Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

The Perfect Job

This Mothers Day, I’m taking a bit of a different focus.  I want to focus on these sweet littles right here and just how privileged I am to be their Mama.

Many of you have heard my story of always always just wanting to be a Mama when I grew up.  I know God saw my heart.  He paired me with the two most perfect littles, completing this family.  They both add just the right amount of humor, sincerity, wisdom and crazy.

My job as a mother has been to create a home of love, laughter, security and nourishment, where they can cry without fear, grow without judgment, and discover without prejudice. Even though I’m not perfect and have failed at times {many, many, many times}, I want them to know I am always always here for them.

I love you both crazy amounts. Thank you for allowing me to be a Mama, your Mama, the most perfectly perfect job I’ve ever had.


Find Your Wings
by Mark Harris
It’s only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I’ll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I’ll want to know
You’re walking in the truth
And if I never told you, I want you to know
As I watch you grow
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I’m here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I’m here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
It’s not living if you don’t reach for the sky
I’ll have tears as you take off
But I’ll cheer as you fly
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I’m here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

Mothers Day ♥

Happy Mothers Day to my Mama Marylee.  I love you crazy amounts.  I am so grateful for your faith and your never ending courage.  You are an amazing example of not only how I should strive to be as a mother, but how I should strive to be as a daughter.  The care you gave grandma for years on end was such selfless love.  And I am so thankful I got to witness it.  I thank God every single day for the hand He had in all our lives.  I am so glad that God answered your prayers 30 some years ago for a baby to love.  I am truly so blessed that baby was me.
THANK YOU!
And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:5

Happy Mothers Day to my birth-mother Lois.  I LOVE YOU. And I thank God every single day for the hand He had in all our lives.  I am extra thankful that He allowed me to find you (and my brothers) after all those years.  Thank you for having an absolute selfless heart all those years ago, without your choice I wouldn’t be where I am today.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13

To celebrate these two super special women in my life I’ve written a poem.  Love you both!!

Two strong women impacted my life
From the very start.
God joined these women together,
Placed a common thread between their hearts.
In one so young, He created a life,
A beautiful baby girl.
In the other, He placed a longing in her heart
Weighing it heavily on her soul.
The first, heartbroken and confused but faith strong,
Knew the baby wasn’t hers to raise.
She watched as the baby was taken from her arms,
And knelt down to God in praise.
As tears rolled down her face,
Filled with a void and so many fears.
She knew the choice was Gods will,
And was so wise beyond her years.
The second, so hopeful with faith strong,
Asked God for a baby to love.
When the sweet girl was placed in her arms
She knew it was a gift directly from above.
Her eyes welled with tears,
looking at the new life entrusted to her care.
“I’m going to raise you with lots of love”, she said,
“enough that you can share.”
There were tears full of sadness
As one young mother’s heart wept.
There were cries of gladness
As one mother’s heart leapt.
Two very different woman,
With a common selfless heart.
Each asking for God’s guidance,
Following it from the start.
These two special women,
They are forever joined heart to heart
By the same awesome God,
That has been there from the start.

Don’t Let It Pass You By

I sat at my desk, coffee in hand.  I signed into Facebook and began my normal morning routine.  While scrolling it hit me, everything has changed.

Change and I are not really friends.  I crave familiarity and wrap habit around me like a warm blanket.  I would be perfectly content if people, relationships, families and circumstances always stayed the same.  Sadly, that isn’t an option in life.

It makes me sad to see, in only a years time, how many of my relationships have changed.  Not to mention how many have changed over the past 5 or 10 years.  I wish I had known at the time that these were going to change, so I could truly value the times spent together.

So today, I celebrate the memories that I cherish and hold close to my heart ♥

* Staying before school and after school each day with my Grandma + Grandpa Strong at their house. Every single day after school my Grandpa would make me a hotdog and a piece-y (a slice of white bread with butter and apple butter on it). Then I would take my plate in the living room to watch Sesame Street. BUT before I was allowed to turn the TV on, my Grandma would have me say the 23rd Psalm, word for word. I loved those days, I loved the smell of their house, I loved always FEELING loved. I now live in their house and I hope I am creating those same amazing memories with my littles.

* Going to my Grandma + Grandpa Freemans house in TOWN (oh yes, that was a big deal). Getting to watch cable (uh huh, told you it was a big deal), watching Pinwheel + Romper Room + old school Nickelodeon + Woody Woodpecker + I Love Lucy + My Three Sons + Paddington Bear + I Dream of Jeanie. Playing outside with all my “town” friends. Riding my bike to the playground right up the street. I had amazing times there!!!

I can feel the water works starting…

* Going for walks with my Grandpa Strong out the road past our farm (where I still go on walks as often as I can). I can remember one time I saw all these beautiful wild roses and they smelled sooooo sweet. I told my Grandpa how much I loved them and he took out his pocket knife and got me one. I looked at his hand when he handed it to me and saw he was bleeding from a thorn. He never even uttered a word, just wrapped his handkerchief around his hand.

Yep, tears streaming down my face…

* Countless amazing days spent with my bestie Shari. We rode bikes almost daily. We would ride from her driveway down to the intersection and back again, over and over and over again. We had lots of sleepovers that included INSANE amounts of laughing. We did tons together (football games, shopping, movies, out to dinner) she was the sister I never had.

* Summer days spent on my Aunt Graces farm. Helping (or trying to help) milk the goats, feeding the animals, steering clear of the geese (seriously, why are geese so mean!), eating ham sandwiches with bbq chips of them, graham crackers spread with peanut butter then dipping them in hot tea (I still eat both of those to this day and have passed the graham cracker + tea bit onto my littles).

* My Mama telling me “oh go ahead and put your roller skates on then go down the hill…I’m sure if you start at the bottom by that sign you won’t go THAT fast”. Uh huh, well, by the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was flying and thought my wheels were going to fly off my skates. Somehow (no clue how) I didn’t fall down. We still laugh hard about that.

* The yearly anticipation for family to come in for “family camp”.  Nights spent there sleeping in bunk beds with cousins, tons of laughs, hugs, watermelon seed spitting contests, late night fires, 4 wheeler rides, amazing food, Aunt Vi’s teeth out (a highlight for sure) and on and on and on.  I so wish my children could experience just once what it was like back then.

* The yearly summer vacation to the beach with my Mama and Grandma. We had LOTS of good times (and good food) there!!!

All equally amazing memories. And now that I’ve successfully bawled my way through this post, I think it’s time I dried up my eyes.  Moral of the story, don’t let life pass you by.  Recognize and appreciate the good memories.