I've never been tagged before. And this one is a hard one. To come up with seven awesome things about either of my girls would be simple as pie. But doing so for myself is a bit of a struggle. Still, I am game. Thanks for the compliment and for tagging me,
Carol.
The rules, as best I understand them, are to tell seven amazing things about yourself and to tag seven amazing women to do the same. Here goes!
1. Like so many before me, my girls are my greatest achievement. FigNewTon surprises me daily with her maturity and love for others. Butterfly is a joy to be around. She, right now, trusts me explicitly. I am beginning to get to know her again. Her personality changes with each mental regression.
2. I have homeschooled at least one of my girls for the past 6 1/2 years. This year, it looks like it will be both. Being a single mom, I have also maintained a full time job while doing that most years. The year FigNewTon was her sickest and we all thought would be her last, I worked only a few hours a month. God blessed us in unexpected ways that year. This year, I cannot work outside of the home due to Butterfly's medical needs and have not figured out exactly how that is going to work.
3. I am a Christian. This is amazing simply because I came from the most anti-God home a person could imagine. And yet God chose to protect me and woo me and love me and shape me and mold me so that I can be called His.
4. I am the first person in my family history who graduated from high school. I went to college and quit 16 hours shy of my degree.
5. I was raised mostly by my grandparents. I was in their home a cumulative 8 years scattered throughout my childhood. I am who I am today largely because of their influence.
6. I was asked to be the key speaker for a retreat for foster children when I was 18. I was a new believer, fresh out of high school, and on my way to college. I was considered to be a success story within that community and was thought to be an inspiration to those teenagers. I will never know, but I can hope that God was able to use me in even a small way that weekend. This next part no one knows because I have never said it out loud before now. I would love the opportunity to do something similar again.
7. I can't think of anything else. Sorry. Six is all you get, I guess.
Now, who am I going to tag?
1.
Autumn ~ She is moving, so it may take her a bit to get to this. But I had to tag her because she is one of my closest friends and she is simply an amazing person.
2.
Stephanie ~ We have been friends since high school. That says a lot about how wonderful she is right there - to have put up with me for this long.
3.
Karen ~ When I met her, FigNewTon and Dancer were both in Kindergarten. She continues to amaze me with all she is able to accomplish and the love she has for her family.
4.
Debbie ~ Although we have never met IRL, she is someone I count as a dear friend. When you check out her blog, I trust you will feel as welcomed into her world as I do.
5.
Tricia ~ OK. So, I started following her blog because we have two things in common: our names, of course, and she is also a single mom. But I truly believe she is an amazing person.
6.
CFMama ~ I wish I knew her real name, but being in blog world, this is as close as it gets.
7.
Queen Mumma ~ She is also a single mom. Going to school full time and doing a fabulous job of caring for her two beautiful girls.
Can I do eight? Good. Here goes:
8.
Robin ~ She is such an encouragement to me. The way she prays for others and the way she focuses on her kids. And the things she has gone through to make her the person she is today.
I also wanted to mention some amazing women I know who I cannot tag because they do not have blogs.
Jackie ~ She has been fighting cancer for the second time in her life for the past six years. A year ago, her husband was diagnosed with cancer and he went to be with Jesus on July 17. Her ability to stand under the weight of all of this and still be such an amazing woman focused on our amazing God astounds me.
Helen~ I have only known her for a year, but she has been the biggest blessing in my life in that year. She defers to others and consistently shows love.
Nancy ~ She is constant. No matter the situation, she responds with a constant focus on God and points me back to the scriptures. I have seen her walk through loss and never waiver in her faith. And she is teaching me to do the same.
Grandma ~ As stated above, I would not be who I am today without her guidance. She took in strays, lots of them. I was the last. And she loved us all. Shielding us from impossible situations that children should never face.
Butterfly passed out. And although we are relatively sure that this one was a "normal" teenage girl episode, we can never be certain. It was exactly the type of situation you would expect someone to pass out: hot, minimal air flow, tired, standing, low blood sugar, etc. So, we ended the night at the ER to double check and she is still sleeping (as of 11:30). I was scolded, several times, for varying her routine and admonished to stick to the schedule. No more outings like that for a while, I guess.
Monday, we had lots of appointments, so we were only at the campsite for a few hours in the morning and then again in the evening. It was SO HOT on Monday. After dinner, the girls and I went for a swim in the lake.
The sunset was beautiful.
Going to the Splash Pad.