Provision

It's amazing how God provides exactly what you need at the exact time you need it. I found Ann Voskamp's blog one day as I was blog hopping. I've never met her, but she has been a funnel for the Holy Spirit to minister to my soul. Her blog is so peaceful, so comforting, I feel so at home. Below is an insight into her newly released book. I can't wait to get my copy. These past couple of weeks have been a time for healing. I struggle to keep the sadness of this world, this life from getting me down...death of loved ones, children suffering, evil, marriages crumbling, sin, disease, disorders, and so forth. I've enjoyed the slowness of the past few days...much needed.



Carleigh got an American Girl scarf making kit for Christmas. It was really quite a cool gift. it came with everything she needs to make a scarf for her and one that matches exactly for her doll. We worked on her scarf this weekend. She is so proud, and rightfully so! Good work, sweet girl!



You look marvelous, dawling!





Little bit likes it too!



Breath

Sometimes breathing is the hardest part. There are days when everything seems pretty ok, then out of nowhere it hits and takes my breath away...an unbearable desire to hold her again, smell her hair, touch her skin, see her sweet smile. I type through tears as I think about Emma and how much my heart aches that she isn't here with us. I miss our girl.

I hope

We went to a funeral the other night. Mean Gene was his stage name, but he was anything but mean. He and his band played at both of Emma's Bayou Bashes. His heart was big, vey big, and he was extremely generous. Something the preacher said during the funeral service stuck with me. He said Mean Gene had some very big shoes to fill...that it would probably take a better part of the group in attendance to do what he did and touch the lives he touched. I would guess there were more than 500 people there. Wow! I hope that I make such an impact.

I have taken on the challenge to memorize two verses a week from the book of Colossians, resulting in memorizing the entire book by the end of 2011. I hope I can stay the course.

There have been many tragedies around us lately. It's hard not to get dragged down by the enormity of them. I hope I can remain faithful to pray even when the answers I seek don't seem to come as readily as I would like.

I hope I can get my Christmas decorations packed away this week. Am I the only one still enjoying twinkling lights and red and green?

My body is crying out for some exercise. I think my muscles have atrophied from lack thereof. I hope I can get my rear in gear in the next couple of days.

I hope my sister can find relief from her disorder. I wish there were no such thing as IC. I wish my dad's heart was strong and he felt well. I hope the doctors can find a solution for his pain.

We watched a movie last night. I identified with the words from one of the actors. He said, "God doesn't allow bad things to happen to us. He just takes care of us when they do." I hope I can rest in that truth.

Black Eyed Peas and other good food

If you live in the South, you know it's a must to eat black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day. I L.O.V.E. cabbage, but Kelvin thinks it smells like a dirty diaper and stinks up the house, so I refrained from cooking it this year. But I did make some very yummy black-eyed peas in the form of Hoppin' John Stew. Ooooh wee, it's good. You have to make the cheesy grits to serve with it or it's not the same. And don't forget the cilantro like I did; it gives it that extra little punch!

While at the deer lease I also made some delicioso chili and some ever popular chicken and cheese enchiladas.

Christmas morning was yummy around our house too. I made overnight Blueberry French Toast with sausage and hot chocolate. And for Christmas dinner, I whipped up a batch of crawfish étouffée to go along with all the other wonderful food at Kelvin's family's celebration...gumbo, turkey, dressing, etc., etc. For sweet treats, one of Kelvin's friend's wife made the most amazing chocolate chip pecan pie and chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese and chocolate chip filling. I wish I could relay to you how incredible these treats were. Just a minute while I wipe my drool.

Now that the food fest season is behind us, I need to get back on track with eating a bit healthier. I've gained about 8 pounds since Thanksgiving. Ugh! What are you planning to do to get back in the swing of things? I'm hoping to get busy around my house with some home workouts and maybe try my hand at running/walking again since I cancelled my gym membership. (Hope the 'ol hip will let me.) I'll see if they might have a better deal for the new year. I just got tired of paying every month and not being able to go. Plus, they cancelled all the classes I like. Blah! Oh well, we'll see. For now, I have to figure out what to feed my kids for breakfast this morning...

Luke wanted French toast and Carleigh wanted eggs and toast. It was their lucky day. Luke's French toast was extremely yummy if I do say so myself...topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon...mmmm!

Funny story...I was buying groceries before the holidays and had Cora with me. I went to the dairy case to grab a can of whipped cream, and when Cora saw it, she opened her mouth wide open like a little bird. See, in the Dunnam household, we like to squirt whipped cream straight into our mouths, and Cora is no exception! She wanted her whipped cream squirt right then, thank you very much! I made her wait until we got home.

Tonight I made Chicken and Dumplings speedy style. They were surprisingly good! Definitely one to save.

Hope your new year is off to a good start.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011 to you! Can you believe it?! I saw one of my friend's post on Facebook saying she couldn't believe we weren't driving flying cars yet. Remember the Jetson's? I just looked it up, and we have 51 more years before life here is like it was for them. I wonder how things will shape up for us in 51 more years. I'll only be 89, so hopefully I'll get to check in on the action! I'll get my great-granddaughter or grandson to drive me around in a moon mobile. (Hee Hee)

So, I digress. I hope your Christmas was loverly and your New Year's Eve celebration full of sparkle! The only sparks in our new year's eve came from the camp fire at the deer camp, but it was wonderful to sit by the fire with Kelvin and Carleigh and ring in the new year. Luke and Cora didn't quite make it to midnight! 2010 was a very hard year to say the least, but Kelvin and Carleigh were able to rattle off several wonderful things that happend as well...Cora is growing like a weed and talking up a storm (thank the Lord!), Carleigh and Luke are doing well in gymnastics; we had a very successful Emma's Bayou Bash despite the terrible weather, enabling us to make a sizeable donation to BDSRA for Batten Disease research, as well as support the efforts of Emma's Hugs; we had a fabulouso vacation with our dear friends, the Parkhouses in Bald Head Island, NC; the summer was loaded with fun in the sun; Luke started first grade in public school and is doing wonderfully; Cora started Wee School and loves it; we had a splendid time for our first trip to Garner with our friends; Carleigh shot her first deer...an 8 point buck(WOW!); we received boundless love from so many wonderful people. I am always amazed at how much love, kindness and thoughtfulness is poured out on us! Amazed!

I could go on, but as much as I like to think about the good things that happened in 2010, they are still somewhat overshadowed, unfortunately, by the fact that my sweet Emma is no longer here. I know she is in a better place, not suffering, running and jumping, singing and dancing, but she isn't here. My heart aches for the loss our family forever has. There will always be a missing piece to the puzzle. It will always be hard to hear of miraculous healings for others. Yes, I'm overjoyed with news of miraculous healings, but my heart aches too. While we were at the deer lease this past week, we heard a story on the radio about a child who received a miraculous healing from a disease. Carleigh said, "Wow, that's so good!" and Luke said, with his head tilted and his brow furrowed just a bit, "Why not Emma?" Tears. We believed, we had faith, we prayed, as did so many of you, but God said, "not here." I don't know why, and I don't understand. I never will. I just have to trust Him, and let Him carry me, us, through this season. "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Thank you for checking in on our journey. I hope you will stick around, send a comment or two, and let us know how you're doing as well. I hope 2011 brings blessing beyond measure for you and yours. I'm hoping for a little consistency in my life...to eat a little less, exercise a little more, laugh, cry, love, read more, sit by the fire, drink good wine, listen, and live. Cheers!

You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake. Psalm 65:11 The NET Bible

We were "Bruced!"

One of the most precious ladies I know is Kim Boyd-DeBerry. She has such a beautiful testimony and shares it daily with people at her tea room, The Mustard Seed and flower shop, Boyd's Blossoms. She made a gorgeous rose cover for Emma's casket. I am blessed to know her. While eating and making cookies on Christmas Eve, in the pouring down rain, someone left this on our porch. Attached was this explanation...

Smile, you've been Bruced! You are probably wondering what this means. Well, let me tell you. See, Bruce was my husband and the father of our two wonderful children. Bruce was killed Decmeber 5, 2003, and that changed our lives forever. I believe God has many plans for our lives, and this was ours. He places many people in your path to help you through difficult times and realize those plans. Bruce passed away on Saturday, and my children and I were at church on Sunday. On that Sunday in my Sunday school class, John Leonard decided to give a type of memorial to Bruce. To his surprise, I was there, and there was no other place I would have rather been. He talked about Bruce and how he never saw him without a smile on his face, so he passed out smiley faces for everyone to wear. A friend of mine, Christy Lackey had lost her husband a few years prior and was told by someone to pray and ask God for a sign that everything would be ok. Well, I did, and my first sign was that smiley face sticker from John. We see them appear in all different places and shapes. Some of them are hard to believe, but they are so true. The smiley face for Christmas came from a friend, Resa Kogut. Resa paints, and since Bruce passed away at Christmas, and it was a hard time for my kids, she painted a smiley face that is about 9 feet tall with a Santa hat. When we woke and found it in our front yard, we could help but smile. The feelings that we had were so great that we knew we had to share this. Every Christmas Eve, our family sits down and decides who has touched our lives the past year, and you are that person or family. A lot of people think that Christmas is a time to get that certain game, jewelry or outfit, but it is so much more. Every year our family looks forward to making some family realize how special they are and how they made us smile. God has smiled on our family and has blessed us with an addition. Geoff and I were marrried November 29, and he has joined us in this tradition of making people smile. Have a Merry Christmas.
Love and Just Smile,
Kim, Geoff, Brok and Stormy Boyd-DeBerry
Dunnam Family
We selected your family for your incredible strength that you reflect and the faith you uphold. With all that your family endured you stay strong and give back to others. I believe when something happens to take us to our knees, we are to get up and learn from it to help others, and you have done that. Emma will never be forgotten, and she has changed so many lives. Thank for sharing her love with us all.

Thank you, Kim and family! You made us smile on Christmas Eve. What an honor to be thought of by your family.

Christmas Card

Frankly, I love Christmas cards. Sometimes I don't get them out quite on time, which seems to really stress out Kelvin. Sometimes I just wait and send Happy New Year cards. Oh well, it still brings a smile, late or not, huh? More frankly, it was just too hard to send them out this year. There's a little face missing from our family picture nowadays. So, please forgive the lack of postage for those of you who usually receive one, but here is our Christmas card this year. Enjoy!