24 FORMER slave children!!

On Labor Day, I joined with a group of fellow bloggers to tell you about the Mercy Project.

 

Well, it is with incredible joy that we can blog now that 24 children have been freed!

 

Please click on the picture or link below and read about this ministry.

http://mercyproject.net/freedom-24-trafficked-children-step-out-of-the-boats/

The PURSE!!

It's HERE!!

 

My COACH purse!!

 

It arrived Friday in the rain.  Thankfully it was well packaged!

Opening the box was sooo fun.

 Ta Da!!

(Of course Blogger is having issues and won't let me resize this picture!)

So why am I so pumped over a purse?  Well, it's really not about the purse. It's the journey that it represents and the daily reminder it will be to me to make better choices for my body.

I'm really not one of those people that get caught up in clothes and accessories (though I have enjoyed shopping lately!!) but back in May when I decided to change my ways and take control of my life I wanted a goal outside of my body shape and a purse that I would never buy for myself seemed like a good way to go.

And here I am!  It took 4 months of really hard work and dedication, but I'm happier and stronger for the effort!  I'm also wearing a smaller size than ever thought I'd get back too.

I haven't started using the purse yet. I don't want to get it dirty or rained on :) But I will soon. For now, it's sitting in my bedroom in a place of honor. Maybe I should place it in my pantry so that when I want a snack I have to walk by it!!

Thanks for taking this journey with me!!

Saying Goodbye.

I don't mind being that person in the family that takes pictures at inappropriate times. Because by doing so, I have wonderful pictures of my Grandad's funeral that took place on Monday.

If you don't like seeing pictures of funerals, well, skip this post.

It was a beautiful service.

 

The chapel felt familiar to me, even though I had never been in it before. Maybe because Doug was speaking, but it reminded me of his preaching days.  Here he is talking with my Grandmother before the service.

Doug did such an incredible job with the serivce. I know it was very hard for him, but I can't imagine anyone who could have done a better job.

Grandad was one of the few surviving WWII Navy veterans. The presenting of the flag was rather poignant.

 

After the service, was the burial. For the end of September, it was hot.

 

And finally, here is a picture of my mom and me. It was actually taken earlier in the day, but I like ending posts on a happy note. Don't we look pretty.

Yes!

If you weren't on this journey with me, I'd feel like I was bragging.

 

I went shopping tonight. I didn't have anything to wear to my Grandad's funeral.

 

So while I was trying on dresses, I decided to try on some pants as well!

 

Take a good look at the picture.

 

Yes, that is a size SIX!!!!!

I am so pumped!!!

I also hit the official 30 pounds lost today!

I am so close to the Coach purse :)

I figure that I will level off the weight loss soon, but for now, I am thrilled.

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

A life well lived.

If you have read many of my blog posts, you know that my family is the core of who I am. Not just my husband and children, but my FAMILY..  My parents, my sisters and their husbands/children, my cousins, my grandparents and even our close friends.

You have probably read posts about my grandparents.

Well, my granddad, Hoyt Greene died yesterday afternoon.

It is with heartache that I write this, but also with joy.

Grandad was born in 1917 and lived well.

He taught our family to LOVE.

He taught our family to READ.

He taught our family that we could be ANYTHING!

He and my grandmother raised four girls to be strong women.
That legacy has been passed down to my sisters and me.
That is what I am teaching my daughters.

Grandad loved politics and economics.
In his retirement, he went to the library almost everyday and as a child I went with him during the summers sometimes. I loved the children's section of the big downtown Fort Worth library. After we finished at the library, we'd stop by and check the stock market and make it back to the house for lunch with Grandmother.

One of the best gifts that Granddad and Grandmother gave to us grandchildren was the feeling like we were their favorite. My sisters each think that they were the favorite, but I know that I was! :)

Grandad did this with giving his undivided attention to me.

Grandad did this with my children.

Here are the most recent pictures I have with my girls and Grandad.
Granddad is reading "Daddy's Girl" to Kylie and Lexi.

Oh how precious these memories are.

And how thankful I am to have these pictures to show my girls.

As we say goodbye to Grandad, I want to remember to love wholeheartedly and with undivided attention to my family. To honor our family traditions and to live with the integrity and quite compassion of my Grandad.