I had a question or a concern. And, the kids, well....I really missed them too. And Bryce missed his buddy Ben and his fiancee Anna Kate.

But, thankfully, God has led us through that time.....not that we don't still miss them, but He has shown us that our dependency needs to be on Him and Him alone. Not on the pastor...although the pastor can be a great encourager and motivator. Today, we got an e-mail and confirmation that God has indeed led another pastor to us. Pastor Russell Wight from Somers, Connecticut has accepted God's call to Grace. Oh, how I praise God for leading us this godly man. As we prepare for him and his family to come, I pray that we will all be helpful to them, loving towards them and accepting of them. Isn't it amazing how God's timing is always perfect? We've been through several "potential candidates", none of which seemed to "fit". I pray that God will pour out His blessing on Grace--help us to change where we need to change and to learn to accept leadership and Godly guidance.

Thank you Lord, so much for leading a pastor to us. Now may we all be aware of and follow through on wherever our place is in the body of Christ and that we may show the love of Christ to a lost community.

Precious Little Birthday Boy

Last Thursday, July 9, 2009 Collin turned ONE year old. It's hard to believe--the year has gone by so quickly. I still remember the long night waiting for that precious guy to make his appearance. We were just talking the other night about that night--Bryce spent the night with Uncle Josh--just the two of them. We were laughing about the different things that happened that night. But, one really great thing happened that night--Collin arrived. :)

Like I said, the year has passed by so quickly. We've all enjoyed getting to know Collin and enjoyed watching him grow and change almost daily. He's growing up to be such a big boy! He went to the doctor today and weighed in at 28 lbs. 6 oz. -- at one year old, I'd say he's going to be a big boy, huh?

So, on Saturday, Josh and Jayme had a party for Collin at their house. The day started out great....sunny, nice. Well, about 4:30, a terrible storm popped up. (The party was to start at 5:00). We had torrential rains, hail, wind, lightning, thunder.....it was BAD. Josh went downstairs and they were getting water in the basement. So, he started up the shop vac and started sucking water out. About 5:15 or so, we found out that the basement at the church was flooding. So, Papaw went down there to help. Long story short, Papaw never made it to the party, lots of people were late and some weren't able to make it at all. To be sure, Collin's first birthday is one none of us will soon forget.

Everyone that made it to the party had a great time. The kids had fun with a jumping castle thing that they borrowed. Mia got to see Bryce's cousin Kylee and they had fun together. Collin had a fun time, enjoyed the cupcake he got and was just happy to be there. :)

Here's Collin before everyone arrived. I went over early to get a few pictures before everyone got there. He is so good. There are also a few pictures of the directions, cake, etc. that Jayme did for his party.

Collin really enjoyed the cake. Jayme gave him his own cupcake with a "1" candle on it. He loved the icing and the cake. Of course, he's an eater--he'll eat pretty much anything. ;) But, the cupcakes were delicious and the cupcake cake was adorable.

Collin had a great birthday, despite the bad weather, flooded basements and difficult travels for others. Here is perhaps my favorite picture from that night. You can see the pure delight on his face while he is enjoying his cake! :) Thank you God for the wonderful gift of grandchildren. I thank you that my grandchildren are such an important part of my life. Thank you also for my children who so lovingly share those kids with us. :) Happy Birthday Buddy. Nana loves you.

BIG NEWS!!

Well, another holiday has come and we have received MORE big news. During theThanksgiving 2006 weekend we found out that Krista was expecting Mia....they announced it to the family through David's prayer for the food...thanking God for the little one he had blessed them with. Then on Thanksgiving 2007 Jayme wore a shirt to Granny's that said "Eating for 2"...announcing her pregnancy with Collin.

So, now this past weekend, on the 4th of July, Miss Mia came to the family picnic for the 4th sporting a special "Big Sister" t-shirt that her mommy made for her. They had told us the Sunday before and Krista called her brother and sister to tell them before everyone else found out. Here's Mia in her little t-shirt:

God continues to bless our family--both in numbers and just general blessings. I love my kids and grandkids so much and know that I am so undeserving of all the blessings that He has given me. However, I am so very thankful for each of these little ones God has given us and for His continued care of them and His love for each of us. Thank you Lord for ALL you give and all You do for us. Here's a picture of Baby Lentil (because Krista said the baby was about the size of a lentil) with a sparkler, compliments of Aunt Jayme. :)

And, here is a picture of three of the greatest gifts/blessings God has ever given me. I realize every day how much I love these three special people in my life. It's so wonderful to now be able to love them not only as my children, but as three of my best friends in the world. God is SO very good!!

Sharayah & Kevin's Wedding

My niece, Sharayah got married this past weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and a two lovely receptions. They got married at a church in Ft. Thomas, KY and had cake and punch, etc. for the guests who were there. Then they had another reception later at Kevin's family's home in California, KY. It was such a beautiful day, with love so evident everywhere! :)

Anyway, Sharayah was a beautiful bride and I think she thoroughly enjoyed her special day. She, her parents and Kevin's parents all did a wonderful job preparing for the wedding. Kevin's parents have a beautiful house on the Ohio River with a huge yard to accomodate everyone. They had built a dance floor, complete with lights and decorations. It was really so nice.

Bryce and Mia were in the wedding also. Bryce was the ring bearer and Mia was one of the flower girls. They both did a great job. Bryce was very cooperative for pictures and all the other duties that go along with being a ring bearer. Mia did a great job being the flower girl--she certainly was cute. She didn't drop any petals during the wedding, but had a great time practicing in the dressing room before getting ready.

I thought this picture of Bryce and Sharayah together was so precious. He really was very cooperative and did pretty well during the wedding. He got a little bored, and when he looked up and saw Mia playing with his pirate sword, he started shaking his finger at her and shaking his head "no". :)

Anyway, the day was great....I was fortunate to have all my kids there and grandkids. Any day that I get to see them all at one time is a very blessed day. (Not that the day was about me!) God has blessed me with so much in my life--the best three kids He had and the three best grandkids EVER!! Here are a few more random shots from the wedding and reception. Enjoy!

The lovely flower girl, Mia and the handsome ring bearer, Bryce. :) Both a little squinty.

Uncle Josh came on to the dance floor to do some of his mad dancing skills with Bryce. Bryce was doing everything Uncle Josh did. I think this was some kind of Ninja Turtle dance. Bryce thinks there is no one quite like his Uncle Josh and I have to say that I think Uncle Josh is another example of a godly man for Bryce to follow--he has his daddy too. :) Sharayah dancing with her Daddy. They danced to the theme from "Beauty and the Beast"...Bryce asked if YoYo was the Beast. :) He's funny.

The girls "performing" their pact dance. Sharayah chose the song "Baby, Baby" by Amy Grant to do their little dance to. She used to sing it and act it out when she was little. Mia decided she needed to get involved in this one. :) Can't leave out the little guy. Collin was SO good all weekend. He had a few sleep issues in their motel room, but all in all, he was an angel. He is sitting at the table at the reception here enjoying some snacks. This one seems to be suspended in the air, huh? :) And, last, but not least.....here is the new Mr. & Mrs. Sharayah and Kevin Gautraud. Thanks for including us in your special weekend. May God bless your marriage!!