Saturday, November 28, 2015

Counting Our Blessings

Ahh, Thanksgiving!  One of my favorite months because we focus on family, friends and all the blessings that God showers on each one of us every single day.  Everywhere we look we can see the beauty of  His hands that surround us.  Autumn has been absolutely spectacular with the beautiful changing of the leaves and the colors so majestically displayed. The weather was just perfect here in Maryland this year. One of God's blessings this Thanksgiving was no exception for our family. We will have a Thanksgiving story to share for many years to come. It goes like this:

Sharon and I had prepared Thanksgiving dinner for all who were available and in town for our immediate  family and that of  my sister's family as well, just like we have for the last few years, except there was one chair in particular that was missing this year. In January, my sweet sister, Iris left us to go home to be with our Lord. Such a sad time it was for all our family to start our year off. Little did we know then, that we would be blessed with "Little Iris", who would come into our lives and hearts in the same year.  God is an awesome God!  My sister's grand-daughter, Rachael, ironically announced that she was pregnant on my sister's birthday, May 23rd, and would be due in November. If they were to have a girl, the baby would be named after her Great Grandmother, Iris. What wonderful news this was for our family!

Well, as the story goes;  we formed a circle and said our prayers before sitting down for our meal, giving thanks for all God's blessings.  We  had just sat down for our Thanksgiving dinner, when Rae began to feel a bit uncomfortable.......yes, you guessed it, I'm sure!  Thus, began a night of much anticipation of the arrival of our little "Angel".  We have been blessed with a new baby in our family! We are proud to announce that Iris Frances Johnson was born on 11/27/15 to the proud parents of Rachael and Joseph Johnson, and I have been blessed to be the Great, Great, Aunt to my "Little Iris"! 

This is a funny story, because when I was a little girl, my big sister Iris, took care of me. When I did something she didn't like, as little girls will sometimes do; I would say to her, "Wait 'til I'm BIG and you're LITTLE" (or) "Wait 'til I'm the MOMMY and you're the BABY! It makes me laugh, every time I think of those memories I had with my sister.  I really believed that, and she would just look at me and smile.  There will always be a "void" in our lives with my sister gone, but we know and feel she is always with us in our hearts, minds and spirit. We thank God for His "special" gift this year.

May God Bless you and your families now and always!


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