As mothers and women in the world it's so easy for us to get caught up in the busy busy and we forget why exactly we are icing 100 cupcakes at 10 at night...or scrubbing every surface in the house covered with crayons. Love...we do this out of love! or atleast we should! sometimes we can try and "do it all" for the praise of others but that will not bring us real happiness..it will make all of our to-do lists superficial! I love cooking and decorating and planning parties down to every last detail...but i try and do all of these things with those i love in mind..... and to realize that these things are not what define me but are things i can do to put a smile on someone's face or take care of someone i love. A great way to have this mindset while being a busy mama..is to stop for a minute and get grounded...read something bigger than yourself! soo....
I started a new blog feature....a weekly series of uplifting and inspirational true stories to renew your heart! To motivate you in your daily life and to encourage you in whatever task you have going on. I hope you enjoy it!
This story is very special to me because luci is a family friend of ours...when i left home after high school to do a year of volunteer work, she was living in atlanta and lived in my room! my mom was her mom away from home. she is an amazing woman and her story is incredible.
"Through Grace, there is Hope."
By Luci Gray.
*We were only three months married when I saw the plus sign on the stick. It was joyful and frightening, but mostly pure elation. Two months into our pregnancy we were at our first doctor’s appointment and we were awe struck by the news. Twins, who are conjoined sharing one heart and one percent chance of survival. To describe what my husband and I felt like in that moment is impossible – devastating. We spent the next few days crying on the floor, holding each other, seeking answers, questioning ourselves, “God, why us?”; and then we prayed.
It was no sooner did we ask, did we receive. We picked each other up off the floor and realized our love for them had not changed. It didn’t matter what form they came in or what their chances were, they were our daughters. We would storm heaven with as many prayers our hearts could say to give our daughters a chance at life.
For the next 134 days until Hope and Grace were born, we continued to carry our cross of being uncertain what the future held for our little babies. We took it one day at a time and one prayer at a time. Each day brought new hope as we grew closer to them being born. We still cried often together, when we were scared of what our future held; but those days were less often than the ones where we laughed and felt overjoyed to feel them kick, to see them grow in our weekly ultrasounds and hear their heart beat...
On June 23, 2009 I gave birth to Hope Gerard and Grace Cecilia.
They lived inour loving embrace for 46 minutes. They were born kissing and hugging each other. Within minutes my husband baptized each one with their eyes wide open – Hope looking at Chris, Grace looking at me. After they were baptized, Chris held them until they took their very last breath and their one precious heart beat its last thump.
Hope and Grace’s lives were a message to us all. For some it was to thank God for the health of their children and their pregnancies. For others it was a reminder of what being pro-life was all about. But the message I received is that through God’s Grace there is Hope. I could not have taken one step forward, if it were not for my prayers and those praying for us.
So many times in our life we lose sight of what we are truly trying to obtain, and that is our saintlyhood in heaven, with God. Through the birth of my twin daughter’s I realized more than ever that I am a broken human being. I am full of clutter in my heart and polution in my brain. I have learned that it is only through this beautiful suffering of the loss of my “little saints” that I have learned to stay within God’s grace, so that I am able to obtain what I hope for - to be with them.
I am daily reminded of God’s goodness when I think of what he has done for me through my daughters, and my husband. I am completely unworthy of this gift to have my first two children enter into heaven and be a part of the holy saints and angels in God’s home. And if ever I am off the beaten path or forgetful of where
I should be, I can just say my girls’ names to be guided back to the right direction, “through Grace, there is Hope - there is Heaven”.
*We ran this story in a previous newsletter, but due to the profound effect it had on our readers, we chose to share it with our new readers in our premier print issue. We also excitedly share the beautiful news that God has blessed Luci with another precious, little life, due this August! www.klarefamily.blogspot.com article via radiant
THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED! I'LL BE ANNOUNCING THE WINNER SOON. 
Perfect as a gift for yourself..or a baby shower present for the hot mama!
Give the blanqi to your sister, wife, daughter or friend!
HOW TO ENTER:1. For one entry: become a follower (via google connect..top right) and leave a comment saying who would get the blanqi!! you? your sister? a friend??
2. For two entries: leave a link in the above mentioned comment (or in a separate comment) to a post on your blog mentioning the busy budgeting mama. you can use any of the graphics or logo from my blog in your post. I will add those who do this to my "featured" blog roll above..
(promo for your blog!!)
The giveaway will end May 12th!
We will use random.org to select the winner.
