Paper Angels

Last week I went to the mall in search of an Angel Tree. It was on my heart to donate this way this year. To help a family in need. This was a very humbling experience for me. As I stood in front of the tree looking at all the names and needs, it made me sad to think that if these names were not taken from the tree, they would most likely not be getting anything for Christmas. It brought tears to my eyes. Standing there, I realized how much I really take for granted. I am reminded of it often, but this really made an impact on me. I scanned the tree looking at what the needs were and was drawn to a 5 yr old girl named Maggie. I chose her because of Jimmy Wayne's song Paper Angels (he uses that name in the song). I took the angel off the tree and decided I would buy her the puzzles she asked for. I noticed that she also needed a coat. I didn't intend to do that much because I don't have much extra money, but my heart kept telling me I had to. I wouldn't want my children to go without a coat if they needed one, so I couldn't not buy one for this little girl. The $25 I spent on the coat and puzzle doesn't seem like enough and I wish I could do more. I am so glad that I made this donation and helped a family even though I don't know who they are. It felt really good to help in this way. And I plan to do it every year from now on.

I also decided that I will pray for Maggie and her family. I pray that whatever their situation is, that it gets better but most of all that they feel God's love and presence in their life. That if they don't know him, they come to know him. I am thankful that I had the opportunity and the encouragement of Jimmy Wayne to donate to this project.

"Paper Angels, you're in my thoughts and prayers. No matter where you are right now, remember God's right there. He's asking all of us to help take care of his Paper Angels eveywhere." -Jimmy Wayne

Autumn in New England

I love autumn in New England. It is such a beautiful time of year here. I love all the vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow and green leaves on the trees. So beautiful! When I look around at God's beauty, I am very thankful that he created a place so beautiful for us to live in.
I enjoy riding in the car staring at the trees and thinking about the beauty they reflect. My favorite thing to do this time of year besides getting my sweaters out, is not only taking photograhs of the landscapes, but especially of my children. I like scouting out great places to use as backdrops for fall photos. We tend to use the same couple of places we have the past few years, but I don't get tired of it. It seems different every year even though it's probably the same! Today we went to a local park, Squantz Pond, that we visit every fall. We got some great shots this year. Some with the colored trees behind us, some with the lake in the background. This time I discovered a huge rock that was the perfect place for the girls to sit. A large tree was next to the rock and a beautiful tree with golden leaves was further in the background. It really was "picture perfect"!

Morning Walk

After dropping Kaley off at preschool this morning, I decided to go for a walk. I actually planned it last week. I want to start exercising again, and thought the best time would be while she was not home. So when I got home, I changed my clothes and headed out. I wrote a Scripture down that I read earlier this morning and carried it with me. "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8 When I read the verse I wanted to understand it better, so I looked up the definition of the word refuge. Here is what it means: a place of shelter, protection from danger, *anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape, *security, safety, asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, *strong-hold, *a source of help, relief or comfort in times of trouble. I put an * by my favorite descriptions of this word. That is what God is to us--he is our shelter, our protector, our escape, our security, our sanctuary, our strong-hold, our comfort in time of trouble. Somehow reading the definition of refuge, makes this verse more meaningful to me. I wrote the verse on a piece of paper and took it with me on my walk. I just wanted something to think about and meditate on. While I thought about the verse, I thought about how perfectly the word refuge describes God. When we take refuge in him and go to him with everything, he blesses us. I walked along a road that has a pond and in the pond were two swans. They were beautiful. I wish I had my camera with me (even though I already have pictures of swans). I thought about what someone said once about swans--that they mate for life. Which made me think of how that is God's intention for us as well. As I walked past the pond, I noticed the acorns all over the ground, so I stopped to pick some of them up and put them in my pocket. I'm really not sure why I did. They also reminded me of God and all of the things he created. He made this world, he made us, he made the swans, he even made the acorns. What a beautiful mind God has! I finished my walk and when I got home decided to relax and think about how blessed I am.

My Birthday

Today I am 34 years old. I am having a nice birthday. My parents called me at 7am to sing to me. And despite my girls fighting and screaming at each other before school this morning, I had a good morning. I got Tessa on the bus then took Kaley to preschool. Although we were late due to a car accident and had to turn around to take another route ( I really need to learn the back roads around that area!) After I dropped her off, I met a friend for coffee and had a great visit with her. Then I took myself shopping. I rarely do this ON my birthday. I try to wait for a few days at least, but today I just wanted to treat myself on my special day, because that's what it is, my day. Usually I feel like its just "another day" and I get a little bit more attention than normal, but today I felt like doing something nice just for me. I don't do it often. I take care of my husband and girls and the house and whatever needs to be done. So I decided to make this day feel more special because it is. We will go out to dinner for my favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs at my favorite restaurant, First and Last Cafe. Rob ordered a Chocolate Truffle cake for me that I can't wait to cut into!

I am thankful to God for my life, for my beautiful family and for my wonderful friends that make me feel special everyday.