Happy New Year

Dear Moms,
One of my favorite lines from my sister Lynn’s Christmas Card, was the popular Quote, “LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS, WHEN YOU ARE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS.” Isn’t that the truth! I first saw that quote on a picture frame, while in Kentucky. I was in Kentucky to welcoming my fourth grandchild ELLE YOUNG, the first born of Dr. and Mrs. S. Kyle Young, who by the way were not going to have any children, until Kyle finished Residency. Of course, I bought the frame and instructed them to place a picture of Baby Elle in it. It is a good thing I did because, this year , I was again in Kentucky welcoming, Elle’s brand new sister, Baby Lauren who arrived, even before Elle turned 2 years old.. No Kyle is not finished with his Residency yet! Again, “LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS.” We all know that, God always has a plan .Of course Kyle and Amanda would not change a thing , as they welcomed their surprise blessings, Elle and then Lauren with open arms.
All this said, I too have had life happen, during this busy Christmas Season. I don’t think that I have been on my daily Blog at all or even checked my E-mails. Let’s face it Christmas is always busy. No we did not have two weddings and a funeral, yet we did have our share of Celebrations. Five of our seven children are born between Thanksgiving and January 9th. So there were a lot of Birthdays. In fact, today is my Baby Girl’ s Birthday. Kaitlin is 22 today, January 6. I added to the work load the 500 Christmas cards that I sent out, and I also write a book every year that come out as one of my Christmas gifts to close friends. Christmas requires a lot of time, talent and treasure. To top it off, my husband Patrick and I decided to Renew our vows on December 28th. This Renewal of Vows, was part of my “BUCKET LIST,” to have a Church wedding. Pat and I were married on May 1, 1974 AT SUNSET BY THE OCEAN in Key Biscayne, Florida, and later had our marriage blessed by a Catholic Priest. This HEARTS DESIRE, which started out small blossomed into a huge family event. It was ONE UFORGETTABLE ENCHANTED EVENING!!!!! I did tell the children and my husband, to remind me, ( because I’m over 50 and could be known to forget ), “No ONE CAN GET MARRIED DURING THE HOLIDAYS AGAIN.” Yes, it was a lot of work, but worth every blood, sweat and tears.
With Christmas, Birthdays, and the Renewal of Vows behind me, I am ready to dig in and Make A Difference this year. Starting with my blog.When New Years Day came I thought about writing on my Blog about the common changes that all of us like to commit to at the start of the year. You know the common topics, like Diet, Exercise and Organizational Skills, but then God put on my heart a Different Topic. I think that the idea evolved from a card that I had bought my Baby Girl. For my daughter Kaitlin’s Birthday I got her a card that said,
LEARN TO LIVE
LEARN TO LOVE
LEARN TO LAUGH
It speaks in the card about how I hope I have taught you these things, and feel that you have taught me these things, as well. As I contemplated these word s in her card and thought about the children’s visit. I was reminded about Life Lessons and how they are learned. Moms, as we raise our children, we can learn as much from them, that they learn from us.. All we have to do is just open our eyes and see and open ours ears and hear. In fact this is one way of hearing the Voice of God and see Him at work in our lives.
To start this New year, I am going to take each of my children and tell you how they learned a life lesson and how it formed their character forever. So read on don’t miss this Blog. I’m going to close now, I have to meet my family at my daughter Charity’s Restaurant, because we are Celebrating Kaitlin’s Birthday. Happy New Year!! Vow to make a difference in your own little corner of the world. Learn your Life lessons well . Then take a step back and let your children learn the Life Lessons that God allows in their Paths. . Ellen www. momsbestwisdom.com