A Blessed Mother's Day Indeed

I must say that this Mother's Day was the absolute best Mother's Day I've ever had. 

• It didn't involve presents - I told my family I didn't want any and I really didn't.
• My only request was to spend the day together as a family.
• My husband and I enjoyed a leisurely morning sitting out on our patio swing and talking for a good while...something that our usually hectic schedules affords very little time for us to do.
• Yes, we missed church today.  Something rare in our family unless someone is sick or suffering from a MG (we're not going to say it out loud b/c it might trigger one but my good friends know what it stands for.)
• After our leisurely morning we went to Scott's parents home - spending just about the whole day with them.
• We had wonderful food and fellowship, followed by an afternoon of an intense family competition in a friendly game of badmitton.  
• Mr. & Mrs. Denny joined in the fun.  Mr. Denny had a BLAST and had some SERIOUS Badmitton SKILLS!!!  LOL!  I was so glad he was on Brittany and my team:-)
• This Mother's Day was extra special to me because of the good times we had today.  It's been a long time since we've been able to hang out like that as a family.  Thankful for the good days we have with Scott's Dad and Mom.
• With Matt all grown up, there are not many more years in which all of our babies will be able to come home to share in these special times.  We all cherished this day ...especially Scott's Dad.  He had such a blast!

Yes, today was an awesome Mother's Day like no other.  It was the absolute best!  I am blessed and so thankful to be the Mother of our children.   Hope your Mother's Day was filled with blessings and special memories.  Grace and Peace!


In His Love, Cathy

DNA is a Match!!!

The test results came in this morning!

STATEMENT OF RESULTS: Based upon the statical analysis of the above data, it is 3.68 times more likely (or a 78.63553627205% chance) that Tested Simpling 1 (Scott) and Tested Sibling 2 (Denise) are half biological siblings verses not related at all.

NOTE: Any result 50% or greater is desired to show a DNA match. This along with the pictures, Scott's original birth certificate, plus other information has confirmed for us and them that he is in fact their long lost brother.

Scott has officially be reunited with his biological family on his father's side. You can imagine the flurry of phone calls between he and his newly discovered sisters. To say that they are excited and happy is an understatement! To find out, according to his sisters, that 90% of them are believers, followers of Christ, priceless! They said they are very thankful that his adoptive parents gave him a good home AND that they raised him up in Christ!

More on this later! Thank you for your prayers over him, his birth family, and his adoptive family. God has ANSWERED 40+ years of prayer on their behalf and on Scott's behalf. AMAZING!

In His Love, Cathy

A Wonderful Surprise

I'm really into this geneaology thing. I've researched my family tree extensively, one branch going all the way back to late 800 A.D., believe it or not! But what a wonderful surprise that I received last week. Carole B. was online researching her family and discovered that we are related! We have a common ancestor, making us 5th or 6th cousins (or something like that.) That means Brittany and Shelby P. are cousins too! The girls were excited to learn this. Not being from this area, I didn't think I had ANY relatives here, as this side of the family is from Pike County, Alabama. So when I found out Carole and I were related, it felt like a homecoming. And what's the odds that we'd not only end up in the same small community in Florida, but also members of the same church? In addition, I grew up away from extended family so to find out Carole was my distant cousin was very exciting! To be related to Carole and Shelby (and you too, Ron) is a blessing! But to have Carole and Shelby as my sisters in Christ - priceless!

In His Love, Cathy

Britt's Sweet 16 is Today!

Happy birthday to a very special girl - our daughter Brittany turns 16 today! Yes, she was actually born on Halloween at 4:31 a.m.

Brittany has grown into quite the young woman. Not only is she beautiful but her beauty comes from her heart. I admire her sweet, loving spirit, her heartfelt laughs, her generous caring nature, and her positive outlook. I also admire her for her integrity, character, tenacity, and dedication. She's a hard worker, a go getter, and never gives up in the face of a challenge. She's also such a smart young lady. (Scott says she's just like her mamma!)

Brittany is just one of those special people who has an internal 'twinkle in her eye.' A fire within her spirit that never goes out. Something I can't quite describe, but for those who know her, you know what I'm talking about. With Brittany, everything comes from deep within, from her heart. She lives deeply. She's no drama queen. She doesn't complain, she doesn't fuss, she's always thinking of others first. She loves life and she lives it to the fullest. She loves people and enjoys socializing. She's our Social Butterfly! She loves school, her friends, and family. She loves hair, makeup, and fashion. Yes, she is a girly girl! But she also LOVES basketball and is a very aggressive player. A game without her getting hurt or hurting an opponent (accidentally) is highly unusual for Brittany. Her teammates nicknamed her "Beast" a couple of years ago. She found out this week that she made the JV Basketball team. We're so proud of her! Though she is highly competitive and aggressive on the court, she's totally opposite of that off the court. She also really loves her church and youth group! But above all of this, she loves Jesus!

Yes, our baby girl is 16 today! It's been a great 16 years and a joy to be her parents. So, to wrap up our birthday blog to our daughter, I would like to share with the rest of you a song that we sing to her, her royal highness, the Basketball Queen. It's a song that I'm sure will totally embarrass her, so please, feel free to memorize the words and sing it to her anytime:-)

BASKETBALL QUEEN (Sung to the tune of ABBA's "DANCING QUEEN")
She can play, She can drive,
having the time of her life
ooohhh
see that girl, watch that score,
she is the Basketball Queen!

Friday nights at Pace High School
The players are ready the fans are cool
mmm where they play the right game
Getting in the swing
You've come to check out the scene

She's in the back girls locker room
She's focused now, her game face on
She walks out onto the court that night
Hungry for a win
The BEAST is ON!

And when she gets the chance
She is the Basketball Queen
Quick and mean
She's only sweet sixteen!
Basketball Queen
Feel the heat from her team
Oh Yeah
She can shoot
She can drive
She's having the time of her life!
See that girl, watch that score
She is the Basketball Queen!