Inspired

Almost exactly 2 years ago, I was at Disneyland with my family. We love this time of year, and being at Disney only enhances the magic. We love it! I remember looking at Chad and then at my girls and thinking, "Wow! Life is good right now." And then that nagging little voice in the far reaches of my mind said, "I wonder how long we can keep this going. What's next?" I find that every time I notice that life is going well and that the bumps are relatively small, I feel I jinx myself! I find myself wondering if I could keep the trials at bay if that little voice would just shut up, or if the natural order of things demands that the next trial presents itself whether the voice speaks up or not. I tend to believe that life IS a trial and the quiet, peaceful joyful and even uneventful times in life are just a bonus that we can acknowledge as blessings... or not. I think the way we choose to look at joy will carry us over the bumpy times.

Well, within a week of that magical trip I found out I was dealing with an Ovarian Cancer issue. Just the C word is daunting, but many issues in life are just as seemingly insurmountable to us frail humans. I was blessed to come through this ordeal relatively healthy and only somewhat physically altered (less one ovary) but significantly changed in mind and spirit. For the better.

I found myself thinking along the same Disney-ish, happy-go-lucky lines just a couple of weeks ago and shortly thereafter found myself in a whirlwind of physical, emotional, and stressful situations that have weighed pretty heavily since then, but seem to be (dare I say it?)  getting better. As I've trudged through the last weeks, I've thought a lot about how I get through them and come out the other side feeling blessed. I've come to accept that during these times, many people and situations are put in place to make me be inspired. The inspiration I've experienced has ranged from personal to spiritual to situational, and has arrived in the forms of sisters, parents, friends and co-workers. Some were just thoughts uttered while others have been in the form of entire experiences. Everything I read, heard, watched and participated seemed to inexplicably be tied to something I needed to be inspired about. Heaven sent things can be inexplicable, I know.

So again, I'm grateful. I'm blessed, and inspired. I love that!

Me, Sarah Jane, my mom, and Amy (our amazing hostess)
getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters

Though I need to specifically make a blog post about each of my beautiful sisters, I need to take a small moment today to just be grateful for them~Sarah Jane, Amy and Bethany.


Me, Sarah Jane, Amy
Bethany

I haven't lived a perfect life. Growing up, our family experienced many ups and downs but the overall feeling we had was one of great love and joy. I've talked about my parents, who are wonderful people and good examples. My sisters are the amazing apples that didn't fall far from the tree.

While talking to Amy last week, she reminded me how we were brought up with kindness and caring values instilled in us. This was not only taught by word, but also in deed. IN everything my parents did, we saw their love for mankind and their desire to help everyone around them. It made for a great sense of community wherever we were. My parents still get letters and visitors from all over the country in various places where they touched hearts and made forever friends.

Now WE are blessed to be parents and hand down those same ideals to our children. It's so rewarding to watch your child take part in caring for someone else. It's even more inspiring to know it comes so naturally to your child, because it was taught and practiced in the home. So my gratitude is great as I see the blessings of growing up in the loving family I did. I'm happy that I have 3 sisters who have shown me the meaning of perseverance, kindness, strength, faith, love, and charity. I'm grateful to pass those things down to our posterity and keep the goodness going.

Lastly, I'm so grateful to share with my sisters. We share values, the love of Christmas, Bing Crosby, snow, and Johnny Mathis. The joy of family, the dislike of feet, the thrill of a great lightning storm, the laughter that comes from the embellishment of great stories, passion for music and great books, and the love that only sisters share!

Bing Crosby

The Harry Potter Series