Welcome 2010 Part 3

Continuing on with the best blessings of 2009!

I think no one in our family would argue about the greatest blessing of the year! Our sweet Alaina Brooke was born on July 31st! She is now 5 months old! She is absolutely perfect and sweet and beautiful in every way! Our family really needed something of this magnitude this past year to get us excited about life again! My niece, Sarah, had a great delivery, and she and Adam are doing a fantastic job with parenting! They are such a sweet little family unit!

I have to share about the first time Alaina met her great grandpa (my dad). We all thought she might be a bit afraid of him because he is laying down in bed and has oxygen hoses, etc. But, let me say, she looked up at her Pa and smiled, and if she could have talked, she would have given him an ear full! It was almost as if she was telling him that she was SO glad to finally meet her Pa! Alaina and Pa bonded right away and you could tell by Alaina's sweet expression that she was feeling the love for her Pa! It was priceless! You had to be there, but this was a magical moment and definitely one of the highlights of my year!

Alaina is definitely a gift from God to our family! And, what a blessing she is and always will be!

Adam, Sarah, and Alaina Emmett

Welcome 2010 Part 2

Me, Melinda, Camille, and Mary Clare

I am continuing with my favorite blessings for 2009! There were SO many blessings, I could create blogs for a good while!

I have some really special college friends from my days spent at Berry College. We only get together once or twice a year, but it is always great catching up! This is a picture of us having lunch at Longhorn Steak House just last week.

These ladies are spiritual, smart, and live their lives with integrity and grace. I am honored to know them!

Me with Jane

I went to Brevard College my freshman year of college. I had a wonderful roommate, but neither of us went back to Brevard after that year. We connected for lunch in September near Orlando. This is the first time we had seen each other since 1980! This was really strange because the last time we saw each other we were teenagers, and now we are middle-aged women! This was one of the highlights of my year! : )

Welcome 2010

Well, the new year has finally arrived! I have been ready to kiss 2009 goodbye for a while now. Even though 2009 was a year full of challenges, I have also had many things to be thankful for!

A few of my favorite blessings for 2009:

I have SO enjoyed reading the blogs of my niece, Sarah, and my friend, Amy. They each have baby girl's who are about the same age, and they are sharing all about their little sweethearts on their blogs. It is easy to get hooked into watching Alaina and Libbi grow and change so quickly! The "Not Me" Mondays are the best! New blog postings always brighten my day!

Spending time with my precious great niece, Alaina, is always a blessing. She is now 5 months old. I could just inhale her! : )

Living with Hadrian is such a joy! She is always loving me and making sure I am happy. And, she expects me to always love her and make sure she is happy, as well! : ) And, sometimes, that takes a lot. (ha) She is definitely one of a kind. But, she makes my days interesting. And, interesting days are a very positive thing when there aren't many positive things going on!

Having Hannah living at home and commuting to Georgia State is a real treat. She is always helpful, and she keeps me in line! She pushes me to keep moving forward even when I don't feel like it. And, I have my own personal laundress! I always put the clothes in the washing machine, and she always moves them along to the dryer and then folds or hangs them when they are dry! And, let me just add that when Hannah folds clothes, they are perfect! If there should ever be a contest for folding clothes, she would win first prize! She saves me from putting a load of clothes in the washer and leaving it sitting in there for days before ever thinking about it again. (I have done this ONLY a few times - ha) How wonderful is it to have help like this?! Hannah is a true blessing.

Even though Haley doesn't live at home, she never forgets about her mom. She is so great to call me every day to check up on things. She is always concerned and lets me know that she cares about me. I miss her very much, but it makes her absence so much easier when she makes the effort to connect! And, it makes me feel much better knowing that her boyfriend, Austin, takes good care of her while she is living in a town without her family. Austin's family has been great to take Haley right in! This eases my mind knowing she is surrounded by good people (and two good dogs - ha). Haley has carried me through this difficult year by allowing me to cry and talk things out with her. She is definitely the caretaker of the family which is a big burden to carry for a 23 year old. What an amazing child!

I have loved every precious moment spent with my mom, dad, sister, and her family! Nothing compares to the love I feel for my family! They are true examples of unconditional love, and I couldn't make it right now without them. I can't even begin to describe how much they have helped me get through the year. And, this past year, they gave and gave and gave so that my girls and I were taken care of. How could anything compare to having a supportive family?

Well, these are just a few of the amazing blessings I have in my life. There has been so much to be thankful for in the midst of the most difficult year of my life! I have many more blessings that I could share about, but these will have to wait!

Welcome 2010!!
Becky

Christmas Eve

Well, this is one different Christmas Eve for me. I think this is the first time ever that I have been sitting at home on Christmas Eve. Our family has always been in Blairsville in years past, but not this year. With the girls having work schedules this holiday season, it is hard getting everybody in sync with days off. We already celebrated our family Christmas by going down to Byron to Haley's house this past Sunday. She and Austin cooked a lovely dinner on Sunday night, and we opened presents and had fabulous family time! We needed to do something different this year, and this was a great plan. I have always felt that Christmas should be celebrated when the entire family can be together - no matter what day it is.

My girls and I will be heading up to Blairsville on Saturday to celebrate Christmas with my parents and my sister's family on Sunday. There is nothing that compares to going "home" for Christmas. My mom has already started cooking, and she feeds us SO well! I can't wait for the feast! : ) But, the most important thing is that we will all be there together. What a blessing that will be!

This is the first time to see my family since the decision was made to end my marriage. They have been amazingly supportive. There are no words to describe how much I appreciate my parents and my sister's family. Without their love and support, I could not get through each day. My fear is that I will melt like a snow man when I see them. I have tried hard to hold back the tears, but I am afraid the flood gates may open!

I was reading a Joyce Meyer book the other night, and I was reminded that Paul did not pray for people to be spared trials or troubles. Instead, he prayed for people to see what God has already done. He also prayed that they would be able to endure whatever they encountered, they would live in the power of the Spirit, they would be steadfast, and they would be walking testimonies of God's grace.

This is my prayer for myself. Since losing a job, our family business, our home, and my marriage, all in one year, I think it is a bit late to be spared trials and troubles. But, in the midst of my trials and troubles, I see what God has already done. And, God is giving me the strength to endure and hold on. And, through God's grace, my troubles are becoming my testimony. Even though I may not understand the purpose of everything happening, I believe wholeheartedly that God has a purpose. Shattered dreams are never random.

I wish all of my friends and family a very Merry Christmas! And, on a random note, I heard on the radio today that only 44 percent of 10 year olds know that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. Wow! That means that the families of 56 percent of these kids do not know the true meaning of Christmas. My Christmas prayer is for these kids to come to know Jesus on Christmas Day.

Becky

Protect What You Already Own

I have been one of the worst bloggers ever this year! My posts have been very sporadic and few and far between. I guess the condition of my blogging reflects the condition of my life right now. Disheartened and disappointed are two words that immediately come to mind. I keep thinking of an Amy Grant song that she wrote while going through her divorce:

I give you my heart broken and bruised
But still beating strong and wanting to trust you

etc. etc.

I will be faithful
Help me be strong
'Cause you will protect what you already own
You still protect what you already own

I am trusting God right now to protect what He already owns.

More to come later! Hopefully, I will do better! : )

My Little Family

I have always enjoyed seeing little people stuck on vehicle windows which represent the family that owns the car. Apparently, I oohed and aahed so much over these little people, that my girls picked up the hint and surprised me with a set this past Christmas. I was SO excited when I saw them! I couldn't wait to put them on my van!

You can see that the Daddy has tools and is wearing a tool belt (just like our daddy), and the Mommy is carrying a shopping bag (which is something this mommy loves to do!), the first girl child is holding an apple and a book which represents a teacher (Haley is majoring in education), the second girl is wearing a whistle which represents coaching and refereeing (Hannah does both), and the third girl is dressed like a soccer player (Hadrian is actively playing soccer), and then the sweet little cat represents our family pet, Scooter.

Well, this past weekend, our van was at Disney World in Orlando. We had to laugh at how amused people were with our little family. No matter where we went, foreign people would walk by our van and carry on conversations while pointing and looking at us. (By us, I mean our family stuck on the car). Of course, we had no idea what they were saying, but it was obvious they were chatting about our little family. The entire weekend, people were continually talking about us! Have people never seen these before? I am not sure what was so amusing, but it became amusing to us that people were so amused! I felt like we had a marked car!

One day, Hadrian and I were literally run down by a car at a redlight in Snellville. This lady was frantically yelling and waving at us! I finally rolled down my window only to find out that she wanted to know where we found our little people! Good grief! I thought something was terribly wrong for her to be so determined to get our attention! Well, we yelled at her that they were purchased "on line" just as the light changed and we all had to take off. Hadrian and I got a kick out of that.

Well, I love my little family stuck on my car. So, if you see us driving down the road, just honk and wave! We may not realize who you are, but we will realize that you know who we are by our little family stuck on our car! : )

The Task at Hand

Wow, it has been over 5 months since my last blog! I just haven't felt like posting nor have I had much to say. I have been very focused on the task at hand. For the past months, I have been cleaning out about twenty years of clutter and memories. It is amazing how much stuff we have collected between Bryan, me, three girls, and our various pets. I think that I was so busy with family activities through the years, that I just didn't deal with things when I should have. I would put if off by sticking things in the attic or the basement until a better day came along to deal with it! Well, I have had 4+ months to clean out my home. I have gone through everything. I have taken loads to Goodwill, I have sold things, and I have thrown away a boat load of stuff. And, I have accumulated a trailer load of things to have a gigantic yard sale! Several loads of treasures have gone to that special storage unit in Blairsville called "mom and dad's house."

All the while I have been cleaning out our house, Bryan has had a business to clean out. He has taken an unbelievable number of "loads" to Blairsville to store at his mother's house and his own very special storage unit called "Mike's Barn." Bryan's family has worked their tails off helping him clean out the shop and move truckloads of equipment. Well, after nonstop work by the both of us, we are finally "officially" moved. Bryan is done with the business, and I am done with the house. We walked through our completely empty house late yesterday afternoon, and I must say that it was sad. I am so relieved that the moving is finally over - the chore has been an overwhelming process! But, the emotions have hit me over the past few days. All I have to do is think about my house, and the tears flow. I have been consumed with sadness.

While people tell me that a house is just a house, I am well aware that a house is simply a "thing." I know that I shouldn't worry about such trivial things in life. But, this house was my home. Bryan and I bought the spot for our house and held the property for several years before we ever started building "our" house. This gave us plenty of time to dream about it, have house plans drawn, and anticipate the day we could finally start building. Well, that day finally came, and Bryan worked during the day, and built the house at night and on the weekends. It was a whole family project. Everyone was involved. Bryan's sister, Lisa, laid our tile. She and Coot came down and helped us. Bryan's mother helped in so many ways, but her main contribution was our landscaping. She landscaped our yard, and it honestly looked like it should have been photographed for Southern Living magazine. My family helped out in too many ways to count. What amazing support we had! The house has been touched by everyone in our families! And, I couldn't go into any room without seeing Bryan's special touches. He built all of the windows to put into the house he built. I loved our house - it was perfect and it was in the perfect neighborhood. Even our home address was perfect! Our house number was 410 - the same as Bryan's birthday (4/10/60).

Well, as you read in my last post, our hut has been on fire - the business loss and ultimately the loss of our home. I have tried to stay positive and keep smiling over the past year when things ultimately "hit" the fan. God has a plan. If nothing else, I have learned how incredibly blessed I am. I knew it, but now, I REALLY know it!

I have a sister who knocked on my door and handed one of my kids an envelope with money in it. Joy has no idea that I literally did not know how we were going to eat that week. Or, I get to WalMart and find a hundred dollar bill in my purse - just after I visited her house. Joy's husband, Gary, has kept our cars running for us - saving us hundreds of dollars in repairs. My dear mother has spent entire Sunday's cooking fried chicken, baking cakes, and everything else imaginable. She would send it to us so that we would be fed for days. (And fed deliciously, I might add!) And, she just has a knack for knowing when I need grocery money. She goes without things so that my family is taken care of. And, my poor dad, from his hospital bed at home, will always hand me money just so I have a "little" running money in my purse. And, how amazing is it that my sister and my mom felt the need to fund school clothes for Hadrian. We all know that she is a diva who must be well dressed! Hadrian was really touched that they were concerned about her having new clothes.

Yes, our hut has been on fire. Our home was auctioned off today, but a house is just a thing. The fire has summoned the Grace of God to show us that we have family who loves us and supports us. So, how could I feel any more blessed?