Happy Birthday Mom.

Today would have been Mom's 55th birthday. She's been gone for 15 months now and I still miss her every day.

Your Mother Is Always With You

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of bleach inyour freshly laundered socks.
She's the cool hand on yourbrow when you're not well.

Your mother lives insideyour laughter.

She's crystallized in every tear drop...
She's the place you came from,your first home..

She's the map you follow with every step that you take.

She's your first love and your first heartbreak....

and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...

Not even death....

will ever separate you from your mother....

You carry her inside of you....

- Author Unknown.

The road to recovery.

Hurricane Ike took it's toll on Baytown and the surrounding areas. We were so blessed to have had no major damage at our house and only minimal discomfort from being without power for several days. We stayed with Troy's dad and stepmom and then his mom and stepdad once they had power. I'm so thankful to have all of them in our family.

It has been more than 2 weeks since the storm and the kids are finally returning to school today. Life has returned to normal for the most part, but the piles of debris and the few businesses that remain closed serve as reminders that there are still those in need of our prayers.

I'll add a few post Ike pictures when I can.

There's a storm a brewing...

We're preparing to the best of our ability for Hurricane Ike. It's forecasted to hit the Texas coast early Saturday morning.

Our zip code has been instructed to evacuate as of noon today due to a close proximity to Galveston Bay. We're not going far. Troy is boarding up the two larger windows today and we'll head over to his Dad's house tomorrow afternoon to ride the storm out with them. They at least have a generator.

Brynne and Brooke will be heading to Cypress with their dad and should have a good old time with their cousin.

My prayers are with everyone as we prepare for the worst and hope for the best! Stay safe and God bless!

Counting my blessings

The past two nights have been rough. For some reason that she just can't communicate to me, Tori seems to have trouble sleeping between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. This makes for a long night.

During these middle of the night times when the house is dark and I'm forced from my warm snuggly bed by a little girl that wants to be held I find that I can easily be quite grumpy. Unfortunately Troy takes the brunt of that most of the time.

To keep from being a bear I try to use this time to focus on God. A little quiet time with Him is a sure fire way to improve my attitude. And when I find that I'm already in that foul mood and a little too quick with a sharp comment to my still sleeping husband I realize it's time to count my blessings. Nothing softens my heart toward my dear husband like counting him at the top of the list.

Another of those blessings is a couple from our church family that Troy and I have depended on more than once for guidance and wisdom. Wayne and Verna celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary yesterday. They have a relationship focused on Christ, built with a deep love and respect for each other. Verna is the woman I want to be when I grow up. I pray for many more wonderful, love filled years together for them.

I could get used to long weekends.

I could definitely adjust to having a three day weekend every week. This would give me an extra day to get around to those weekend tasks that I tend to put off the most.... mainly cleaning and laundry. I'm mighty proud of everything I accomplished with just one extra day.

I also took advantage of the cool(er) breezy morning to take the kids to the park. We don't make it to the park very often, especially when it's 90 degrees outside.

Tori absolutely loved it! Brynne and Brooke spent most of their time playing with her. They dote on her and it's obvious that she loves them to pieces. I've been blessed with three magnificent children!

Here are a few pics from our time at the park. It was cut short by the mosquitoes and my lack of enough forethought to pack bug spray.

My first blog post.

Blogging seems to be the "in" thing to do, so I thought I would give it a shot. But what to blog about?

My life revolves around a few very simple things.

My faith. I don't think I could make it through a single day on this planet without the knowledge that God loves me and will never give up on me. He loves me so much that He provided for my salvation with his only son. As a mom, I can't imagine making that sacrifice. On the hardest of days it's His strength that gets me through.

My family. I have a wonderful husband and three beautiful girls. Brynne is soon to be 10, Brooke will be 9 shortly after that, and Victoria just turned 1. I couldn't ask for a better bunch to call my own.

And finally there is food. I LOVE to cook. I enjoy preparing meals for anyone that will eat them, but I have an absolute passion for baking. Feeding people, especially a sweet treat, is the best way I know to show them I care.

I'll get the hang of blogging eventually and I hope to share with everyone my favorite things in life.