It's My Birthday, and I'll Cry if I Want To...

actually, I'll be thankful instead! When I mentioned to my dear Auntie that I was a bit sad about turning the big 40, she reminded me that it's better than the alternative! :) Indeed it is! (But, I'm still thinking a forever 39 might be nice.)

So, I'll randomly list a mere 40 things for which I'm thankful....

1) my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ
2) God's forgiveness
3) The mercy and grace God showers upon me every minute of every day
4) my Bible
5) my loving and faithful Mountain Man
6) Scribe
7) Little Big Man
8) Whistler
9) Reaches Up
10) Boo
11) Little Bit
12) Peep
13) the color PINK
14) the hugs and kisses of my children
15) a husband who enjoys shopping with me
16) my parents and all the sacrifices they've made for me
17) my siblings
18) my in-laws, Ralph and Ruth, who are so loving and generous to me
19) fountain pens
20) pretty papers
21) journals
22) candles
23) tea, tea cups, teapots
24) chocolate
25) fried food
26) handwritten notes from my children
27) drawings from my children
28) snuggling with babies
29) books
30) Amazon.com
31) The Spencer Family (I've decided I'm just going to tattoo "Thank you Spencer Family" on my forehead since I always have something have thank them for)
32) our house which is a home
33) family nights
34) pizza
35) games
36) rainy days
37) my Auntie and Cuz!
38) writing
39) my friends and church family
40) THIS AMAZING REDEEMED LIFE GOD HAS GIVEN ME

***It was so easy to list 40 things...the hard part was stopping there! There are so many people and things I didn't list.***

So, now, encourage me to be even more thankful....for those of you who know...what do you/did you love about turning 40?

His Wonderful Works

"Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing."

Psalm 107:21,22

***

This past month has been challenging for the Poff Clan. There hasn't been anything "big" as some would say, but sometimes an endless procession of "little things" is just as effective at stealing one's joy and peace and focus.

So life is hard, but God is good. He is so good that He faithfully and mercifully pours out blessings in the midst of our trials, reminding us of the hope we have in Him and the love He has for us that is deep beyond our comprehension.

Matthew Henry, referencing the verses above, states "God's works of mercy are wonderful works, works of wonderful power considering the weakness, and of wonderful grace considering the unworthiness, of those He shows mercy to. It is expected of those who receive mercy from God that they return praise to Him."

Not only should we give a thank-offering to the LORD, but we should also "declare His works with rejoicing, to His honour and for the encouragement of others." (Matthew Henry)

When we're in the midst of struggles, counting our blessings is the perfect antidote for being overwhelmed by our circumstances.

So, we praise God for the many blessings He's so graciously bestowed on us these past weeks....

~Facing a large medical bill for Claire's delivery, we were absolutely stunned to receive a bill for ONE-FOURTH of the amount that we expected to pay! This is simply amazing. The hospital actually negotiated with our insurance company and the result was a much smaller bill for us. We were told that this happens only on a "case-by-case"basis, and we're so thankful that God blessed us in such an unexpected way.

~As I mentioned earlier, I was doubled over in pain one early morning from kidney stones. Only those who have been through that can really understand the pain...it's unbearable. Praise the LORD, the stone dissolved on it's own, and I didn't require any further treatment. An ultrasound showed that my kidneys and bladder (despite trauma from the c-section) looked fine.

~Mountain Man has been battling some very high blood pressure (think hospitalization...). While this was going on, I was still recovering from the kidney stone episode, and life was simply crazy. Our small church body (made of only 5 families, including our own) blessed us so generously with lots of meals. Here's a list of all the food that we were given that week.

roast chicken

green beans

mashed potatoes

homemade crescent rolls

clementines

sloppy joe meat

homemade hamburger buns

homemade pretzels

homemade cinnamon rolls

chocolate chip toffee scones

chili

hamburger and pasta casserole

pie

pasta casseroles

cornbread

beans

The generosity of God's people is truly overwhelming.

~While on an outside adventure, Little Bit fell from the back of one of her siblings, hitting her head quite hard on our cement sidewalk. Blood spatters were all over her dress as well as the walkway. Amazingly, she didn't need stitches and there were no other complications. We are so thankful for God's protection!

~As I mentioned above, Mountain Man's blood pressure has been dangerously high. After a trip to the urgent care where he was given massive doses of blood pressure medication by IV, he was then put on blood pressure pills. But they were not working, and honestly, they weren't what we wanted for the solution. Dear friends prayed for us and encouraged us, and, after just a couple weeks of changes with diet and exercise, his blood pressure is finally normalizing. We not only praise God for His restoration of Mountain Man's health, but we also praise Him for this wake-up call to examine priorities and stressors and the gentle disciplining God has done through this struggle.

Matthew Henry reminds us to "erect the memorials of (our) deliverance, to the honour of God, and for the encouragement of others to trust Him." This is what we do when we diligently record the blessings and mercies of God. We leave memorials to remind us of the goodness of God and to inspire others to continue pressing toward the mark with praise on their lips , declaring God's works with rejoicing.

~Queen Mom

The Richest Woman

One of our favorite children's stories is called "Cornelia's Jewels." It tells of a woman who lived in Rome hundreds of years ago. Her two precious boys were looking at their mother and her friend as they walked through the garden.

"Have you ever seen such a beautiful woman as our mother's friend?" asked the younger son. "She looks like a queen."

"But, she is not as beautiful as our mother, for although she is finely dressed, her face is not as noble or as kind as our mother's. It is our mother who is truly like a queen," replied the other son.

Cornelia, their mother, walked towards them. She was simply dressed and was not adorned with jewels on her hands or neck. Her only crown was her beautiful hair that was coiled about her head. She smiled tenderly at her dear sons as she looked into their proud eyes.

"My sons, " she said. "You will eat with me and my friend in the garden, and she will show us all of her beautiful jewels."

The sons could not believe that their mother's friend could possibly have more jewels than what she was wearing. However, upon seeing the casket that was brought out by a servant, their eyes were in awe of pearls, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.

"If only our mother could have such things, " they lamented, as they watched the servant carry away the casket.

"Do you really not have any jewels, " Cornelia's friend asked. "I mean, is it true that you are, as they say...poor?"

"Oh, no, I am not poor," replied Cornelia, and she drew her dear sons to her side. "Here are my jewels, and they are worth far more than all of your fine gems."

***

Although I'm still aspiring to have a countenance that is "noble and kind, " I can identify with Cornelia in that I am truly the richest woman, blessed with priceless jewels.

Here's our Mother's Day picture, which we take each year.

***

Mountain Man and our children blessed me with the loveliest day. I was showered with several gifts.....a 5 mile workout DVD (with "boosted walking"....ahem, that's code for jogging!), a set of Charles Dickens DVDs (so appropriate as it includes David Copperfield, which I'm reading right now and loving!), and books...a freezer cooking book, a Bible Study by Elizabeth George on cultivating a quiet and gentle spirit, and J.C. Ryle's "How Readest Thou?"

***

My favorite gifts, however, were the lovely cards that my precious children made for me, including one that read, "Happy Mother's Day to the Greatest Mom the World has Ever Known! Each Year with You Gets Better and Better! I love you."

***

So humbling.

A Mother's Love

Mountain Man's Mom, Ruth

Queen Mom's mother, Mary Lee

Happy Mother's Day to our dear Moms! We love and miss you and are so thankful God chose you to be our mothers. Have a beautiful day!

"A Mother's Love"

A mother's love, how sweet the name!

What is a mother's love?

A noble, pure, and tender flame,

Enkindled from above,

To bless a heart of earthly mould;

the warmest love that can grow cold;

This is a mother's love.

~James Montgomery

Sweet Peep

When Working Out Loses Its Appeal

just do what Little Bit does. Sprawl out on your living room floor and simply watch the workout.

Even Reaches Up Knows....

that babies make the best snuggle-buddies.

The Youngest NRA Member?

Just a sample of the kind of fun the boys have with their precious Peep....

The Birthday Celebration--Extended Edition

Just as Little Bit has brought many "firsts" to our lives, she's also the first of the Poff Clan to experience such an extended birthday celebration. Yet, a dear friend reminded me that that's actually a treat!

We started celebrating last Wednesday afternoon with a trip to the zoo. Little Bit was completely enamored by God's creation. There were endless "awws" and "oohs" falling from her lips. She simply thought each animal was amazing.

On Thursday, we celebrated by enjoying one of Little Bit's favorite meals....pancakes and scrambled eggs.I also started the laborious process of making a fondant for her caterpillar birthday cake.

Boo and Little Bit were more than happy to clean out the bowl for me! (Think marshmallow and powdered sugar...can't imagine why they would like that. :)Inspired by a picture I found on a baking blog and after about 6 hours of work, I managed to create this adorable caterpillar cake. Since I would never call myself creative, it was so gratifying to actually have done this. Isn't he just too cute??

The head, eyes, ears, nose, and feet are all made of the marshmallow fondant. The body is made of cupcakes frosted with buttercream frosting. All of it was made with lots of love!I was truly jumping up and down saying, "I did it! I did it!" when I finished this cake!

I guess Little Bit wasn't quite sure if her caterpillar would taste good.But, after a taste test, she quickly approved.
The Littles enjoyed the tasty fondant caterpillar feet.

So, Friday found us celebrating with Little Bit's delicious caterpillar cake.

And, finally, on Saturday we enjoyed watching Little Bit open her gifts.

The End. :)