Who Am I

Have you ever asked yourself "Who am I?" I have found myself doing just that more and more these days and I don't know the answer. Am I the person that other people see or is that just a disguise? Can you pretend to be someone that you are not?

There is the obvious of course. I am  a wife, mother, sister, daughter and I hope friend. That is the easy answers. Who am I really?

I don't know who I am really but, I know who I want to be and I know who I try to be, but.....am I?

I want to be an encouraging person........I try to remember the things that others are going through. I try to let them know I am thinking of them and that I do remember that they are going through a trying time. Isn't it important for everyone to know that someone remembers them and their trials?

I want to be a thoughtful person....I want to remember birthdays and other important days. I try to remember the dates that friends and family have lost loved ones who are important to them. They need to know that they are not the only ones who remember.

I want to be a loving person.....I want the people that I care about to know that I love them. I don't want to leave this earth with any doubt in their minds that they were well loved by me.

I want to be a good friend.....I want to be there when my friends are in need. I want them to know that I am there for them. I want them to know that when their heart is breaking......mine is breaking with them.

I want to be a good wife.....I want to be supportive of my husband. I want him to know that I have his back and that I am his biggest fan. I want to be his best friend but, mostly I want him to know how much I love him.

I want to be a good Mother......I want to be there for my children. I  want them to know that they can come to me for anything. I want to be the kind of Mother that my children never have to wonder about the love I have for them.

Mostly, I just want to be a good person. I know I am not perfect and never will be. I can try though!

So, the question still remains.......who am I?  I don't know but, I know who I want to be and I strive every day to be that person. Maybe if I knew who I was then I would no longer try to be better. Maybe I don't need to know who I am.........maybe I just need to know who I want to be!

My Baby is Growing Up!

Recently I took the Princess to the Botanical Gardens and took some photos of her. It was a nice relaxing day. We had so much fun just spending that time together. After I got home and started looking at the pictures we had taken........I had to swallow really hard! Is that really my baby? That grown up beautiful girl?!

 I mean really what happened to my baby! When in the world did she turn into this?

I came to the realization that this last one......my baby and my only girl.....is getting so close to leaving home and going out into the world. I am so proud of the young lady she has become but, I would love to turn back time and let her be little again.......even if just for a day! I know, I know.......I can't have that so I guess........I will just enjoy the beauty, wit and wisdom of my beautiful baby girl!

Feeling Blessed

It has been a while since I have blogged. I know, I am a slacker but, life has just been so overwhelming lately. That is not an excuse, I know, but here I am feeling very blessed!

I recently made a comment on my facebook, about a coach who made the following statement after a hard fought win. "We are blessed.......it is a God thing!" I thought it was cool that he did not attribute the win to luck but, instead chose to give credit to God.

Boy did some people blast me. I was accused of saying that the other team was godless! I was also told that people should not just throw that out there like that because it trivializes the "true" blessings.

This got me thinking about feeling blessed. What does it mean to feel blessed? I guess different people see it different ways.

I was in a horrific car accident on December 23, 2007. I survived with major injuries that I am still dealing with today. A friend of mine who was sitting right beside me did not survive. Do I feel blessed to be here? Why yes I do! Does this mean that my friend who died was not blessed? Absolutely not! She had been blessed with a beautiful family, a thriving business and a wonderful life. That day God knew that it was time to bring her home with him. Honestly, she is more blessed now than she ever was here on earth.

Every day that I wake up and I am allowed to spend one more day with my family is a blessed day. I give God the credit for my every blessing.

Now, do I think that God is going to answer a prayer about a win or loss in a ballgame? No, I don't and we would be very selfish to even expect it. Do I feel like that coach felt that he was blessed and felt that God was with him.......yes I do!

The gas gauge on my car is messed up and I never know when I am about out of gas. I can fill up and five minutes later my gas gauge will show I am empty. The other day it was doing that and I knew it had to be close to being empty. I said a little prayer and asked God to let me get to a gas station before the car ran out! I made it and I thanked God for allowing me to get there. I gave him the credit. Now, if I had run out gas would I have been angry with God? Of course not. There would have been a reason for him allowing it and I may have never known what that reason was. I am blessed!

I am blessed and thankful for the presence of God in my life every minute of every day. It is up to us to find those blessings no matter how small or how large they may be.

Just because a prayer or a blessing may seem small to others, that does not mean that it is not a blessing just the same. We need to look for our blessings and count them each and every day.

Our blessings may come in the form of a big win at a ballgame.......it could be something as mundane as waking up and seeing a new sunrise.........it could be something as big as being allowed to spend a few more days on this earth with family and friends. Regardless of the size or depth of our blessings, we need to count them every day and acknowledge that God is with us in everything we do.

Was his team more blessed than the other team? No, not really but, this coach still chose to give God the credit for being blessed. Is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so!

Count your blessings no matter how big or how small. It may seem trivial to some but, it should never be trivial to you!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Southern Snow

There is snow in Southeast Alabama! Yep, I am telling you the truth. I wouldn't yank your chain like that! It is the end of November and we have some southern snow! Take a look!








Southern Snow!





Okay......it is a cotton field but, it is about as close as we get to snow down here. Now admit it.......it does look sorta like snow......doesn't it?







There are several bolls of cotton on each plant.....





This is a an open boll of cotton and the black thing beside it is a closed boll....
















We have so many fields of cotton around here, I think sometimes we get used to them and forget to stop and look at how pretty they are. We may not get snow around here like our Northern neighbors do but, I think our fields of cotton are just as breathtaking!

A Letter To Myself At Seventeen

For those of you familiar with country music, you have probably heard the Brad Paisley song "Letter to Myself". Well, on a local internet forum, that I am a member of, a poster asked people to post a letter to themselves at seventeen. I have thought about this for several days now and I am going to attempt to do it now........right here....on my blog.......here....right now......okay, okay......here goes.


At seventeen, it is okay if you don't know what you want to be when you "grow up", most people still don't know the answer to that in their forty's. You don't have to go into business, just because your Mama tells you that is what you have to do. Follow your heart and do what you KNOW you are good at. Contrary to what some will tell you, you CAN make a living painting pictures and your photography is good enough so don't give up on that!

It is okay to keep being friends with that guy that has the curly hair and blue eyes. Yea, you know the one I am talking about. Make sure you stay friends because he won't be here in a couple of years and you will never get the chance again to tell him how special he was to you.

Yes, you will always be close to your brother and sister and the three of you will need each other a lot in the coming years and the closeness you enjoy now will get you through all of the bad stuff.......I promise.

You won't have those six kids that you think you want to have someday but, the three that you do have will fill your heart so full of love that it really will not matter.I am not going to tell you what you have (boys or girls) that will take some of the fun out of it.

When your Daddy disappears out of your life, remember that you did nothing wrong. Don't waste all of those years trying to figure out what you did wrong or could have done differently. Just continue to love him and let the hurt go. When you forgive and forget it allows you to keep the door open for him to come back. You just never know!

You are a better judge of character than you realize. The people that you think are your really good friends? They really are and they will continue to be your friends for the rest of your life. I promise.

Make sure you tell your Granddaddy Hartley how much he means to you. Give him extra hugs and soak up all that love he has to give you. All too soon he will be gone but, his love will follow you through the rest of your life and he will always be a presence in your life. Your Granny? Oh you will have her for many years and you will be old enough to know how important she is to you and she will know it!

That little voice you hear in your head? Yea, that one. When it tells you not to do something.....you better listen cause it will keep you out of trouble if you will let it. And, when it tells you everything is going to be alright? Listen because it is the truth.

Mistakes? Oh yea buddy.....you are going to make some mistakes. Some, are pretty big others not so much but, I am not going to tell you what to do differently. You need to make those mistakes because they are what will make you the person you are later in life. You won't be perfect but, you turn out pretty good if I may say so myself.

And last and certainly not least, that boy that you have had your eye on for so long? Well in a few weeks he is going to finally ask you out! You are going to fall deeply in love and he is going to hold your heart in his hands. There are going to be times that he may bruise your heart a bit but, he is going to hold it close and he is going to heal the bruises. He is going to become your best friend and those three beautiful children? He is the one that will give them to you. Your lives will not always be easy but, you will come through it all together and be stronger for it. You are going to hurt together, you are going to cry together, you are going to laugh together and well, you are just going to always be together!

Enjoy being seventeen because before you know it......you are going to be a forty-seven year old me writing a letter to your seventeen year old self.