The thistle in every woman.

I want to tell you the story of a thistle. Do you know it? I know it probably doesn't sound like a grand story, it is a weed after all. But I love a story that whispers softly, the one that requires me to be still in order to hear. What you might know about this weed-it's not easy to take down!! If it's cut, even at the root, it grows back. And there starts the story of the thistle.


The thistle can be found anywhere, and everywhere. It grows in any condition and isn't picky. You will find it thriving in a bed of rocks with hardly any water. You will find it on the side of the road or a highway, exposed to high levels of wind and intense heat. It will even grow through a crack in a slab of concrete. And yet you will also find it in a shaded creek with plenty of water and vegetation. It is persistent and knows no limits.

Wherever it is, you won't miss it- it will be taller than the plants around it. It will rise to any occasion with it's long stems and it will bloom over all the others. It is driven. It is focused.

The thistle may not look like much at first. But surely you know about first impressions- they're often wrong. It's true with this one too.

It's easy to get focused on the sharp leaves. To be turned off by the stems that protect with prickers. The thistle must self preserve and therefore it's serious about it's boundaries. Survival mode does that to many of us.

Once the bud develops, finding it's own voice- it puts on a grand show! It blooms into the most beautiful and magnificent flower you ever seen.

And it didn't even know. It still thought it was a weed! But then one day, it was told- You Are Beautiful. And it changed everything.

The thistle- an amazing lesson on strength. Despite the circumstances. Despite the environment around it. Despite the wind, the flood, the drought, the scorching heat. It adjusts, for it is confident and it knows a few things about being resilient. The thistle knows where it's strength comes from.

As I ran this morning- thinking about the wind in my life right now, about the drought in some of my friends' lives, and the heat that's burning the hearts of many that I love; I was reminded of how the thistle survives. The secret to the thistle is this: it has an incredibly well developed, deep, and strong root system!

The secret is buried deep, not for hiding but for holding on!

The thistle's success is in it's foundation. Come hell or high water, it's strength isn't found in it's beauty, its boundaries, or its height. It's found in it's Anchor!

To: Carrie, Cathy, Melissa, and the woman at the red light in the suburban next to mine (who was sobbing buckets of tears)....this is for you! You Are Beautiful and stronger than you think!

Andre Daniel

Andre Daniel,

I remember the moment I found out about you.

The moment exactly when I saw 2 lines, not one.

(I'll explain that all to you at another time, it's sorta complicated!)
I was in complete shock.
You see, Ramiro was just 3 1/2 months old,
and life was fairly unpredictable at that time.

I feared for you.
We had already lost Baby Jaydan, almost lost Ramiro
and now I was on this journey again.

A few months later, I began to have deja vu all over.
I will not forget the look on the dr's face,
he had been through our last 2 pregnancy's with us-
and I knew this face.
I had seen it twice before.
Your ultrasound showed a cyst on your brain,
and though there was a chance it could heal on its own
there was also indications that this could be the beginning of
something much worse.

Thankfully kiddo, it healed and all was fine!
Matter of fact, all was perfect! Praise God!!

When you took your first breath and they handed you to me
it was one of the most precious moments in my life.
You were crying and whimpering
and with one sound of my voice,
you instantly began to settle and calm down.
You have been my only child that relaxed like that
to the sound of my voice, or the beating of my heart.


That first night with you was unbelievable!
You were, and continue to be, the snuggliest
child there ever was!

I have never met a kid that has the compassion and tenderness
towards other people like you do!
You are so young, yet so aware of how other people are feeling.
Baby, that is a gift-
don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise!

I see something in you that amazes me, and its your selflessness!
You are a lover, a giver, a nurturer, and protector!
You are going to be a great man, father and husband one day!
And oddly enough, in those first days with you-
I knew there was something incredibly precious about this
man child I had been given!

I love you, prince charming,
more than anyone else on this planet ever will!
I am proud of you
and incredibly blessed to call YOU my son!!

Happy Kindergarten Graduation!!
But I have one question:
how did you get so stinkin' handsome?

Treasures from the backpacks

I very often find cute notes in my kids backpacks....

I snoop regularly just to check for them!

I found these in Andre's backpack the other day.

He wrote them at school.

And the fact that he would be thinking of me while at school

makes me mushy and junk.

That first one reads:

"I love my Mom so so so so much.

I will be good evree day Mom."

And no, he doesn't stutter, he just REALLY loves his Momma!

This is the same kid that told the waiter last night that "what

works the best at our house is spankings!"

I see great potential in this child!!

And then I found this one.

It reads:

"....my Mom is big."

Um, thank you for that, Andre.

******************

This other picture I just couldn't resist sharing.

Just in case I would ever forget how much this child loves sports.

This is the Bulldogs first baseman

(AKA- my son, Ramiro)

This is him at 3pm (when he gets home from school)

counting down the minutes until it's time to leave for his game...

at like 6 or 7 pm!

(and you thought I was lying about the Christmas tree's?)

2 outta 4 aint bad!

Easter sunday morning, 2011

Here are 2 of my 4 favorite people (minus Dora!)
They are so stinkin' cute and I pray I don't mess them up!!

The other two are already messed up and I know this because
they wouldn't cooperate with the photo op
even after I had bribed them with candy!
They didn't care cause they knew "some bunny" had
left candy at Papa's house.
yep, messed up alright!

Happy Hour

I reach the point every summer

when the heat of the day is just too much

and I'm forced to face the early morning hours.

And though getting up at sunrise feels like

trying to break a bad habit-

as I step outside and see the first few moments

of the day, here on the farm....

I know for certain that Happy Hour starts at 5:30 A.M.

There is no other way I'd rather spend it

than to be drenched in sweat, running-
with this as my backdrop:

"The world around you seems to spin faster and faster,

till everything is a blur.

Yet there is a cushion of calm at the center of your life,

where you live in union with Me.

Return to this soothing Center as often as you can,

for this is where you are energized:

filled with My Love, Joy, and Peace.

The world is a needy place;

do not go there for sustenance.

Instead, come to Me."

-Jesus Calling (March 9)