My little one year old blessing

So my precious little sunshine turned 1 today...

*insert panicked breathing and that sad sigh that starts in a mama's heart that means your baby's growing up*

I doesn't seem that long ago when I carried her and delivered her. I can still remember little details 

that made it so special to me. 

the Lord blessed me with a wonderful pregnancy.

i still had a few aches and pains, and no it was not a walk in the park.

but by no means was it as hard as some pregnancies of friends and families

I had a "morning sickness free" pregnancy. Not once did I get sick or throw up,

for which I am very grateful.

In it's place,

 I was plagued with terrible migrains,( It felt as though I was taking a ton of tylenol) 

heartburn that never quit. (I was eating tums like candy, which helped me with my calcium intake)

And, my hips were out of alignment (I have one leg shorter than the other and I have always had hip trouble it was just a horrible pain, because my center of alignment  was off and it made walking, sleeping and sometimes even sitting a challenge.I will probably have hip trouble with every pregnancy, but I digress)

My pregnancy was a joy. I loved and enjoyed every minute.

In the words of my husband and a good friend

I have a "nesting" type personality.

When I had suspicions that I was pregnant with aurora, 

I got excited and told my friend Missa (she is one of the ones I tell nearly everything to)

even before I had taken a test. 

I was just so excited to be a mama. 

I even enjoyed my labor (well, as much as you can )

I wasn;t a perfectly calm person through the whole pregnancy and labor 

there were yimes I cried over stupid stuff and I yelled at the closest person standing to me

and i remember during one point the nurse came in and showed my friend Sharon, who came to help that day a few massage techniques that may help to ease the pressure.

When the nurse did it there was instant relief,

she had hit the pressure point that just relieved the pain from the contraction.

Poor sharon, she tried it and nothing

this is how the convorsation went

 (which is hilarious to us now but trust me afterward 

I felt so bad and had to apologize for being so  mean :( 

Thankfully she is a true friend and did not take it personally)

Nurse: "ok, try to massage here" *demonstrates*

Me: *smiles because for a split second there was no pain. :)*

Sharon: * tries a few spots, than innocently asks* "Does this help

Me: " try here *points*

Sharon: "How about Now?

Me: No, Your doing it wrong your not doing what the nurse did!

Willie: Jessica, stop yelling at Sharon, she is doing her best.

Me: I know *sigh of frustration* I don't know what the nurse did,

but it felt better.

When it got to the pushing I was ready to see my sweet girl. 

I pushed her out in four contractions and because I never got 

an epidural I felt those contractions.

at the point of the "ring of Fire" 

a couple of things very clearly ran through my head

mainly because a nurse said that when her head crowns 

that was what was called and you will know just as I was starting to push. 

The Johnny Cash song "ring of fire",

I get to see her soon,

and as she was coming out,

I can feel her whole body from her little head to her

teeny tiny toes.

Then it happened she was there in my arms and I fell in love at first sight...

The year that followed was full of

fear, uncertainty, at times frustration, exhaustion a complete helplessness

a feeling of inability.

 but with those finite human responses

 came spirit filled response that can only com from our heavenly father. 

LOVE, Satisfaction, Energy (which at times felt directly heaven sent)

Capability, and a Confidence that no matter how many times

 I felt I couldn't do this my heavenly father was right There. and the Big one Love, 

you know the kind of  "fruit of the spirit love...

joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control

He sent friends and family who were more than willing to answer

any question no matter how stupid it sounded. and I am sure a few of my "new mama " 

questions merited a hardy laugh and a shake of the head .

So reflecting on her one year (and nine months) ;) as my daughter I cannot

understand how God could have Blessed us with such a ray of sunshine...

Because that is exactly what she is, 

A BLESSING

In whom we will never stop thanking him for

Life Means so much

Today I found out that another Friend, or acquaintance, or friend, of a friend has died.

He was in a motorcycle accident, went out for an evening drive, and was hit by an on coming vehicle. He wasn't very old, in his early twenties, At what we would call the beginning...

"He had his whole life in front of him"

But did he really? We say that we have so much time to live, to breathe, to love. We do not know when we will be called into eternity. It may be the next moment ,or tomorrow, or in a year... It could even be in thirty years from now, Life is so fragile,and precious.

I'm not sure if Anyone heard of the John and Sadie Esh Family, I had friends who knew them, and I watched their little girl, while the older ones attended the Funeral. Willie's Old room-mates Father past away from a heart attack just a week ago. Now Steve, they were all of different ages... which can only mean one thing, Death is not discriminatory. It will Come to us all, It does not wait until we are old, alone and asleep in our beds, It will come at the moment the Father has given and only then.

The Esh family were at different stages in their lives... One of the couples had just had a baby, and had two adopted sons (The two boys survived). There was an engaged couple, and their friend. Two older sisters that were single and of course the parents. Eleven people that were headed to a joyous occasion- a wedding.

Well they are at the best Wedding to ever take place... The Marriage Supper of The Lamb.

Here is one of their songs they sang. called HOME.

The room-mates Dad was just going about his day... as was Steven. What

The question now is will you be ready to die when death is here?

This is just a reminder, to myself included, to make everyday count for the true meaning of Life, to Serve God with Everything we are made of.

If the man sitting next to you on the train, or the lady next door, or even the child playing down the street were to die today, would you have done everything to show Christ to him?

I didn't ever meet the room-mates Dad or the Esh's And I really didn't know Steven too well, but It has touched many lives around me. To See this has made me see how much we as humans take for granted... the very breath in our lungs is a gift from God and our lives should be the one thing we lay at His feet.

"Lord, Teach us to Count our Days, Teach us to make or Days count"

Life Means So much

Every day is a journal page

Every man holds a quill and ink

And there's plenty of room for writing

All we do is believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessing
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So nobody's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

May We serve Him with our All and in everything

Go Ye Therefore, and Teach ALL NATIONS...

Teaching Them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded to you

Matthew 28: 19, 20