It's a Beeautiful Life: Thankful.

What a great week I have had filled with; visitors, a trip, my Birthday, feeling loved, and most of all being thankful for my life! Tuesday was a great day of baking and starting our small group at church, Wednesday I had release time in the morning a lunch date and youth group that night. Thursday JC and I headed to Bemidji (a town two hours away) for a day to celebrate my Birthday & to visit one of the students going to school there, we ran into a snow storm on our way there! It was fun and nice to have time away from the falls for just JC and I to spend time together, our time in the car was filled with conversation on what our future may hold. We are in the middle of another transition point in our life where we just don't know where God will place us, all we can do is pray about it and know that God will provide for us and place us just where we need to be! Friday Shannon and the four kids got here to stay for a couple of days, it was wonderful to have them here with us for awhile and to get my fill of hugs and kisses from the kids! This weekend has flown by and I was thankful to be able to take a nap when I got home from church, and was able to sit down with a yummy mug of hot chocolate and reflect of this past week.

Last Friday I received a phone call from my Dad telling me that my cousin Ben's (who lives in Alaska) wife Bethany had passed away from a seizure, she was only 22 years old and was holding her 3 week old baby girl coralie when she passed away. BAM! This news hit me like a brick and I was so sad (still am) about this horrible news. Ben has been on my mind every day since I received this news, I know what it is like to lose a child, and to lose my Mom but I have no idea what it is like to lose your partner in life and the love of your life. All I can do is pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding for Ben and pray for baby Coralie and know that God had/has a purpose for this part of their story even though we may never know what that purpose is in this life time.

Hearing about this tragic event left me feeling very thankful for my life and my time here on earth, and it makes me that much more thankful for the beginning of my 27th year of life! Makes me thankful for my family and friends who love me and being able to share in life with them through tragedy and triumph! I am praying for more triumph and joy this coming year because to be honest I need a little (or loooong) break from the tragedy part. When you hear about tragedy in other people's lives it truly makes you thankful for your life and makes you think twice about the blessings in your own life.

This week promises to be another busy one with a pie making class on Tuesday, Release time/ youth group on Wednesday & a quick trip down to the cities to see Daddy and Mary. I hope you all have a blessed week!

XOXO Bee