This week, I wanted to share with you one of Mom’s article from Home Life Magazine.  She only wrote for Home Life for a couple of years, but I love having these magazines to look back at and enjoy.

Here is one I have from October, 1994.

When Mom wrote for our local newspaper, she took the pictures for her article herself.  However, when she began writing for Home Life Magazine, they had a cook make Mom’s recipes and a photographer take pictures of them.

Sometimes Mom liked the way the pictures turned out and sometimes she didn’t.  She would say, “That’s not what my recipe was supposed to look like!”  It was the perfectionist side of her.  A characteristic I may have inherited from her. (wink)  :)

I love how Mom began most of her articles with a personal story about our family or friends.  She also always included a “Food For Thought” at the end of each article.  She loved using her articles to honor those she loved and treasured in her life, like her sweet Mother-in-Law (Granny), that she wrote about in this one.

I hope you enjoy!

Here is the article as it appeared in the magazine….

I separated the article into smaller sections so you could see it a little bit better…

Have a blessed day!

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(If you are new to my blog, welcome!  Just wanted to let you know that each Wednesday, I write a post about my mom who passed away 11 months ago.  These posts are a way for me to share with others what a wonderful person my mother was, and also to preserve memories of her for myself, my children, and her family.)

First of all, I want to thank you for being so understanding about my Wednesdays with Wanda post last week.  I know that Mom would have been proud of me for listening to her and getting the sleep I needed.

Your comments were precious and I treasured every one!  Thank you.

I know my sister is going to kill me for posting this family picture!  :)

I love this picture because I am wearing my “Laura Ingalls” dress.  At least that’s what I called it.  I was a huge fan of “Little House on the Prairie.”  My mom made me that dress.  She was an amazing seamstress.  I loved the puffy sleeves and the way the skirt flew out when I spun around.

I shared this picture because I wanted you to see the precious family I grew up in.  I had two of the best parents a girl could ever dream of, a beautiful sister that I wanted to be just like, and a pesky little brother that was the apple of Mom’s eye!  :)

My sister is four years older than me, so when I showed up in the family, I was like Cyndi’s very own “real” baby doll.  We girls had a lot of fun together.

When I was 7 months old, Mom unexpectedly got pregnant with my brother, Blake.  Of course, she was excited about having another child, but she felt so guilty about me still being so young.  She used to tell me that she always worried that I wouldn’t get the attention I needed as a baby because my  new baby brother would require so much attention too.

However, Mom was always proud to tell me that she rocked me to sleep every night!  She never wanted to deny me of those special moments just because there was a younger baby in the house.

Mom was so cute.  She always worried about me suffering from the “middle child” syndrome.  She never wanted me to feel like I was stuck somewhere in the middle.

So Mom came up with something to make me feel extra special…

She would always call me her “Magic Link”.

She would explain to me that there where 5 people in our family…

Dad, Cyndi, Traci, Blake, Mom.

See my name there in the middle?

Mom would hold her fingers together like this…

And then she would say…

“Traci, you are the “Magic Link” in our family.  You are right in the middle and you hold us all together.  If we didn’t have you in the family, we would fall apart.  You are very important to our family!”

I cannot tell you how special that made me feel or how many times I had the privilege of hearing  Mom say that.

I truly did feel important.

The best part is that Mom didn’t just tell me that as a kid, she continued to call me her “Magic Link” even up to her passing.

Last week, I found some cards that Mom had sent me since I have been married.  I have always told you how much Mom loved writing notes to the people she loved.  I love how Mom always wrote us notes “just because”.  We didn’t hear how much she loved us just on our birthdays or special occasions.  But she made sure we felt her love all year round!

I have a folder that I keep special mementos in, and my Mom’s cards were in there.  I can just feel Mom’s love oozing out all over me when I read them even now.  I am so thankful for my mom’s letters!

Eight years ago, I owned  my own day care called, “Cross My Heart Preschool and Child Care Center”.  That is what Mom is referring to in these letters.

Notice how Mom included her favorite verse, John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid.”

This verse was her life-line during her battle with cancer.

Here is another card I found…

See why I miss my mom so much?!   Her words brought me comfort, encouragement, blessings, joy, guidance and so much more.

That is why her voice is still so strong in my life even now.   I have years and years worth of Mom’s beautiful words stored deep within my heart (and even on paper).

Our words are so powerful aren’t they?

I pray that you and I both will use our words to encourage and strengthen those around us each day.  It doesn’t always come naturally to me.  I am praying that the Lord would fill my mouth with His goodness each day.  I want my words to be a blessing to others.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV)

Thank you for stopping by and letting me share the thoughts Beneath My Heart!

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It is 11:01 p.m. on Tuesday night, and I am just sitting down to do my Wednesday with Wanda post for tomorrow.

It’s not because I have procrastinated.  It’s because this is the first time I have had today to sit down and write.

Yesterday, I worked at my job from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, dropped my youngest son off at my sister’s house, drove 40 minutes home, changed clothes and freshened up in 15 minutes, then hustled out the door for my 3 oldest sons’ Open House at school from 5:30-7:00 pm.

We had to go to the Open House so the boys could meet their new teachers, but we also had to be there because I had to meet the parents and students of the third grade classroom that I will be teaching!

Yep.  I am going to be a long-term sub (14 weeks) for a third grade class at the school that I used to teach at 11 years ago.

It was very exciting for me to be back in the classroom!

On the way home, we stopped at Lowe’s to get the handles for the table I was refinishing for the back patio.

I worked on that table until after 9:00 pm and then it took me over an hour to post about it.

This morning, I had to be at work at 7:30 am, which means I had to leave the house before 7:00 am, and I didn’t get off until 7:30 p.m.

I had to pick my boys up from my sister’s house, and it was almost 9:00 p.m. before we got home.

Of course, my stinky boys all needed to take showers before bedtime,   :)  so it was around 9:30 before everyone got in bed.

Then I spent over an hour filling out over 30 pieces of paperwork that the boys needed for school tomorrow.  Tomorrow is their first day of school!  And it will be my first day in my third grade classroom.

All the while, I am worrying about how I am going to have the energy to post for Wednesdays with Wanda.

I already know what I want to post about, but I would be up another hour if I did it.

Since Mom passed away almost a year ago, I have written about her every Wednesday.  Not posting about her makes me feel guilty.  I don’t want to let Mom down, or my readers down.

But I know the truth …Mom would never want me to feel guilty.

As I sat down at this computer, tears began to fill my eyes, and I could hear my sweet mother’s voice saying, “Traci, honey, you are exhausted.  Don’t you worry about writing about me.  Go to bed, sweetie, get your rest.  I want you to have a good day tomorrow.”

For those of you who know my mom personally, I know you can hear her saying those exact words too.

Mom always knows best.

So I am going to listen to my mama and go to bed.

I hope you understand.

May each of you who took the time to read these words find God’s richest blessings upon you today.

All my love,

Traci

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First of all, I want to thank you for the sweet comments and emails about my Wednesday with Wanda post last week about “worries”.

It seems that is a topic we all struggle with, and I appreciate all of your prayers so much!  And I am praying for you as well!

I will have to say that your encouraging words have really helped me to keep my focus on God this past week and not my worries.  So thank you.

This week is a bittersweet week for our family.

Today marks my sister, Cyndi’s, first birthday without Mom.

Mom  had a way of making birthdays extra special…tarting off with that early morning phone call, “Happy Birthday, sweetie!”, that we all treasured so much.

Please pray for Cyndi today.  If you want, you can visit her at her blog, cyndispivey.com, and tell her Happy Birthday or leave an encouraging comment, or just send her a tweet at @walkinhisgrace.  I know it would mean so much!

This week is also significant because Friday marks the one year anniversary of the day that we found out Mom had cancer.

My cousin, Darrin, is the head coach of the University of South Carolina basketball team (yes, I am bragging!) and was in town, and we were having a huge family reunion on my dad’s side of the family at my house that night.

My family had helped me get my house ready for the reunion (including Mom planting flowers by my front steps), and it was a great celebration!  You can read about it HERE.

Late that afternoon, Mom had an appointment with a new doctor to see if she could find out why her face was swelling and she was so sick.  After the appointment, she was planning on going back home because she wasn’t feeling well enough to join us at the reunion.

She insisted that we all stay at the reunion and not go to the doctor with her.

Little did we know that the doctor would feel a mass in Mom’s stomach and tell her before she left the office that he thought she had cancer.

My sister called Mom during the reunion to check on her, and Mom said she was fine and would talk to us later.

Mom didn’t want to ruin our evening.  She had decided to tell us after the reunion was over.

I often wonder what was going through Mom’s head during those hours she sat alone at her house while we were at the reunion.  She had just been given devastating news, and I know her heart must have been heavy.  But there is not doubt she was talking it over with her heavenly Father!

About 10:00 that night, after the reunion, I called Mom on the phone to tell her how great everything was.  It was the first big “event” I had ever hosted at my house, and she was so excited for me.  Dad was on his way home from the reunion as Mom and I talked.  I was smiling from ear to ear with excitement as I told Mom all of the details from the evening.  And she listened, and I could hear her smiling for me on the other end of the line.  She listened and listened for a good 10 minutes…I had a lot to share!  :)

Then she told me about her doctor’s appointment and what the doctor had said.

My heart sunk.

But in true Wanda fashion, she said she waited until after the reunion to tell me  because she didn’t want to ruin my special evening.

Always unselfish.  Always thinking of others.  Always strong.

That’s my mom.

I got off the phone and told my husband the news.  I immediately began looking up information about cancer on the internet and Mom’s symptom’s came flooding before my eyes.

I knew it was bad.

I cried myself to sleep.

Mom went the next day for a CT scan and the bad news was confirmed.  Mom had stage IV gastric cancer.    Our lives were never the same.

I can’t believe it’s been a year.

I have experienced sadness and emotions like I have never known before.

And at the same time, I have seen God’s goodness and sovereignty like I have never seen before.

Some of you are facing “life changing” situations right now.  You may feel scared, hopeless, confused, angry, or sad.

Please remember this,

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

Put your trust in Him today.

Blessings,

Traci

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