Military Family Gratitude Day 6: Sound

Sounds are unique to us all. There are sounds we love and sounds we don't.

One of my favorite sounds is laughter.....more specifically, the laughter of my children. Their laughter is contagious when those giggle boxes are turned on.

I also love the sounds of their unique voices. Carter still has his baby voice.  At four years old, he can't fish. It's tish.  Snake is nake.  I don't fret the mistakes. I know he will grow out of it all too soon.  It seems like only yesterday that Colin was four and saying "geen" instead of green.  Now, at 12, his voice is starting to deepen.  Its raspy one moment and high pitched the next.  My baby boy is growing into a young man.  And Carson....the way he repeats parts of his words.....treee eeee, mor orning.  He still has his little kid voice, but I know soon he will be changing as well.

I love the sound coming from the back seat as they are singing God's Not Dead or Until the Whole World Hears.  I love the sound of meal blessings and bedtime prayers.  I love the sound of sleep talking and laughing about it the next day because they truly believe they didn't say those things.

But the best of all

What I love the most

I love the sound of, "I love you, Mama" fifty times a day.

Wives of Faith Military Family Gratitude Day 5: Emotion

I am an emotional person.  Sometimes an emotional mess.  But I am thankful for emotions.  They remind me that I am human, I am real.  There's no faking it.

Emotion is good. Sometimes it doesn't feel that way, but it is.  I have learned not to be led by emotion, but the wisdom of God.  My emotions can mislead me, but God never does.

Wives of Faith Military Family Gratitude: Day 4 - Freedom

I am thankful for the freedom provided by our former military service members.

I am thankful for the freedom provided by our present military service members.

I am thankful for the freedom to be able to worship in the church of my choice.

I am thankful for the freedom to be able to come and go as I please.

I am thankful for the freedom to vote.

I am thankful for the freedom to be able to be the woman God has planned for me.

I am thankful for the freedom that comes from my faith in Jesus Christ.

Wives of Faith Military Family Gratitude Day 3: Health

What a blessing it is to be healthy!  I think sometimes we take it for granted.  There is so much that could happen with our health.

About 5 years ago, I had a lot of tenderness in my breast. I was scared. I didn't want to hear the C word.  But finally I went to the doctor. At 32, I had my first mammogram.  I heard a different C word: caffeine.  Yes, folks. My caffeine intake was too high and that's what caused the tenderness.

While my husband was deployed, I came down with Fifth's disease after my oldest son got it.  I was so miserable, but I know it could have been so much worse. Fever and swelling. I had myself self-diagnosed with a blood clot in the leg.  My advice: Don't self diagnose on WebMD. Ever.

My children and husband remain healthy as well.  We've had many scares along the way from asthma to food allergy reactions and from growing pains to a minor knee surgery.  I am thankful each day for our health.

Wives of Faith: Military Family Gratitude Day 2: Light

I am thankful for the light of a new day. I have learned through the storms of life that "joy comes in the morning.

Military Family Gratitude Challenge Day 1: Friendship

I am thankful for friends both old and new. I am thankful for friends during the changing seasons of life.

I am thankful for those who love my children as their own and allow me to love theirs as my own. Those that our children share friendship as well.

I am thankful for the women I share my life with.

We've laughed together.

We've cried together.

I know we will be through so much more together.

I am thankful for those friends who walked through my first deployment with me. Those who took care of me in ways that others wouldn't.  They may not have understood what it was like, but they stood beside me nonetheless.

I am thankful for friends who share their faith, who face unimaginable battles, but yet, find their strength in Christ and share the story of His love and mercy.

I am thankful for the friends that get your weird sense of humor, those that you share inside jokes with. You know the ones: you can look at each other and tell what the other is thinking.

But yet,when there is no laughter, only tears, they are there to hold your hand. In the messiness of life, they love you anyway.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10