What I'm Thankful For...

....too many to name, really.  But what really stands out to me, besides the obvious gift of my salvation, are all of my children.

Alex was my first born. I was 28 and very self-centered.  I wanted a baby but didn't think I had what it took to be a mom.  Until the moment she was placed in my arms.  It was the very moment our eyes locked- that look of curiosity, overwhelming love and joy-in both of us, that changed my life forever.  It was Alex who the Lord chose to draw me into the everlasting awe that I have for Him to this day.

Seven years later, AvaGrace arrived.  After two restless nights without sleep my water broke at 2:30 am.  She was born not many hours afterward, which is just like my AvaGrace, to come into this world quickly all the while embracing it.  Still at seven years old, she is my free spirited child, filled with compassion and love, embracing each moment-always with a smile.


Nicholas was a tough delivery.  Any veteran mom would think the third baby would birth himself, right?  Not quite.  Nicholas was stuck.  Big time.  The doctors underestimated Nick's weight.  After pushing for what seemed like forever (ok, seriously, maybe an hour tops), he was placed on my belly.  I couldn't believe how much that baby weighed!  An ounce shy of 10 pounds! The nurse teasingly told me I gave birth to a toddler!  Anyone who knows my Nicholas also knows his stubborn nature.  His birth was nothing different.  But oh how happy I was to get a boy!  He is still stubborn at times, but I am confident God made him this way for a reason.        

And now there is Jace.  I'll never know what his birth was like.  I didn't hold his brand new tiny body in my arms.  It wasn't my breast that nurtured and soothed him.  I never heard his first cry.  It wasn't the smell of my skin that comforted him.  The womb in which he was made was not mine.  But it isn't the womb that makes the baby anyway.  Not without the say so of the Lord.  It was the Lord who knit him in that womb (Psalm 139:19).  It was the Lord that used his birth mother to carry him.  And it was the Lord who chose me to be his mom.  My hands feed and clothe him now.  My arms carry him.  It is the smell of my skin that comforts him.  I never gave birth to Jace, but he fills my heart the very same way each of the others do, and I can't remember what life was like before he arrived.

These are the blessings I am thankful for.  All of my children.

  ...May they glorify You in all they do in this world each and every day, Lord...