Reflections.....

Today is January 9th. Amanda turned 27 today. Circumstances didn't allow us to have a birthday celebration tonight as we had planned, but regardless of any circumstances, my heart and my mind have traveled to the place where I was 27 years ago. There could not have been a happier woman on the face of the earth than I was that day (unless it was my mom). For those of you who may not know it, we had a home birth with Amanda. She was born at my mom and dad's house, the same house my mom lives in now. The night before Amanda was born, ironically I attended a baby shower for a lady in our church. There were two newborns (or close to it) there that night and my arms ached to hold the baby I was carrying. The details of that night are burned into my heart and mind and I will cherish those memories all the days of my life.

I went into labor around 11:00pm and Amanda was born at 6:00am. By 7:00 she was bathed and sleeping in bed beside me. My beautiful baby girl....now a beautiful grown woman. A woman with a passion for God and a deep desire to walk in all He is calling her to. What a wonderful gift to Ike and I. Ike and I have often spoken of the blessing of our children. They were answers to our prayers when we so desperately wanted a family of our own. Now they continue to be answers to prayers as we watch them walk uprightly before the Lord. Again, what a marvelous gift to Ike and I.

There is an awful lot going on in my life right now and it is easy to get side-tracked and miss the point. So tonight I wanted to put my thoughts out and remind myself what really matters in life, and enjoy the moment we are in. Happy Birthday, Amanda.

Attached is a photo of Amanda and I taken last weekend in Dallas where we attended the wedding of Tommie Lee and Margie's son, Randy. We'll put info out about the wedding in the next few days.