operation Broadwell

We have reached another milestone in life....that of owning two homes at one time.  Talk about trying to juggle life.  What a joy to know that one day (hopefully sooner than later) we will move into our dream home totally renovated by our family and friends.  It will have the huge great room like we have always dreamed of where our children and grandchildren as well are our friends and aquaintences can come and enjoy fellowship time together.  Lots of property to run on and trees to climb.  We are so excited.  The photo below is the before photo.  If you would like to keep up with our renovation project you can go to the link below the photo and follow us on that blog.  I try to post often so that you can appreciate every step we take.  If you live in the area or are passing through and will work for food, stop on in and lend an extra hand.  The fellowship will be sweet!

 

www.operationbroadwell.blogspot.com

WOW!  Time sure does go by fast.  Twelve years ago yesterday at 9:47 PM, I gave birth to our fourth baby, a girl, named Jasmine.  What a joy it was to have another girl in the house.  God has so blessed us.  So much sweetness all wrapped up on one bundle.  It seems like only yesterday and yet today she has grown into such a lovely young lady.  She loves to read and create things from nothing.  She is a joy to have in our household.  Happy Birthday, Jasmine!

 

10 years ago today

Memories flood my thoughts today of ten years ago.  What an exciting day it was as we traveled to the hospital to deliver what would be our last child, a little girl.  Although we had not met her, we loved her with all our hearts and could not wait to hold her in our arms.  At 10:06 in the evening we were finally able to meet our 8lb 6oz, 20 3/4 inch long bundle of joy named Jireh!  With a full head of black hair she was beautiful.  We praise God that He entrusted her to us as we ended this journey of childbirth.  She is such a blessing and full of life and joy.  She is in love with her prince charming (Daddy) and has become quite the little princess.  Happy Birthday to our baby girl today!

33 years of marriage

On June 30, 2012, David and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary!  So many thoughts surrounding that day.  Among them is, "Are we really that old"?.  LOL 

Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that I walked down the isle as just a 17 year old child bride.  I was not even a legal adult and yet compared to today's 17 year old, I was so much more mature.  My life had not been filled with television and video games but with playing outside and just good old plain hard work.  So much to be thankful for. My parents did me a great justice by being what today's culture would call "mean" parents.  I am so blessed. 

Sometimes it seems like much longer when I think of the struggles that we have walked through.  Often it seemed like one thing after another would invade our marriage striving to break it apart.  The devil hates us, he hates the home, he hates the family unit and he will do anything he can to try to cause division in the lives of God's children.  We try to make sure that we are always aware of that, so that he does not get a foot hold into our home. 

So as I reflect back on the past 33 years, I can honestly say that is has all been good.  We have learned many lessons that we now are privileged to be able to share with others. Our marriage has strengthened over the years and today I can truly say that we are more in love than ever before.  Could it be that we are finally learning what love is really all about?  I don't know but I do know that it is our goal to strive to allow God to use our marriage to show a picture of Christ and the Church in these last days that we are living in and that He may be able to use us to draw others closer to Himself.  What a privilege it is to serve the great King of Kings.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us!

31 years ago today

31 years ago today at 6:56 AM, God blessed our home with a bouncing baby boy.  He was our first son and our first child. This is the story of his birth.  I went to the doctor on March 12th for my normal visit and the doctor told me I would not be giving birth for another two weeks.  He did tell me that if I wanted to go home and drink a bottle of caster oil, it would be fine.  Being the young mother I was and not having any idea what caster oil was let alone what it would do to me...I went strait to the store and purchased me a 4 oz bottle.  Upon my arrival home, I got out my orange juice (just as I had been instructed) and began to mix "the whole bottle" into it.  Just following doctors orders.  I drank away all the while feeling like I was going to throw up. That was about 3 in the afternoon.  Well, most of you know what happened next.  By 6 I was having cramps so badly that I thought I was in labor.  I called my husband from work and we left around 10 for the hospital.  Upon arrival, I was given the great news that it was not labor at all but cramping from the Castor oil but that they would keep me for the night.  I remember morning dawning and the nurse telling my husband and my mother (who was patiently awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild) that they could go down and eat breakfast around 6 AM. The cramping had caused labor to start. She told them that it would be hours before I would give birth. I begged my husband not to leave me.  Sure enough my body chose to do things just like it has with all my subsequent births and "prepare" for birth in less than an hour.  At 6:56 AM, less than an hour after they said I would not be having a baby for hours, I gave birth to a 7 lb 10 oz baby boy.  I remember my words so clearly as he entered the world..."yuck, he is so ugly".  LOL  Words spoken by a young mother that had never heard about vernix.  All I can remember is he was covered in white "stuff" from head to toe and screaming uncontrollably.  But, I had a son!  The hours that followed will forever be instilled in my mind as I held him for the first time.  He was ours!  We were taking him home with us to start life as a family.  How blessed we were. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY!

a baby in every season of life

I was thinking the other day about having babies.   My firstborn son just celebrated the birth of his first born son (his fourth child).  He will also celebrate his 31st birthday next week.   I was pondering the day I learned I was pregnant for the first time as well as the day he was born.  I was married very young and had my first child 1 year and 9 months later, one month shy of my 19th birthday.  My husband and I did not start our lives together out as born-again Christians and I will have to admit that news of my first child's impending birth was not as happy an occasion as it should have been.  Those days in my marriage were very rocky days.  God was faithful though, as He kept us together, knowing full well what His master plan was.  His birth was a much more joyous occasion.  Friday the 13th of March, was a great day for us as our first little bundle arrived at 6:56 A.M.  As I was pondering all that took place that day and the feelings that rush in as you bring a son into the world knowing full well that he will carry on your family name, I had a thought.....

It occurred to me that I have been pregnant and given birth in each of the seasons of life I have lived.  My first child came when I was a young bride at the age of 19, thus giving me a child in my teen years.  Our second child, a daughter, was born 19 months later when I was in my early 20's.  Now fast forward to my 30's  when our third child (our first reversal baby) came along (that is another story).  Three years later when I entered my 40's, we were blessed with yet another baby.  Two years later we were blessed again.  Then two years later, we were blessed again but God chose to take that baby back into His arms to await our arrival to Heaven one day.  So four seasons of life spanning over three decades God chose to bless our home with children.  How incredibly blessed we are.