47 and a Giveaway

Today is my 47th birthday.  It is so hard to believe that I have lived 47 years.  I really don't feel "that many fingers" old!!  Where did the years go?  In the last few days I have reconnected with my hometown via a Facebook group.  It has brought back memories from childhood that are sweet as only small town memories can be, but also memories that are not so sweet as there have been many mistakes made in my life.  I have laughed and smiled remembering friends and teachers, people I worked with at McDonald's in my teenage years and people who worshipped with me in a beautiful sanctuary that is no more.  I have mourned as I have seen a side of small town life that I really didn't know about and rejoiced as I realize, once again, that God's hand was leading me....even as a child.

This morning I walked into the kitchen where my daughter was preparing breakfast to get my morning coffee which was prepared in the wee morning hours by my wonderful husband who had already been hard at work for an hour or so.  My daughter noticed my Ben Gay scent which is one other indication that my years are catching up with me.  A brief rub down of that delightfully scented ointment enabled me to sleep last night.

Birthday greetings abound and even the two year old--who has no idea that his mama has a birthday today and doesn't seem to mind that I am so very old--gave me the sweetest gift as we settled in my chair for our morning snug-fest ritual.  I asked him, " Do you know I love you?"  And, with a very deep sigh as he snuggled ever deeper into my arms, he said, "Yessssss."  I consider it such a blessing to be 47 and still have a little man to snuggle in my arms each morning.  Thank you, God, for that sweet, precious gift!!

A hearty breakfast with gift bags placed beside my chair.  A sleepy six year old awakened for the "revealing".  He enters with a sheepish smile and quickly goes to collect a bag that he had hidden last week.  A large ceramic mug in just the right shade of orange, a bright red colander (my girl doesn't like to acknowledge how much like her mom she really is....her gifts reveal the traits that are not hidden to others), a package of Snicker bars to have for those moments when nothing else will satisfy  (it's an inherited trait), a huge container of mocha cappuccino mix,  a six year old boy's cut out efforts consisting of a couple of brown hearts and a paper dog and a musical composition whose melody can only be heard in his heart, but the effort is so very precious.  A package from my husband that hasn't arrived yet, but he can't keep a secret and I can't wait to get my new canning cookbook.  I am such a practical homebody!!

A promise of a wonderful Italian dinner with dessert of my choice, laundry gathered, sorted and the wash started without my asking.  Facebook and email birthday greetings and extra time to soak in the tub this morning while enjoying the latest edition of Above Rubies magazine.  And now to spend the rest of the day teaching and serving these most precious gifts that God has given me....my family!

But before I leave I have a gift for you today.   Kaelan (12) and I have greatly enjoyed Victoria Botkin's audiobook series Voices from the Past.  Today I have The Letterbook of Eliza Lucas Pinckney.  From the cover:  When 16 year old Eliza Lucas's father was deployed to Antiqua in 1740, he left the management of his household and three plantations in Eliza's capable hands.  In these lively letters, she describes her adventures handling her father's affairs, cultivating and exporting indigo, educating her sister and the black children on the plantations, and helping to build up the economy of her fledgling colony through her many business schemes.  Hear her words of encouragement and exhortation to four generations of men in her family, including her two sons, both Revolutionary War heroes, over the full and fruitful lifetime of this great mother of our country.


If you would like a chance to win this very well-done audio book, please leave a comment letting me know.  I'll draw the winners name next Monday!  Be on the look-out for more giveaways this week!!

Hip Homeschool Moms Giveaway Day