In Gratitude

I've been reminded recently of how many blessing I have in my life. Lately I've been pausing to thank God for those Blessings.

One of those blessings is Lily's Smile. Last year at this time we found out that we might never see our daughter's precious smile. Gazing at her sweet face now, my eyes often fill with tears remembering that difficult time.

Last July I was often reminded of one of my favorite scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11-12 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." And we did call out to Him with everything in us.

But I have to admit it was very difficult to trust in God in such a difficult time and my faith was not as strong as it should have been. Although we knew in our hearts that no matter what the outcome we could trust in God to perform his perfect will.

I often wonder at how blessed I am to now hold that sweet baby in my arms and the fact that God chose to place her in our arms. It is truly by the Grace of God that she is with us now and I treasure each day. In gratitude I continue to thank Him for his blessings, great and small. And for the lesson of trust God used to strengthen my faith.

July

Cliff no longer has to make a weekly Friday afternoon pilgrimage to Fort Pierce, so the "Daddy dates" were placed on hold for a while. But last week they resumed this time on Tuesday Evenings. This date is highly anticipated by both Daddy and daughter!!!

Pizza is Billie's favorite food. So naturally it's out for pizza and then playtime! Here are some pictures from last night's expedition.

July...

Uncle John-Paul was out traveling with one of the HSBC summer groups but Aunt Jolie invited everyone over for Sunday lunch. Everyone had a great time and hopefully by now Jolie has "forgiven" me for doing the dishes when she wasn't looking. ;-)

Lily looked so cute sitting on the floor and playing I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. When Daddy came in a few minutes later the world came to an end until he picked her up! Lily is very much a "daddy's girl!!!"

My husband loves to be adventurous, evidenced in the fact that he would attempt to touch a shark in open waters, while snorkeling alone. Or by attempting to touch a rather large alligator while bicycling in the Everglades with his brother.

So it should come as no surprise to those that know my husband, that he would enjoy skydiving! So for Father's Day I gave him a gift certificate to skydive once again.

Cliff & I got up early on Saturday the fourth of July to make the journey out to Clewiston for his skydive. I should be saying that we enjoyed the chance to be alone together, conversing and enjoying each other's company over the course of the 1 3/4 hour drive out, but in reality I just slept most of the way out and back. :-)
We were their first customer's for the morning so while we waited in the hanger I was able to log into their wi-fi and get some work done on the website.
I got more video than snap shots, but suffice it to say, he came down with one huge grin on his face, so I'm thinking it won't be too long before we make another trip out to Clewiston again!

Thank you to my MIL & FIL who for taking care of the little munchkins!

Cookies Anyone? Billie was "helping" mix up a batch, by helping I mean making sure the batter tasted yummy enough! I forwarned anyone who ate them that they had been thoroughly pronounced yummy before they went into the oven! :-)