B & B's

Of Birthdays and Blessings ...

The past two months have been full of both birthdays and blessings!  After Mom's 91st birthday on September 22nd (see previous blog), we were blessed to celebrate other birthdays ...

October 5th was our grandson Jason Cody's 6th birthday.  He is a sharp little man who enjoys trains, LEGO's, playing soccer with the Cyber Rays and also enjoys learning about ships, boats and planes. This grandson is a real student of his interests and knows more about trains, their design and their functions than most adults!  His favorite birthday gift was riding on an AmTrak into Union Station.


We love you, Jason Cody!



A few weeks later, we celebrated our grandson Caleb's 2nd birthday on October 29. This little fellow is in the high-energy-catch-me-if-you-can stage.  His Mommy has found him standing on the arm of their couch, on the kitchen table and sitting on the snack bar. To his credit, he also enjoys cuddling in a lap and having favorite books read aloud, and that megawatt smile of his melts my heart!



We love you, Caleb!



Then, on November 2nd, my dear hubby's birthday #64 was a celebration and blessing. I am so grateful and thankful for this man God placed in my heart and life!  He is my soul mate and confidante, my parenting partner in raising our three children and my grand-parenting partner in loving our four grandsons.  We see them only once or twice a year, and while that is painful to bear, it is eased by having someone walk the Papa & Nana path with me.

Back to blessings, I can't begin to enumerate them all here, but I'll share a few.  We are blessed with good health at this point in our lives and a warm, cozy home in this rainy autumn season.  We also have clean water to drink and food supplies as needed.  Not everyone has that in this world, and we do realize what a blessing it is.

Not only has God provided our physical needs, He has also supplied much more - comfort in sorrow (our precious young niece died in late September), comfort supplied through friends and extended family who came to celebrate her life & legacy with us. Comfort in knowing she was a bright light during her brief lifetime and was ready to meet her Maker. The moment He lifted her out of pain and suffering, she was at perfect peace with Him.

I am blessed to still have my Mother - the only surviving parent in our married life.  She is fading in so many respects but is still my sweet Momma.  I am blessed to see her at least twice a week and sometimes more, and we are very grateful for the staff and caregivers at Mitchell Hollingsworth who tend to her.  We are also blessed with memories of our parents who are now with the Lord.

My Dad's birthdate, October 31st, and his life ended on January 30, 1991.  His birthday stirred lots of memories for me in the days before and after October 31st..  He was a quiet man in many ways but a fun-loving parent, a faithful, gentle husband to our mother and, above all else, a man that studied the Word of God and had a burden for those who were hopeless, helpless and in need of the peace and joy that knowing Christ as Savior can give.

Phillip's mother, a sweet, quiet woman who was a wife, mother, grandmother and homemaker for her family, passed on to glory in October of 2001.  Phillip's Dad, a hardworking man who also served his country in WW2, loved his Lord, his family and his country. We were blessed to have him in our lives until March of 2013.  What a precious heritage our parents passed down to us and our children! How grateful we are for their faithful examples before us.

We have also been blessed with two more grandsons who did not have birthdays recently, but they deserved to be pictured here, too!


It's a joy when the phone rings to answer and here their voices!
What a joy to hear those little "men" tell us, "I love you!" and/ or "I wish I could see you again soon."  or  "Guess what I learned today?"  Truly, grandchildren are the blessings of our senior years, and we thank the Lord for them daily.

We love you, John-Phillip!

        

... And we love you, too, Ethan!

This is what makes our life rich and precious - having precious loved ones to cherish and celebrate.  Those who have gone before us are are still remembered, cherished and celebrated in our hearts and lives.  They are very much still a part of us.



Thank You, Father, for birthdays and blessings!

Each year added to our life is a precious gift from Your hand to us.  We rest in You for the future ahead of us and our children and grands.  Use us for your glory, and grant us wisdom, faith, hope, and peace as you see fit.

There is much to pray about for our nation, our neighborhoods and our personal need for wisdom and grace to make wise decisions as we go forward.  Lead us as you see fit, and use us to glorify Your name.  Amen.