Proverbs 17:22

Today I am sentimental. Nostalgia is my middle name. I have a few ideas as to the reasons why. I'm blaming the brunt of it on turning 40...and hormones. I am discovering the truth to the warning "Everything begins to fall apart at 40" and heeding it. Something is certainly up. I have made a true friend of my hematologist and am anxiously awaiting the answers. Until they arrive, I will attempt to make good use of my ever-predictable "wake times" that come each evening despite my extreme exhaustion. Although I covet sleep, for now I'll utilize the wee hours to think, to plan, to create. My choice, for now, is to embrace these opportunities.

Ten days. That is all that remains of my daughter's high school career. Wasn't it just yesterday that she arrived (to the sound of Van Halen in the delivery room)? With each passing day I am reminded that she is closer to leaving the nest. She is ready, but am I? Today I am dwelling on this and it hurts. Having confessed this, I am also extremely proud. McKenzie is a beautiful, incredibly bright, and talented young lady. She is a writer, an artist, my daughter, my friend. She has the ability to hold the world in her hands...and I will stand behind her and watch her go. I love you, Frotten. Always.

Despite the recent rain, soccer games will commence at noon today. This sport fits my Ally so well. She is aggressive in all that she does. We are all thankful that she has this outlet! Like her sister, she is artistically gifted and if all goes according to plan, I will someday have an apartment in which to stay when I visit Paris. The fashion world awaits her arrival...

At nine years old she is already planning her own exit from our home. She is precise in the details...even anticipating the number of children she will rescue through adoption, and identifying from which continents they will come. You are a child after my own heart, Ally Cat.

And then there was little Lane Beatrice... Who knew? I thought I'd have only one child, and yet now there are three. I am still in awe that I have been blessed with so many incredible daughters. I am a very lucky mom. This latest adddition has an incessant sense of humor and is filled with wonder and curiosity. Each day she asks me questions about the time when she was a "little baby" (because now she is so grown up), and I never get tired of her yelling, "Hey, Mom" as a preface to sharing something new she has discovered about her world. I love you, Baby Lane.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:22

And so on that note, despite feeling sick or tired or sentimental (or all of the aforementioned), I am smiling. A prayer of gratitude is the beginning of a good attitude.