Blessings

Today is a day we all remember. But I will not be sad. Instead, I will rejoice on this day and will focus on the many blessings in my life... the life I treasure, each and every day. The life I am utterly thankful for, each and every day. 

Today marks not only the anniversary of 9/11, but also our one-year anniversary in our new home! We got the keys to this house on September 11, 2007. I cannot believe a whole year has passed already! 

Do you remember as a child, lying around, daydreaming... daydreaming about what you would do if you won a million dollars? Or wondering how it would feel if Santa actually did bring you a real live pony? Or how you'd feel if the cutest boy in class asked YOU to the dance or if you won a gold medal for ice skating in the Olympics? Did you dream about being Princess Diana as you watched her wedding on television? I did. I was a dreamer. Still am. 

The first time I ever laid eyes on this house, I *KNEW* it was the one I wanted. The perfect dream house! I wanted it so bad I could hardly stand it! I knew it as we drove up the driveway, without ever having to go inside to just know it. I remember walking very slowly through the house and yard, falling more in love with every step, daydreaming about what it would be like to be the luckiest person in the world, to be able to live here. And I remember my blood running cold at the thought that John might not be sharing my emotion, as he was surely looking at it more with his reasonable brain than with his heart. I was terrified that I might not get this house. This lovely, amazing, gorgeous house, surrounded by so many trees and flowers and birds and butterflies. The last time I remember wanting something this badly (and being terrified that it was out of my league and therefore unattainable) was the night I first laid eyes on the man that would become my future husband. :) 

But we got it! Praise the Lord, we got it! And to this day, I still wake up every single morning deeply grateful for this place, our home. It's everything I wanted. Everything I dreamed about in a place to raise my family. I wanted a home where I could sit inside and see nothing but trees out every window. I got it. I wanted a home where I could sit on the back porch with my family and not hear nearby neighbors having another marital dispute. I got it. I wanted a home that I loved so much that I never felt sad to be going back to it after a fabulous vacation. I got it. I wanted a home closer to my mom, dad, niece and cousins Holly and Tiffany. I got it. I got all of that and so much more. 

I love Melissa, Texas. I love the small town charm. I love the school and the school pride. I love my new friends... Kate and Maureen and Buffi and Phyllis, to name a few. I love the thunderstorms adn the wild flowers and the lightening bugs and the cardinals. I just love it. I still walk around in awe, amazed that this is MY home and yard. Afraid that I might wake up and realize it's not... because sometimes it seems too good to be true. 

Yes, today I am happy. Today I am blessed. Today I rejoice. 

I have Today.