Giving Thanks Day 2 ~ Love

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. 

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease;  as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 
1 Corinthians 13 

♥ Today I am grateful and thankful for love ♥ Blessed and thankful for my loved ones near and far, it's the one thing I know for certain that lives on as a legacy for those have passed on, love is the most precious gift we can give to one another....so today I am thankful for this, and want you to know that you are loved 

Giving Thanks Day 1 ~ Family and Friends

 Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.-- Melody Beattie

 ♥ Starting November with an Attitude of Gratitude and loving the theme as it is spreading on Facebook....Today I am thankful, and grateful for my family and friends ♥

Remembering Loss

You never know what a miracle life is, until you've had one torn from inside you....the not knowing if you were expecting a boy or a girl, what their life would have been like...it's a heartache like no other...losing a child no matter how small, or how old....it's unimaginable, it's unnatural, you don't just remember days but moments, carrying an angel and then watching all your hopes and dreams just get shattered...the not understanding, the need to know why, the pain that doesn't end, why your body is failing you and your baby, the feeling of being incomplete with a hole in your heart that just won't heal...So today, October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, I remember and I honor my heavenly children tonight at 7PM...along with so many who know this pain, my friends, family, HP and PAI sisters who have been supportive in ways that are countless and know the emotions that this day of remembrance brings, I will be remembering your losses as well. A person that loses a partner is called a widow. A child who loses a parent is called an orphan. But there is no word to describe a parent that loses a child, because the loss is like no other. Think of someone you know or love who has lost a baby or a child, and take a few minutes to remember and honor their beautiful angels ♥ 

 "And as we let go of our expectations, we find that God's desires for us and our family are so much greater than what we ever anticipated. In both the good times and the bad, in the joy and pain, God is writing a story of hope, redemption and love within our lives"

.....One day we hold our Heavenly children ♥

Random Acts Kindness ~ Smiles

We passed by the same homeless guy from a few weeks ago on the way to the hospital to visit dad at work....Elliott was eating his snack in the car and said, I will save my cheez-its for him. The whole way to the hospital he debated on eating his snack but each time he'd think about it he said "that guy doesn't even have a home". After I stopped to get gas, I told him if he isn't there when we drive by then you can eat it for your snack. I could tell how hard it was for him not to eat his snack as he really wanted to eat it. A few minutes later we see the homeless man still at the intersection we passed. Elliott read his sign "Homeless Vet, God Bless" and rolled down his window. The man came over with a big smile and said "Thank you over and over again and then said God Bless" Elliott said "I think he remembers me" Elliott had the biggest smile ♥ I don't think that guy will ever know how much that meant to Elliott ♥ This was a random act of kindness with a pay it forward in return...smiles they are contagious!

Random Act of Kindness ~ Snack Sized

Random Act of Kindness ~ Early release day today and we went to Play it Again Sports to pick up a package of wiffle balls to start our neighborhood Sandlot games at the park. As we were leaving we got to a stoplight and there sat a homeless man. Elliott said "look there is a homeless person, we should help him he doesn't have a house". I said "what would you like to do for him?" And the light had changed so we were now on the highway and he said, "I can't give him a house but I could give him my cheeze-its from my lunch." I said do you want me to turn around so you can give him your snack? And he said "no, that's ok" because we were almost to the next light. I looked in the rear view mirror and see his eyes whelp up with tears. I asked him what was wrong, why was he crying. Cooper said "you know why he is crying you can see it in his eyes" I again told him "I can turn around at this light and we can go back if you want". He looked at me, tearfully smiled and said, "I can give him my cookies too". We drove back but the man was getting up to leave by the time we got turned around to where he was. We were able to turn into a shopping center parking lot where he was walking and cut him off in his path. Elliott rolled down his window and handed him his package of cheeze-its and soft batch chocolate chip cookies. The man smiled and said "thank you", Elliott said "you're welcome". As we drove off the man put the cheeze its in his pocket and immediately began to eat the cookies. Elliott said "that probably made him very happy". I said he had a Dominos box so somebody else may have given him lunch and now he is having dessert. Elliott told me the box is what he had "homeless" written on but what caught his eye as we drove by the first time was the man was sitting there and smiling with his sign. ♥ So proud of my little guy....he has such an amazing heart ♥Cooper was telling Elliott that he did such an awesome thing and gave him a high five in the back seat as we were driving home...my heart was so full, and my eyes were all so teary....What sticks with me is that Elliott didn't just see a man who was homeless...he saw a man who was smiling even though he didn't have anything. Elliott asked on the way home "why isn't he living with his family" and I said maybe he was an only child and didn't have any family...and then he said "how did he lose his house" and I said "I don't know, he may have lost his job and couldn't pay his bills" Cooper said "one day I am going to make a million dollars and I am to give a million dollars to to the homeless shelter". Then he said "maybe he could get a job at the sports store and then he could get an apartment." They just make my heart melt, they are such great kids!

Twas the Morning of 3rd Grade

Twas the Morning of 3rd Grade by Bobbi Jo Cooper Kleckner

Twas the morning of 3rd Grade,
the first day of school,
we woke up and got dressed,
and looked pretty cool!
For breakfast were waffles,
and milk in our cup,
then off to brush our teeth,
times almost up!
Time to pack lunches,
and pick out our snacks,
then off to take pictures,
and grab our back packs!
And off to our school,
we left in a blur,
I love you's and big hugs,
The emotions did stir!
The Kiss And Go Line,
drop off seemed too fast,
Just wanted to freeze it,
make this moment last!
They dashed off towards school
Our third graders twins
A bit nervous but excited
on their faces grins!
The drive back home,
the moment it starts,
the bittersweet feeling,
that grows in my heart.
So proud of my young men,
and as they day goes,
I love and miss them,
I pray that they know.
No matter what age,
No matter how old,
I'll cherish these moments,
my hearts treasure to hold!

Summer 2012 Ending

"And suddenly, this word fills me with a brand of sadness I haven't felt since childhood. The kind of sadness you feel at the end of summer. When the fireflies are gone, the ponds have dried up and the plants are wilted, weary from being so green.” ― Augusten Burroughs ~ I can't believe today is the last of our summer vacation at the beach. Last night before we went to bed, Elliott, who had been excited to go home to play with his playmobil mansion (he even asked to go home earlier in the day so he could play with it), burst into tears crying that he didn't want summer to be over. I am in a state of melancholy. I will not like driving across the bridge this evening and heading home...even though we'll be back (weather permitting) on Thursday to enjoy a long Labor Day Weekend. There are summers that you just want to linger and hold onto and never let go. This was one of them ♥