Two Incredible Blessings

Six months after Brad's passing, another family in San Antonio was struck by tragedy in the loss of their wife/mother. For those of you who have closely followed our blog, you may remember a post in September 2009 about the Sullivan family. Sara Sullivan, the wife of Brady, went to be with Jesus on September 22nd, just 2 weeks after giving birth to her first child, Chloe. Their blog information was sent to me through a number of sources asking for prayers and it was at that time I began to follow their story.

In May of last year, God put it on my heart to contact Brady through email. It was at that time that Brady and I began to correspond, offering emotional support to one another. Being that we shared such similar circumstances, it was especially comforting to connect with someone who really understood the challenges, the emotions, and the blessings that come as a result of trials in life. Brady's friendship very quickly became an important source of comfort for me. Being able to speak openly with him about all aspects of loss and knowing that he understood completely was so cathartic and healing.

I believe there is extraordinary strength in first developing a strong friendship that later turns into a relationship. I can truly see God's hand in this. Over the last several months, Brady and I have begun dating. I looked back this week to a personal journal entry from August that read "I am falling for my friend Brady." I had then followed that entry with a list of all the things that I had become so attracted to in him.

Here is that list:
-he is a loving, attentive father
-he has a precious baby
-he is a passionate follower of Christ
-he is stable, predictable, loyal & dependable
-he is very family-oriented
-he is super-handsome :)
-he is patient
-he has order to his life
-he is outgoing, smart, driven, a good provider, & a hard-worker
-he is a strong communicator
-he is an amazing friend
-he has strong integrity & is a man of his word
-he is organized
-he is confident & cute!
-he is others-focused
-he has a kind, warm spirit
-he is a planner
-he is a leader
-he likes me for who I am

Over the last few months, as the kids and I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend lots of time with Brady & Chloe, our connection has grown stronger. God has given me two very special gifts in my life and I am look forward to what the future holds for our two families. His faithfulness is unwavering and He continues to bless me beyond imagination.




Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:4,7


To read more about The Sullivan Family go to www.bandssullivan.blogspot.com

A Tender Heart

Zeke has such a tender heart. His thoughtfulness for others and his caring nature continue to amaze me for a child his age. He is especially kind to his sister (most of the time) :)

Sunday morning he woke up and came into my room to tell me, "You know how to make Kaelyn stop crying at night?" My response, "How?" He replied, "You just rub her back for a minute or two and she falls right back asleep." Visualizing him waking up to comfort her in the middle of the night was so sweet.

He then proceeded to take Kaelyn into the kitchen to help get her some breakfast, saying, "Don't worry Mom, I'll make her breakfast." Very often on the weekends Zeke will take care of Kaelyn's needs and allow me to lay in bed for a while in the morning. I love it!

Yesterday evening I was preparing for my weekly Mary Kay Success Meeting and while I was straightening up my office, Zeke decided to organize the rest of the house. He went into his sister's room to clean up all the toys, he picked up clothes out of the bathroom, straightened his own room, my room, and even the den. There may not be a quicker way to a mommy's heart than a child who willingly cleans up! I didn't even ask...he just did it on his own accord. This one is a keeper!

Comments from Kaelyn

Kaelyn has really matured in the last few weeks. It just seemed that she suddenly woke up one morning and became an entire year older....I'm not sure how it happened. She is forever making me laugh.

On the way to church this morning Kaelyn was sitting next to me in the van. Zeke was in the back drawing pictures with markers on some paper that he had brought with him. As he was drawing, he was asking for ideas of what to draw next. I gave him a few ideas: dogs, rainbows, etc. Then I asked him to draw me a picture of our house and our family. Kaelyn made a side comment to herself that I just barely heard, "oh yes, family...I love family." :)

Last week I ordered a formal gown online to wear for the awards ceremony for my Mary Kay seminar. When the gown arrived on our doorstep I took it out of the box and tried it on to see if it fit correctly. The back of the gown had a corset-type tie so, in an attempt to put the dress on myself, I turned it around backwards so that I could lace the corset part up and then turn it around the correct way once it was laced. Once I had laced the back halfway, there was 6-8 inches of my mid-section still showing through the corset. Kaelyn was watching this entire process carefully. She then spoke up to say, "Mommy, that is a really pretty dress...I R-E-A-L-L-Y like your dress." Then she paused, cocked her head to the side, and with a concerned tone she went on to say, "and by the way...your privacy is showing."

The Break In Blogging....

Between the busiest selling time of the year coupled with the fact that my computer died in early December and was down for 4 weeks, I have been a "bit behind" on my blogging. I am working to play fast catch-up. I think I am now caught up through October...yay me!

There is more to come...

Scrapbooking Retreat

Several ladies from Southeast drove to the Southwest side of Houston this weekend to attend a scrapbooking retreat. I have had several friends attend these in the past but I had never joined in until this opportunity. I really wanted to work to complete Kaelyn's baby book. While I didn't quite finish the book, I did get A LOT accomplished. It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to complete one scrapbooking page (or at least how long it seems to take ME). We had such a terrific time...staying in a bed and breakfast, having all our meals prepared for us, staying up late if we wanted, sleeping in late without being woken by small children, catching up with friends.....it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!