Charleston, Elevators, and Good News

It’s been a little quiet here on the blog lately. That is partly because work/life has been c.r.a.z.y. and partly because we did a little traveling last week.

Charleston’s Rainbow Row

One of the places we visited last week was Charleston, SC on a vacation/health-related trip. I had an appointment with a Scleroderma specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina and I’m thrilled to report that the results of that visit were better than I expected.

I haven’t mentioned this yet on the blog because I wasn’t sure what to say or how to explain it. For years, I’ve had an issue with my hands & feet where they turn red and I get a burning sensation in them. Sometime during the past year, this began change to the extent that it started happening more frequently and with greater intensity. In addition, they also started turning white/cold/numb before the redness and burning would occur.

I mentioned this to my oncologist who immediately said “Raynaud’s” and suggested I see a rheumatologist. The labs came back positive for an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma and he felt like I had the limited variety of it. He also suggested that I might want to go to MUSC to see a Scleroderma specialist there to get confirmation and discuss it with him.

The first thing they had me do was an echocardiogram to make sure my heart is functioning as it should (and it is). Then I did a breathing test so they could make sure my lungs were functioning as they should (and they were). In fact, the doctor said she hadn’t seen numbers that good in a long time. :)

Then we met with one of the resident doctors as well as Dr. Silver, the head of the Rheumatology/Scleroderma Center at the hospital. Dr. Silver felt that I have the mildest of mild forms of limited scleroderma, and even stated that if my labs had not tested positive for it he’s not sure he would even diagnosis me with it. This made me very happy since the more serious forms can be pretty awful. He ordered some more labs so they could have their own numbers as a baseline, suggested we treat the Raynaud’s, and monitor the Scleroderma with yearly visits.

I felt great about this, very pleased to have a mild-mild form of it as well as a plan for dealing with the sometimes painful and always annoying Raynaud’s symptoms. But then . . . the news got better. The resident doctor called Friday to say the labs they did came back NEGATIVE for Scleroderma and with that in mind, they did not feel that I should be diagnosed with it at this time! Woohoo!! They have officially diagnosed me with a General Connective Tissue Disease, which would be Raynaud’s.

If you noticed the title, you may be wondering what this has to do with elevators. Well, for the first (and hopefully last) time in my 44 years of living, I got stuck in an elevator! Barry and I were going from the building where the echo test was done to the building where the breathing test would be done and got stuck with a plastic surgeon, a nurse, and three other people in an elevator for 30 minutes. The longer we were in there, the warmer it got. The warmer it got, the more anxious I got. But thankfully, no one freaked out and they managed to get us out, and we made it to the next appointment only five minutes late.

The funniest part was when they said the elevator would have to go back up to the second floor before it could come down the first and that they wanted us to ride back down to the first floor so they could get our names for their records. Ha! Fat chance. We all got off that elevator on the second floor, took the stairs, and never looked back. :)

And that’s where things stand with me right now. What about you? How are things in your corner of the world?

Blessings,
♥Rachel

Another Way of Looking At It

I found myself a little (ok, a lot) annoyed and frustrated after every news channel and outlet overloaded us with the second-by-second playback of the capture of the youngest Boston bomber this weekend. The amount of time they spent analyzing, replaying, and digging into every aspect of the lives of these two criminals/cowards/terrorists was astonishing.

Who cares, right? Not me.

Tell me about the victims, the brave ones who are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. Tell me about the heroes, you know the true heroes who rushed toward the smoke before they even knew what was happening. Tell me about the officers who poured their heart and soul into finding these people. Tell me about the ones who lost their lives to yet another senseless act of violence.

But don’t tell me about the criminals. I don’t want to know their names, where they’re from or why they did it. I don’t care what their friends think about them, how great they did in school, or if their neighbor thinks they were “very American.”

I wish they would focus on the good ones. Focus on those who have courageous stories to tell – give them the spotlight (if they want it).

Before I knew it, I was all worked up about the media and their incessant coverage of this event (and how they just run every single tragedy/disaster into the ground).

And then I saw this:

And I realized I needed to look at this another way. I could remain annoyed by the ridiculous amount of media coverage of this event or I could be grateful because:

• I have ears to hear and eyes to see it.
• I have a brain that works (most of the time!) and can comprehend what they are saying.
• I have a heart that feels compassion for the victims.
• I have numerous ways to watch the news – TV, computer, phone.
• I am alive and well and safe today.

There are an unlimited number of things that can annoy and frustrate us on any given day . . . if we allow them. If you find yourself becoming aggravated today, try to stop your complaints before they grow too big and look at it another way – from a heart of gratitude.

Blessings,
♥Rachel

Love Always Wins

I saw the first inkling something was wrong on Twitter. The news outlets were reporting two explosions near the finish line at the Boston Marathon with numerous people injured and possibly dead.

And I thought, not again, Lord. Please, not again.

[Mumford & Sons, "After the Storm." Image Source: Pinterest]

The tragedies seem to come in waves. We, as a country, are knocked down by the waves of shock, sadness and grief only to stand up, spit the water out of our mouths, and keep moving forward. Before we know it, another wave comes along and knocks us down again.

I’m at a loss for words today. Not because what happened in Boston on Monday was the greatest tragedy to every occur – although it was and is a horrendous act of violence. I’m at a loss for words because this “stuff” continues to happen, I don’t understand why, and I don’t know how to stop it.

I mean, I do understand why things like this happen. I know there is evil in the world and that, at times, the evil wins – even if only for a brief moment – before love rises high enough to heal the broken hearts. I also know that no matter how good God is that freewill can result in tragedy and devastation. And I do believe that God is good and that He will ultimately use these events for good.

So, I sit here thinking.

I think of all the runners who trained and worked and pushed themselves to get to the point of not only running in the Boston Marathon, but nearly completing it . . . but who didn’t get to. And without regard for their own feelings of disappointment, stepped up to help those who had been injured.

I think of the young boy, Martin Richard, who truly had his whole life ahead of him, but now that life is gone. And his family. A sister whose leg had to be amputated. A mother in critical condition. And a father, running in the race, who is most likely numb with shock.

I think of the others who were seriously injured and I see their pictures in my mind – pictures I wish I’d never actually seen.

And I think, not again, Lord. Please, never again.

Father, I pray that you will heal the bodies of those wounded in Monday’s explosion. I ask you to please heal the hearts of those grieving loss of life and loss of limb. Please comfort those families who are preparing to bury someone they love. Ease the emotional and physical pain being experienced by those recovering in hospitals and provide strength for their families as they support them through the challenging days ahead. Most of all, Lord, I pray that you would show us how to love each other in such a powerful way that it squashes the hate. Teach us how to care about and for those around us, compel us to be compassionate, and show us how to be sensitive to those you place in our paths. May your love, expressed through us, be so powerful, so big, so consuming that it swallows up all anger, bitterness, and hate in the world.

Because hate never wins. Love always does.

Blessings,
♥Rachel

The Gardners of My Soul

[This beautiful print is available in Katie Daisy's Etsy store.]

I have numerous people in my life who bring me happiness – even joy – and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for their presence in my life. My husband is one of them. My parents are two others. I got to spend time this weekend with my husband and my parents and the garden in my soul is blooming with beautiful, vibrant flowers today!

There’s something about holding my husband’s hand, looking at my mother’s beautiful face and feeling my dad’s hug that just simply makes my heart smile. I realized how truly blessed I am and what a treasure it is to know I am loved.

If you are blessed to have people in your life who bring happiness and joy into your life, please do two things today: 1) say a prayer of thanks for them and 2) let them know how much they mean to you.

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Blessings,
♥Rachel

On Birthdays and Aging

First, thanks for your feedback and encouragement on my decision to reduce my number of posts each week. It’s felt good to have a little breathing room in my schedule. :)

I want to wish one of my most faithful readers – my mom – a VERY happy birthday today! Love you so much and am blessed to be your daughter!

Speaking of birthdays, I turned 44 on Tuesday. Does that seem really old to anyone else? I feel like I should be so much smarter, wiser or more mature than I actually am if I’m going to be 44. Grown ups are 44 and I don’t feel grown up. {grin}

Birthdays are different now (in a good way). Those of you with cancer know what I’m talking about. Milestones are no longer saved for turning 40, 50, etc. Each birthday is a milestone, a reason to celebrate. A gift. This is true always, but we become more aware of it after a cancer diagnosis (or some other serious health scare). Sad, but true.

It’s no longer about how many gifts I receive or what my family does for me to celebrate the occasion (although those things are wonderful and I don’t want want to give them up!). It’s not about me being the center of attention (although I am very comfortable being in that position – {grin}). It’s about breathing in the day and acknowledging what an accomplishment the previous year has been. It’s about making it through a year of maintenance treatments without a relapse or major issue. It’s about growing more into the person God created me to be. It’s about learning to thrive in the midst of challenges. It’s about living.

This past year has been calm in comparison to the previous one. I’m on cruise control right now, and that’s where I hope to stay for a looooonng time. But it’s still been a challenge. The emotional side of dealing with cancer has been harder this year than my first. In year one, I was busy “doing” cancer – going to appointments, getting tests and scans, receiving treatment, taking it one day at a time. Now, the reality of having a chronic cancer, while not immediately life threatening, can be tough to wrap my head around at times. I don’t want it. I want to stamp “return to sender” on this cancer and put it in the mail. Too bad that’s not an option,  huh?

In spite of being stuck with a package I didn’t want to receive, life is good. I have people to love and I am reminded often of how much I am loved. God gives me reasons to smile each day. Can I really ask for more than that? Nah.

Speaking of cancer, tomorrow is my 7th maintenance treatment! Only five to go after this one. Oh, yeah!!

So, what’s your perspective on birthdays? Love them? Hate them?

Blessings!
♥Rachel

I’m Making a Few Changes

It’s hard to believe, but this is my 400th blog post. I started writing here in August of 2011 with intent of updating family and friends on my experience going through treatment for follicular lymphoma and it’s kind of grown from there. I found that enjoyed writing and sharing in this space every day and it is such a pleasure hearing from and interacting with so many new friends from all over the world!

I still enjoy writing and sharing and interacting, but maintaining a 5-posts-a-week schedule is growing harder and harder. After working all day at a full-time job and then doing the many other things I need and want to do, I found that I was scrambling to find things to write about so that I could get something worthwhile up here. The quality of what I’ve written has suffered and that’s not fair to you. Your time is precious and I consider it a honor that you stop by here and allow me to share a few minutes of your day.

In order to reclaim some of my sanity (or as Andy Stanley states it, to create more breathing room in my life), I’m going to cut back on how often I post. The only reason I’m even mentioning this “officially” is because you guys are so caring and kind that I know you would be concerned if I started missing days. I’m going to test some different schedules, but as of now, I will most likely be posting on Mondays and Thursdays.

If you want to make sure that you don’t miss one single, riveting, life-changing word I write {wink}, you can sign up for email notifications so that you will receive an email each time I post here. All you have to do is enter your email address in the box in the upper right corner of this page underneath the Follow This Blog heading.

Talk to you soon!
Blessings,
♥Rachel

Weekend Kitchen Adventures + A Cookie Recipe

Historically, I’ve not had many opportunities to say “this was a really good weekend for me in the kitchen.” But this was a really good weekend for me in the kitchen. {grin}

After ten years of marriage, I finally mastered the art of cooking green beans the way my husband likes them. There’s a bit of skill involved in cooking them the country way – the way his grandmother and mother have always made them. He likes them very soft, with at least a hint (or two or three) of bacon grease in them. And, I have to admit, they taste pretty good that way. (But, Savvy Sister, if you’re reading this, I also like them roasted with just a splash of olive oil on them! {grin})

Ya’ll. I have tortured some green beans in the past. I have over salted these things, I have burned them so that they stuck to the bottom of the pan, I have cooked them so long they came out tasting like water, but not at all like green beans or even bacon grease for that matter, I have basically stunk at this one little thing. Until now.

I do believe the Lord blessed me this weekend with a vision of how cook them. {grin} I cooked them exactly that way and, unsolicited, Barry said, “the green beans are good.” And then I tasted them and thought: Hallelujah!! I conquered the green beans! Some day, maybe I’ll tell you my technique, but I’m sure most of you have already perfected this age-old method of cooking vegetables until they don’t taste like vegetables. :)

In addition to the raging success with the green beans (ha!), I made a cake for my boss’ birthday today and it turned out great! It was a hummingbird cake, which I love to eat, but had never made before. I’m happy to say it turned out quite nicely. Happy Birthday, Andrea!! You have blessed my life in so many ways and I am grateful for you, your compassionate heart, and your desire to help those around you excel.

Once I started smelling victory in the kitchen, I had to keep going. So I made some of my stepdaughter’s favorite cookies: No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. They’re so easy to make, and I’ve made them before, but they often turn out a little too dry or don’t set up as firmly as they should, so I’ve tinkered with the original recipe a bit and I think I landed on success because these were just right!

Here’s the recipe for the No Bake cookies. They are great for an after school snack or after dinner treat because they are quick and easy to make. It’s a great recipe for the kids or grandkids to help make, too.

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 4 generous tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups oatmeal (if you don’t use nuts, below, you may want to add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of oatmeal)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Boil sugar, butter, cocoa and milk for at least two minutes, but no longer than three. Remove from heat and add peanut butter stirring until mostly incorporated. Then add the vanilla, oatmeal and nuts and stir well.

Let cool in pan for one to two minutes, but no longer or it will thicken too much.

Drop by spoonful on parchment paper to cool.

We love to eat them with a spoon once they’ve cooled enough to put them in your mouth without scorching your tongue and the roof of your mouth. Don’t you hate it when you do that?? The pain lasts for days as a nagging reminder that you couldn’t wait just a few more minutes for something to cool. It’s a cruel lesson in patience. :)

Blessings!
♥Rachel

I Conquered a Fear + A Chocolate Pie Recipe

I’ve been afraid of something for years. It’s an irrational fear, I know that. Yet, my fear had me frozen and convinced I could not do this. What is it, you ask? What is this thing that’s held me back from fulfilling my destiny?

This.

Pie crust.

Or more specifically, making a pie crust from scratch has been my fear.

As 2012 wound to a close, I was determined to conquer this fear, so I made my mother-in-law’s chocolate meringue pie. Barry loves this pie, but the only time he gets it is when she makes it. So I decided to take a crack at it and see how it would turn out.

You know what?

It turned out fine. Well, it’s not the most beautiful pie crust ever, but it’s not a bad first effort!

My fear was all for nothing. I’m not sure what I was afraid of. That I wouldn’t be able to do it? That it would turn out horribly? That it would be way to difficult and take too much time? None of those things came true. So, I guess that statement that what we fear is usually worse in our minds than in reality is true. It was just a pie crust and I conquered it!

I finished making the whole pie, which involved cooking the chocolate filling from scratch, too, and it also turned out fine. It wouldn’t win any awards in a competition, but it was edible and I’m fine with that. I wasn’t going for perfection here! :)

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Meringue Pie

Pie Crust (adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s Basic Pie Dough)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 Tbs (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 3 Tbs very cold water

Using a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the flat beater, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the four mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles course cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. (Although many dough recipes call for chilling the dough at this point, this dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.) Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch single-crust pie or one 10-inch galette.

Place the dough in a pie pan and press gently into the pan. Trim the edges and use your fingers to make a nice little border. I attempted this and ended up with some kind of abstract design that didn’t resemble a lovely pie crust – but, hey, it still tasted fine.

Bake in a 450° oven for 13-15 minutes, watching to make sure the edges do not burn. The crust should be nice and golden brown when done.

Chocolate Filling and Meringue Topping(from Pat Turner)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 baked 9-inch pastry shell
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

Combine 1 cup sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt in a heavy saucepan; mix well. Combine milk and egg yolks; beat with a wire whisk 1 to 2 minutes or until mixed well. Gradually stir into sugar mixture, mixing well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla, stirring well. Pour into pastry shell; set aside.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed of an electric mixer 1 minute. Gradually add 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). Spread meringue over hot filling, sealing to edge of pastry. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

And the finished product!

This is a very silly example of something I refused to attempt for years for fear I couldn’t do it. Is there something you are afraid of that you could conquer today or this week? Why not just go for it! It’s a new year and it might just be THE year for you to overcome a big or little fear that is standing in your way.

Blessings!
♥Rachel

An Unusual Christmas

As I type this, Christmas is over. I’m finally starting to feel better (can I get an Amen?). It’s storming tonight all over parts of the Southeast – the kind of storms that generate tornadoes. No one wants to face a tornado on Christmas Day.

I can hear it raining from where I sit. I love the rain and even thunderstorms, but not “outbreaks” or “severe weather threats.” I hope it’s not as bad as they are predicting because there are people I love scattered all over the South and I worry about them.

This seems unusual weather for December – for Christmas. But then, this Christmas was unusual for a lot of us. Some of my family spent the better part of the past two weeks, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and are facing more days in the hospital dealing with a serious health crisis. A friend spent Christmas and the days leading up to it in the hospital with her mother who has cancer and virtually no white cells to fight the infection she currently has.

Some had to celebrate Christmas early or will celebrate it late due to family conflicts. People travel hours to spend what feels like minutes with those they love. No one can be in two places at once and in order to accommodate as many people as possible, changes have to be made. Change can be tough to swallow, but as my friend showed, when embraced, change can be just as good as the original plan.

In retail, our Christmases involve some serious quality time spent in malls before and after Christmas Day. Long hours, large crowds, traffic jams gallore, and slightly cranky shoppers can suck the Spirit out of the holiday if we allow it.

We had Christmas with Barry’s girls this morning and then went to work getting ready for tomorrow – the day after Christmas which has grown into a big shopping day for retail businesses. Our eating on Christmas was both wonderful, eh, and startling at the same time. For breakfast, Barry’s mom fixed a big “Nanny’s breakfast” (wonderful) before we opened gifts with the girls. For lunch, out of desperation, we ate at what I will allow to remain nameless fast food establishment (eh). It was my first, and I feel my last visit there. For dinner, we actually found several nice restaurants open for dinner only and shared a huge plate of nachos. They were delicious, but a little on the spicy side (startling); I’m pretty certain my lips actually chapped while I was eating! :)

I say ALL of this to say – is there anything traditional about Christmas anymore or has it evolved into “whatever works” for your family at the time? I’m thinking more and more people have to do the whatever works kind of Christmas. The keys are flexibility, faith, and fortune.

In order to survive holidays like this, you have to be flexible and enjoy whatever time you have with family whenever you can get it. Maybe it’s Christmas Eve or the weekend after or even in January. The day is not important. The people and spirit of the gathering is.

We have to keep faith at the forefront of our holiday. There really is no reason to even buy gifts, cook a meal, and get together with family or friends without the faith to believe that God sent His son to us as a baby in order to save us. Faith is key.

And no matter what happens or doesn’t happen, we have to remember how fortunate we are. If you have one person who loves you and whom you love, if you have food to eat and maybe the smallest of gifts under your tree (if you even bothered to put one up!), if you have a job that requires you work on Christmas – all of these are signs of good fortune, blessings, and things for which we should be grateful.

Blessings,
♥Rachel

It’s Not About the Turkey

If you’re anything like me, you may not have been all that interested in history classes. And as much as I loved my 9th Grade World History teacher, Mrs. Thomas, she didn’t convert me to a history lover.

As I’ve gotten older, though, my interest in history has increased significantly. (I guess that’s a sign that I’m really getting OLD because I thought my parents were really OLD when they would talk about historical or political events or watch documentaries on TV! {grin}) So much of who we are, what we do, what we believe, and how we think stems from what our ancestors did, said, believed, and thought.

Take, for example, Thanksgiving Day. While the origin of our holiday originated with the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians celebrating the first harvest in the Fall of 1621, President George Washington gave the day its first official stamp with his Thanksgiving Proclamation issued in 1789. If you haven’t read it before, it’s word a quick read – I promise it’s not that long. :)

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
New York, 3 October 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

[Source: Library of Congress]

It’s clear the intent of Thanksgiving celebrations was to thank God for the many blessings he has given us throughout the year. But we like to add so much more to the holiday, don’t we? Almost to the point where we forget all about being thankful, right?

We’re grumpy because we’re running late to catch our flight, mad because we forgot an ingredient at the grocery store, frustrated because the children won’t stop climbing all over the furniture, and annoyed because we’re having to listen to Uncle Jim Bob tell that story about wrestling the alligator AGAIN. Oh, but aren’t all those things blessings in and of themselves? The ability to fly, the money for groceries, the children to play, and the precious {if not a little cooky} family members . . . all blessings.

Just remember this week as you are frantically preparing a meal or quickly packing a suitcase to go out of town that it’s not about the turkey & dressing, the cranberry sauce, the pumpkin pie, or even the football games {What? Says who??}. And it’s not even about Black Friday and shopping ’til you drop.

It’s about remembering in our hearts how good God has been to us – yes, even in the midst of difficulty and struggles He has blessed us tremendously – and taking time to stop from our busy lives to say . . . thank you, Lord, we are grateful for everything.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!
♥Rachel