Yes, I said tonight. I’m not always thankful and I am ashamed to admit it.  Often I am stressed, frazzled and frayed, over-work, under-paid, and everything in between.

But not tonight.

Tonight I am thankful for my sweet husband who is so patient and kind.  A true partner in my life, a devoted and well-loved father, and a truly brilliant man.

Tonight I am thankful for my opinionated, strong-willed, kind-hearted, passionate small people.  Their light shines so brightly in my life.

Tonight I am thankful for parents who love me unconditionally, completely.

Tonight I am thankful that I have beautiful, bright, heroines for sisters.  Real strong women whom I am endlessly proud of and who have more heart than many people will ever experience.

Tonight I am thankful for cousins who ‘get’ me, however that may be.  Their irreverent humor and intense loyalty astounds me.

Tonight I am thankful for extended family far and wide and the love they bring into my life.

Tonight I am thankful for my friends, both on and offline.  As real and dear to me as family.

For each person that has touched my life this year, last year, or in any year forwards and backwards…

I am thankful for you.

May you be blessed.

May I remember to be thankful year ’round.

Like what you read? Try these!:

1. Thankful Thursday: 12/9/2009
2. Thankfulness: Randomness
3. Thankfulness: Type A Mom Conference Edition

After pool time, we headed to dinner at the dining hall and then to chapel for worship.  Always a favorite of the girls, the young women who lead the camp never cease to amaze me and bring joy to the masses of squealing girls.  These amazing young women sang, danced (honestly, my least favorite part of camp…the hand motions), did skits, and put on puppet shows for the audience of captivated girls and contented mamas.  The camp had a welcome party that night complete with limbo (I have rug burn), games, and message in a bottle making.  At one point the adorable Recreations Leader asked what the girls would write on a message in a bottle to tell someone about Jesus. KG instantly throws her hand (and I’m expecting something profound because this is KG) and says, “I’d tell them He’s our Savior and God created us, NOT monkeys.  I laughed until I cried.

That night KG met an incredibly inspriational missionary named Gaby, who had served in Bolivia and South Africa and was kind enough to share her story with us.  KG was fascinated by her and wanted to know more about where Gaby was from (Ecuador) and the adventures she had had.

Craft time reared it’s ugly head after the party and if it sounds like I don’t enjoy craft time that’s because I don’t. I do not have a single crafty bone in my body.  I am the antithesis of the crafty mom. Seriously, craft supplies run screaming from me. And to make it even better? We were decorating sailor hats. Yep. Sailor hats. My face is not one that looks good—or even cute—in a hat.  Least of all in a sailor hat.  Thankfully one of the moms with us is quite the Crafty Caroline and willingly took pity on the rest of us by writing our names with an anchor on our hats.  All I had to do was stamp a shell on the hat…guess what…I managed to do it without messing up! Yay me!

Finally at 10pm (!!) we all dropped, exhausted, into our sleeping bags and onto bunks.

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1. GA Mother-Daughter Mission Adventure Camp, it certainly was an adventure

One of these women knew me well while I was my most obnoxious; my teenage years.  She saw me act like a fool for too many years & I can’t help but wonder how and if that colors her perception of me. The other women, though I had gone to church with them for a long time (and our church is quite small), I didn’t *really* know well (my own fault). I didn’t know what to   expect and the days leading up to camp were filled with self-doubt and plain old anxiety, but by the time we pulled out of the church parking lot Friday afternoon I had put it all aside and was fully focused on having a good time with my girl.

I can be really slow to hear God speak or to see Him move, much like this turtle.  I spent a lot of time praying for guidance and that God’s hand would be visible throughout the weekend; I prayed that we would have fun and that KG would find her place with these sweet girls.  I know God was present this weekend, I certainly felt his presence. The weekend was so jam packed full of fun and activities I can’t fit it all in one post.  Come back every day this week to keep up with our adventures!

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This year she has teamed up with another young mother of a cancer warrior, Sam, to raise money & awareness for St. Baldrick’s by shaving their heads March 13th, 2011 at the 4th Street Live! St. Baldrick’s event.  I, personally, would love it if you would consider donating something to their team, Bald for our Boys, to help them raise funding for cancer research.

According to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s website:

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

Begun as a challenge among friends, St. Baldrick’s has helped fund $56.9 million dollars in childhood cancer research since 2000 and more than $14 million in 2010 alone!  St. Baldrick’s  has more than 106 grant awards currently being funded and they are committed to helping the profession’s best and brightest doctors pursue childhood cancer research.  St. Baldrick’s is committed to finding  and using the best treatments possible for treating childhood cancer.

I chose to feature Bald for our Boys and St. Baldrick’s as my February Community Impact Feature because the work their doing and the lives they touch are worthy of recognition and support.  Please consider supporting Bald for our Boys, Cassie and Jen, Noah and Sam, and all the cancer warriors out there by giving a donation today!

*I received no compensation for this post, only the warm-fuzzies one gets when helping another human (or organization) make a difference.  If you know a charity, individual, or organization that is making a difference in your community (or the world community) please contact me!*

*Bald for our Boys Image & Image of Sam and Noah by Cassie and her awesome blog, Alex and Cassie*

*St. Baldrick’s Logo courtesy of St. Baldricks*

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So last Sunday I wrote about how Jon and I were embarking on a new Journey and would be playing some Money Games each month of 2011.  This month’s Money Game requires positive thinking {which ties in beautifully with what I’ve been reading recently} and speaking affirmations aloud.  I have been praying for, affirming, trusting, and expecting a specific amount of money that I would need to make before I go to Blissdom at the end of this month.  Yesterday when I sent out a quote to a potential client concerning my helping them with some social media work it never occurred to me that the quote was the exact same amount that I had been believing for.  Today, I met with the potential client and after chatting for a short period of time the client was signing me a check for the exact amount I needed. I was struck by the significance.  God is so amazing.

What this means is I get to do a job that I love for an amazing client, who is in the business of helping people, and can now afford to travel to Nashville, TN and enjoy Blissdom without charging a penny or worrying about how it will affect our budget.

I feel lighter almost.

Thank YOU God!

Like what you read? Try these!:

1. Money Games – Pillow Talk

It was a lesson in tenacity! You’ve heard of bulldog tenacity? Well, this is Robin tenacity. One 10 ounce bird and her determination to build her house.

Proverbs 14:1 says, “A wise woman builds her house but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.”

A few weeks ago I was looking out the bathroom window, early in the morning. It was light out but the sun wasn’t quite shining in our valley yard. Out the window is a white lilac bush with a shoot of growth about eight inches from the main trunk. The shoot is tied to the larger bush with a cotton string tied in a tight bow. Mrs. Robin was on the grass under the string. She would jump up, grab the cotton string and fly off; however, she would only get about a foot because the tied string would not allow her to fly off with it. She did this exercise about ten times and finally gave up and flew away. My husband joined me at the window and we were cracking up! This little episode would have won first place on America’s Funniest Videos and was definitely a good lesson in tenacity.

When my children were little one of our favorite books was The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman. Perhaps you are familiar with it. Mrs. Bird becomes dissatisfied with her nest and leaves it in search of a better nest – Mr. Bird frantically searches for her all over the countryside and finally during a thunderstorm he finds himself at his old nest and lo and behold, Mrs. Bird is sitting there on a couple of eggs, singing: I love my house, I love my nest, in all the world this nest is best! A story with a great message of being content with what one has.

Getting back to our own Mrs. Robin – I took a piece of loose string and went out to the lilac bush and draped it over the tied piece, leaving it loose and available. I was hoping to see our feathered friend come back and victoriously grab the string one more time and fly off with it. I never did see her come back, but come back she did because the next morning the loose string was gone. Hmm…is there a lesson for me in this bird story?

How many times do I try and try to do something similar to pulling a secure, tied string from a branch – knowing full well after two or three tries that “the thing” is not going to budge? And then in my frustration and defeat, my (heavenly) Father, who has watched my struggle, comes along with His grace and mercy and places a loose string for me to fly away with?

Friends, I hope we all learn the lesson to be tenacious in our efforts. Keep on keeping on – that loose string may be the next thing within our reach and then we will FLY!

(NOTE: the photo is real and my husband took it May 7,2010. We were trimming our big tree and I nearly bumped into the nest and then I saw those three necks reaching high with their beaks open waiting for Mama to bring some dinner. I didn’t notice the string until I uploaded the photo this morning. How cool is that?

Susan Shipe, referred to by her friends as a “wordsmith” loves to share her thoughts on many different areas of her life. She has a God-given gift for encouraging women. The author of a devotion-journal, A Pruned Branch, Susan can be found blogging about hope, heart, and home at www.hopehearthome.com

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Today was a good day.

We harvested what was left of our juicy home-grown pears and basked in the coolness of the Autumn breeze and the warmth of the late afternoon sun.

And after our ears were cold and our cheeks were pink, we re-discovered the joy of Play-Doh and Hungry Hungry Hippos.

We laughed until it hurt today and played until we collapsed.

My house is a mess.

But today was a good day.

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warm bodies

tired eyes

sweet smells of shampoo

sleepy smiles

quiet giggles

later mornings

heaven

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1. Wordless Wednesday: Two for One: Fall Festival Joy
2. Fun in the Sun…and dumping water on your child’s head

@DanielleSmithTV @KatjaPresnal and myself at BWE 2009

This morning in the quiet after Jon had gone to work and before I woke the small people I read a devotional {as I do most mornings} to get my mind in the “right place” for the day.  But the basis of this devotional was how online or digital relationships don’t give people a sense or a reality of “true belonging” and that got me thinking, because that is just not fact for me.  Now, don’t get me wrong…I get that the moral of this devotional was that we {humans…duh} find “true belonging” in and from God alone, but the author spent much of her time describing how empty digital relationships left you. Let me tell you a little about the ladies who have wound themselves around my heart and the “true belonging” I found in them.

I live in a fairly rural {ok, most definitely rural} area where my personality and “self” is often not the norm.  I’m often the youngest in the crowd at KG’s school…in short I often feel misplaced like I can’t find a place to belong.  To put it more plainly I’m ‘Rock-n-Roll’ and am surrounded by ‘Country’.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t fit. However, through the relationships I have formed while blogging, on Twitter, on Facebook…whatever…I’ve found my “forever friends”.

@SLPowell, @ResourcefulMom, @Teachmama, and @KTnestingspot @ Disney's Social Media Mom Celebration 2010

Women who get it, who get me.  They’re in the same place I am and they know what it’s like to juggle home life, work {out of the house and in house}, kids, husbands {who are sometimes like kids}, blogging, social media participation, school participation and everything else that goes into our lives. They don’t judge…because they’ve been there or are there now. They’re women of all shapes and sizes, they come from different countries, and have different religious beliefs…we don’t all like the same music, live in the same area {or continent}, and some of us don’t have children, but we’ve carved out a place for ourselves online and in each other’s hearts.

I see some of these ladies once a year, some more, some less, some not at all…but this doesn’t make them any less dear to me.  You see, I have found “true belonging” with them. Would I love it if they were my physical neighbors? You betcha!! But just because the majority of our interaction takes place online doesn’t deteriorate the “true belonging” we find in each other.

/end rant

I’d love to know your experiences.

Have you found ‘forever friends’ online? Where do you find your true belonging?

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This week I will keep it simple, I am simply thankful for the healthy pregnancy my cousin, LA, is experiencing this time around. After so much heartache, it is a relief and blessing to know that Baby Girl is growing strong and healthy safe inside of LA.

“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Read more things to be thankful for today at Women Taking a Stand.

Read more of my Thankful Thursday posts.

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1. Thankfulness: Randomness
2. Thankfulness: Freedom
3. Thankfulness: 3/11