A Thankful I Didn't Know I Wanted

One small yes early this year has shaped my entire year and dare I say, the rest of my life. 

It's a yes that, as I found out, some aren't willing to agree to but I did and I'm so thankful.

I am thankful for a young girl who found herself pregnant while being at the mercy of others and chose to give her baby life and to keep her. She wants for her daughter what she didn't have and whether that can actually happen, well I'm praying it does.
The odds are stacked against her from what I can tell except for the very fact that she didn't quit school and finished with a full high school degree. As I handed her the commencement program with her name in it, I told her teen moms don't do that. I told her it is a momentous thing not just for herself but also for her baby's future. I am thankful that God has created her to do such a thing.

I am thankful for a school that does not give up on kids like her. There are teachers, administration, nurses and others that handle it all. Plain and simple, I am thankful for our school. 

I am thankful for the conversations I've had with my dad. Just like me, he's working through his prejudices. It's not easy work. To step away from the safety of a well-worn thought, dare to believe that this one might be different than the stereotype and stuff the whole thing up with grace, well that's not like us. But here's the deal- we, him, her, me- we are all the same. Broken. And I cannot not offer her what was offered me. And I can't wait for her to jump through some hoop because I couldn't lift my baby toe if I tried. "While we were still sinners..."

I am thankful for the body of believers. A simple email, a couple of phone calls and every need was met. Some were so eager, they gave up their afternoon to provide immediately. Others asked for more and I handed them some dirty laundry. Washing the feet mostly requires a person willing to get down low. 

I am thankful to be able to connect with a neighbor. It was just a short conversation but meant so much. When you're in the thick of things, you need to talk your crazy out and you need to listen to other's stories and she did that for me.

As crazy as this sounds, I am thankful for the system. Don't take me wrong, I very much want her out of the system. But from where I look for her, Thank God! She received care and services that she would have otherwise not had. I don't need to highlight the drawbacks because they are self-evident but the fact is it does help.

I am thankful to have this whole thing turn me inside out. I have questions and I want answers. And just when I've pounded my fist and demanded answers from Him and an immediate showing of all this, He asks me how long I've been journeying and healing and, good grief, if I have taken this long, shouldn't I give her some time as well? This stuff- it's for the ego-bursting.

This isn't all. There's more thankful then I can spell out. There's more in almost every conversation with her. There's more when I wrestle with the whole thing. There isn't a simple answer. And just when I've come to an answer, it shifts slightly when settling and I'm back to adjusting my questions. There's thankful when I gather up all the hope I can hold and stick the whole thing back in His face. I'm left with a pile of hope, a mound of grace, a messed up life and overflowing gratitude I didn't know I wanted.     

Thanks For the Snow (in May)

One might think another post about snow would be ho-hum. That is, unless you remember that it's May!

Last week the weather here turned from tank top and shorts 70 degrees to cold, windy, wet and then snowy in a matter of three days. Tuesday was warm and beautiful and I went for a run in a tank top and shorts and the kids played outside all afternoon. Wednesday, the weather was about 50 degrees and rainy, so we stayed inside and played. Thursday, we had a two hour delay because of snow. I will repeat- in May we had a two-hour late school start because of snow! Wacko!

You can see some pictures of the snow that my friend, Angie, took. I didn't take any but literally you could not look outside and recognize that it was May except for the leaf buds poking through the snow!

More importantly, here's a story worth you taking time to go over and read. 

Before you curse the snow in May...know that the snow saved a life

How awesome is that? That is the Informed Choices Clinic I shared with you here.

Thanks for the snow in May, God. 

Happy Blog-aversiary

Today marks the 3rd birthday of this blog. Hooray!

Here are a few stats about my blog for you:

These are my most popular posts 

Entry	Pageviews
A Dizzying Amount About Disney Mar 18, 2010	170
Best Dam Run Oct 6, 2010, 1 comment	168
Show Choir Hair Feb 16, 2012, 1 comment	127
Turn Around and Refresh Nov 11, 2011	96
Morning Glory Bakery Jul 20, 2011, 3 comments	87
Living History Farms Race, 2011 Nov 21, 2011, 1 comment	78
The Psalm Project May 2, 2012	73
Running For Miracle Oct 23, 2012	69
Living History Farms, '12 Nov 19, 2012	58
Thankful Thursday Mar 3, 2011, 8 comments	56

They are based on the number of views, which more than likely, was found by searching on Google. Since they have some good key words in the title, they pop up, except for the Turn Around and Refresh post. I'm not sure how that one ranks so high. It also explains how most of them have very few comments. 

These places give me the most referral traffic

Entry	Pageviews
http://team-sullivan.blogspot.com/	1914
http://farmgirlchaos.blogspot.com/	1092
http://www.team-sullivan.blogspot.com/	590
http://lelandsrunningtowardslove.blogspot.com/	210
http://www.energiesandaffections.blogspot.com/	138
http://www.google.com/search	132
http://odlemountain.blogspot.com/	96
http://www.lelandsrunningtowardslove.blogspot.com/	91

I need to send some big thank you's to those ladies for listing me on their blogs. If you have time, head over to their blogs, read a little and send them a happy message.

Pageviews by Countries Entry Pageviews United States 46346 Denmark 1716 Russia 1156 Germany 564 United Kingdom 266 Canada 239 Ukraine 217 Sweden 106 France 89 Japan 88

Interesting, huh?
I don't know who in Alaska is reading, but I'd love if you'd drop me a line to say hello. 

These statistics were taken from Blogger at 6:30 a.m. this morning. 

What's new for 2013 on here? I have a blog re-design coming that I won a while ago. That girl is busy (which is awesome), however, we are in the middle of design discussion so it will be coming sooner than later now. Yippee!

I'll still have cute kids, dirt bikes, recipes, and more bits and pieces of my life that I'll share with you. 

Thank you for reading and for all your encouraging words to me!!