{30 Days of Thanksgiving....Days 1-3)

....because I'm sometimes a procrastinator, and

....because sometimes I just like to enjoy being lazy in the afternoons, and

.....because sometimes my life is crazy hectic

......you're getting my first three thanksgiving days all at once,

...because that's how I roll :)

I love the idea of being thankful and like to believe that I seek to be intentionally full of gratitude on a daily basis, but there's something about November and the winter holidays that make us pause and really think about our lives and the things we have to be truly grateful for. So...I'm going to try to share one thing each day that I'm thankful for (and hopefully, I'll get good enough to actually put pictures with my posts!).

Day 1: I am thankful for God's unending mercy!

I'm not sure where I would be without it....a mess I'm sure. He loves me no matter what I've done, or what I've become...He patiently beckons me back to His arms and lovingly embraces me. Sure, there is discipline and growing pains, but not without love & mercy in the mix.

Day 2: I am thankful for my hubby!

Tonight he cooked dinner, which he does way more than I do. He doesn't complain (too much) when I let the laundry pile up or the house come undone. He loves me unconditionally. He works hard at his civilian job and serves our country sacrificially when duty calls. He sits by me on the 3rd row at church, even though he much prefers the back. We've had plenty of bumps along the way and we still have plenty to learn and areas to grow, but one thing is for sure, our love for one another is rock solid.

Day 3: I am thankful for the opportunity to be a mom!

My children, Mallorye and Blake, and my son-in-law, Matt, are my absolute delight. I can't imagine my life without them. They have made me laugh, made me cry, made me want to bang my head against the wall....they definitely have made life more exciting to live. Never a dull moment. Never! There are so many women who never get to experience motherhood and the joys & struggles that each day brings, but God chose to entrust me (of all people) to care for two, now three, other human beings. I'm not sure anyone has ever trusted me so much!

Stay tuned! Tomorrow brings Day 4 of Thanksgiving.

What are you thankful for today?

{Ronnie}

This has been an incredibly hard week for our family. Just 2 weeks ago, Quentin's dad went in for a CT Scan to rule out a kidney stone and within a week, we were planning his funeral. I have never seen cancer claim a life so quickly!

We learned on Monday, September 12, that Ronnie had lung cancer that was in the advanced stages. His doctor made us an appointment with the oncologist for September 20th. On Wednesday evening, Ronnie was taken by ambulance to the hospital because he was in so much pain and having a difficult time breathing. They were able to get his pain under control with morphine, which made his breathing a little less labored. We were told that the CT we had the previous week showed that the cancer had spread to the liver and bone. I knew we were on borrowed time. We went home only to find ourselves back in ER the following afternoon. This time, they kept him. After finally finding a regimen of pain meds that worked, he settled in....ate an excellent dinner and had a good nights rest. Friday afternoon though...he took a hard turn for the worse. He was put on a ventilator temporarily while the family was called together to make some very difficult decisions. We decided that he would not want to suffer and be kept alive by machines, so we decided to take the vent off. The ICU staff and Dr. Hines were so wonderful...they allowed us all to stay in there with Ronnie...as did they...and at 6:42pm Ronnie slipped peacefully from this life to eternity, surrounded by his family whom he loved so much and who loved him.

Ronald Vance Bales, Sr. ---May 28, 1040 - September 16, 2011

I have learned so much about Ronnie over the past week while helping Frances sort through the many legalities that had to be tended to. He was so organized...loved his family so much...I have just been in awe at the man I was really just beginning to get to know.

He will be greatly missed.

{Impromptu Sabbatical}

This is where I've been......

Last week was rough....extremely rough. I was physically worn out, emotionally spent, and spiritually drained. God knew I needed a breather. And soon.

So....Lizabeth happened to have a timeshare condo already rented for the weekend...and not being used...so at 9am Friday...we decided to head to Fairfield Bay. No husbands. No children. No agendas. I took my Bible, a journal, a book, a couple pair of shorts and tees and some flip-flops. My soul desperately needed this time to refresh, relax, and renewal. And that's exactly what I did. I'll share more later....but suffice it to say, this was a very soul opening weekend.

{Back to School 2011}

We survived the first week of school!!

I always look forward to this time of year...being able to get back to a more structured routine....new pencils...fresh notebooks.....ball season is just around the corner....I just love it! I'm pretty sure that Blake does not share my enthusiasm as noted by the lovely smile he sports for our traditional "back to school" photo. I keep trying to tell him, that someday, he'll thank me for the photo documentation :)

If ever there was a doubt regarding Blake's rapid growth....see above pictures! He has grown about 6 inches and is a towering 6'5" now. This is awesome for playing basketball and I'm sure the coaches would like to see him grow even more, but give a momma a break! It's hard to keep up with jeans, shoes, and the amount of food he puts away!!

Blake is all about punctuality. He had two different friends, Sydney & Michael, offer him rides for the first day....his dad and I both offered to take him....but none of us were leaving early enough for him. He leaves the house every morning around 7:25am to walk the two blocks to school, so he can be there early.

It's already been a challenging year. Blake isn't really used to having to do very much homework. Most of the time, he's able to finish it at school and he has an incredible memory....but this year he is finding homework a necessity. He's taking AP World History and spent 3 hours one night doing homework for that class. Hopefully, he'll find his rhythm soon and it won't be quite such a daunting task.

Check out other Back To School traditions over at Kelly's Blog...a fellow Arkansan :)

{Saturday Road Trip}

With summer coming to an end, and given the fact that we haven't gone anywhere, we decided Saturday was a great day for a road trip. Destination? Kentucky! This was a new venture for us and we were pretty excited to explore The Land Between The Lakes. I brought along my camera (of course) to work on some techniques and capture the day....so...get ready for picture overload :)

First stop was the Nature Station and while we were driving through the gate, we came upon this herd of fallow deer. These deer could care less that we were there and we were able to get within about 30 feet. Beautiful!

The Nature Station was a little small, but had plenty of eye candy. I caught this butterfly flittering around gathering pollen. There were several gorgeous butterflies and I tried to capture the hummingbirds....oh my...there were too many to count...and they were a little fast for my camera skills. One of the Nature Guides told us they were in a feeding frenzy, getting ready for their migration across the Gulf of Mexico.

This little feller (turkey) was taking advantage of some thirst quenching water.

Practicing my depth of field....

Pretty pleased with these results....

This was a great setting to capture some pictures of Blake....he just recently celebrated his 16th birthday and I've yet to get the official pictures...and since he absolutely loves nature...this was the perfect setting. These pictures were actually taken just outside the Red Wolf den...which was the main thing Blake wanted to see. They are endangered with less than 300 still living.

Handsome Fellow!

We left the Nature Station in search of some good food and seen all these sailboats on the lake (Kentucky Lake) and of course I had to stop and grab some photos. I mean seriously...how often do you see a lake full of sailboats??

Shooting past some grass....

Using depth of field to focus on grass and blur sailboat...

After stopping to eat at Miss Scarlet's, where I ate one of the best burgers I've ever had (akin to a Roys Burger for those that know), we stopped at the Lighthouse Landing.

We met this delightful lady, Joan, from Alabama. She was just enjoying the nice breeze by the dock and reading, while her husband of 56 years participated in the sailboat races. Alas! We know why there's so many sailboats out on the lake!!

Sailboats...sailboats...and more sailboats!

Quentin and Blake enjoying the view...

My little man...that has somehow become a young man...do you see that hair on his face?? Where did my little boy go?

This just looks so incredibly peaceful....

A small storm blew in while we were at the Landing and this picture captured it perfectly!

On to our next stop...The Bison & Elk Prairie...once we finally figured out how to work the pay gate, we were in...and this is the first thing we seen. Bison! Up close and personal.

I've only seen bison on television, so this was pretty cool and super cheap...$5 per car. We also were lucky enough to see a herd of momma elk, but they were too far in the distance to get a really good picture.

Last stop of the day was at The Hitching Post....it was like stepping back in time. Blake and I enjoyed a game of tic-tac-toe on the front porch of the store and then Blake tried the original "Teeter" game...much harder than it looks and as you can tell...he was in deep concentration!

We had so much fun just exploring The Land Between The Lakes from one end to the other and I'm sure we'll be making this trip again :)

{Faith}

Decision is made.

I AM GOING TO NICARAGUA!

This was tough for me, but I truly believe that God has called me to go on this missionary journey and if I believe that, then I must believe that He will take care of all of the details. The money will be there when I need it. Mallorye will be fine & our precious grandbaby will wait for me to make his/her grand entrance into this world. Quentin & Blake will survive without me for a week.

I'm nervous.

But...I know God has a plan in all of this and my nerves are overcome by my excitement.

I'm claiming the promises found in Mark 11:23-24 and Luke 17:6 and asking God to bless my socks off not only during this trip, but during the preparation.

{Baby's First Picture}

Mallorye & Matt went for her first ultrasound today! There is only ONE Baby Wesley, much to everyone's relief...especially Matt...and everything looks wonderful.

Mallorye is OFFICIALLY 14 weeks and is due January 31st.

She's still been getting sick throughout the day, so Dr. Hasik prescribed some Zofran to help combat that problem. She's also been pretty tired, which is attributed to her thyroid levels fluctuating due to the pregnancy and the fact that she's a little bit anemic. Dr. Hasik is keeping a close eye on her labs, so no worries.

With an official due date comes the big decision. Do I go to Nicaragua as planned with Mal only having 5 weeks to delivery day? Or do I forgo my plans and potentially lose the money that has been put toward my trip?? I'm so torn! I've really been excited to go on my first mission trip, but I'm equally excited to see my first grandbaby be born and not sure I want to risk missing that. Well....any wisdom would be appreciated....especially since I have to make a final decision by Sunday morning.

....and while we're talking babies.....Mallorye is the one of three expectant mommies in our family. Laura, my cousin Colby's wife, is expecting a little girl in November....Aria Beth. And his younger brother Cord & his soon-to-be wife, Morgan, are expecting a baby shortly after Mallorye in February. We have babies running out of our ears!! Next Christmas will be an adventure for sure.