Friends

Well.....I have already missed the goal of blogging every day of the year and it is only January.  I am not going to give up though!  I will still forge on and blog every chance I get throughout the year.  It is a good way to get my thoughts down in print and also a good reference for me to go back to on those days when nothing seems to go the way it should go - those days when a pity party seems inevitable.  I will be able to go to my blog and read about all of the ways that I have been blessed.  

I would like to focus this post on how I have been blessed with dear friends.  Some of them I don't get to see that much and others live close by and I get to see them often.  You know, those people in your live that always seem to lift you up by just being around them!  I have been blessed by dear friends such as Barry and Tammy Weaver.  We go to church together at Cornerstone Baptist Church.  We all work in the AWANA program and Tammy and I work in GA's.  It has been and continues to be a blessing to serve our Lord and Savior along side this couple at C.B.C.  There are many other friends that I will mention along the way throughout this year of counting my blessings!  Thank you Lord for blessing me with these dear friends!

Home

To me when I think about home and what the actual word home means, I think about the physical structure or house that one lives in as well as home being the group of people that make up a home - the family unit.  I also think about home as heaven.  I look forward to going to my heavenly home one day!  I am very blessed to have a beautiful house.  The physical structure that I live in was built in 1981.  It is basically a traditional brick ranch style house with three bedrooms.  Cecil and I bought the house in the late part of spring in 1992 and moved in on our 5th wedding anniversary, June 20, 1992.  On December 4th of 1992, we were belssed with a baby boy, our first child, Nathan.  I remember telling Cecil, once we got home from the hospital that I felt like our home was more complete once we had Nathan.  In January of 1995 and again in January of 2003, we were blessed with 2 more children, Kaleb and Rachel that made our home even more complete.  

Rachel's Gingerbread house in which she created during the Christmas season this year '12!
Just thought this would make my post about home/houses more interesting to see!

I feel so blessed to have a physical home/house in which I live: 495 Winding Way in Hartwell, GA.  I am incrediblly blessed to have a home/family unit with my husband and children.  Additionally I am so very blessed to have a heavenly home in heaven to look forward to.

College continued

I have been so blessed to be able to reach my long time goal of finishing up my 6 year degree in education.  As a beginning teacher, many years ago now, I worked with several teachers that were working on graduate work in education.  I decided at that point in time, that one day, I too would finsh my graduate degree in education.  However, at that same time, I was somewhat of a newly wed and Cecil and I were beginning to think about having children.  It took longer to have children that we thought, but I have been blessed with 3 beautiful children.  Nathan, Kaleb, and Rachel's names have already been mentioned in previous blog posts.  Rachel was born 10 years and a little over a month after Nathan.  Basically, I spent the 1990's and early 2000's having babies and toddlers!!!

It was 20 years (from the time I started working on my bachelor's degreee) that I would finally get going on my graduate degree in education at Brenau University www.brenau.edu.  In the fall of 2004, I began working on my master's degree in Early Childhood Education in the Online College at Brenau.  I found out from a co-worker (who was taking classes at Brenau in the Online College) that I could actually earn my degree in an online program at Brenau.  I was so excited.  Since Rachel was a toddler at the time, I spent many nights with her in my lap while completing classwork at the computer.  I was very thrilled that I did not have to leave my kids though.  It was great to be able to work on my degree in this way.  I did take a class on campus during the summer and I had to go on campus to complete my Comprehensive Exams!  Fun!  I completed my MEd in the summer of 2006 (while recovering from surgery!)  One of the questions that I asked my professors was "Will Brenau University ever consider offer the Education Specialist degree program in the Online College?"  The answer was "No, not at this time. You will have to come on campus to work on your EDS."  Well, in the latter part of 2009, I discovered (while looking for a college that offered an EDS in an online format, that Brenau University was offering an EDS program in their Online College and I could start in 2010.  Soon, I was once again taking classes at Brenau University.  This time, I decided to get my EDS in Middle Grades Ed.  I finished the program in the spring of 2011 and chose to walk in the graduation ceremony.  I had reached a goal that I had set for myself nearly 20 years earlier.  I graduated in early May of 2011 from Brenau University, and Nathan, my oldest son, graduated from Hart Co. High School in late May of 2011.  We got to graduate together!!!  

I don't mean to brag on myself and my accomplishments.  I merely want to journal/blog about the ways that I have been blessed.  I have a tendency to focus on the negative things that are happening/have happened in my life.  I am challenging myself to focus on the positivie things (the blessings) rather than the opposite.  God has truely blessed me in so many ways.  My goal in journaling/blogging about my blessings is to help ME to focus on the many, many ways God has/continues to bless me in my life's journey.  

College

I have been blessed to have the opportunity to obtain a college education.  Originally, I began my journey as a college student in Aug. of 1983 at Anderson College (now Anderson Universisty) in Anderson, SC http://www.andersonuniversity.edu.  It is hard to believe that it has been almost 30 years ago that I began that journey.  I absolutely LOVED the college experience (even the classes!!!)  I met some awesome forever friends that were/still such an impact on my life.  Since Anderson College was a junior college 30 years ago, I had to go to another school to obtain my bachelor's degree.  I chose to go to Carson-Newman college http://www.cn.edu and began my journey there in 1985.  CNC would take all of the class credits that I took at Anderson College which was a definate perk!  I did not loose any of my class credits when I transferred.  As a college freshman and sophmore, I was able to do the whole college thing (even living in a dorm on campus) and yet not be so far away from home.  It was a good transition for me since being the oldest child, I was the first one to leave the "nest"!  Later, as a college junior and senior, I was able to experience college 4  hours away from home.  Both experiences were life changing experiences that I am so blessed to have had.  I grew so much as a Christian, a student that was planning on becoming an educator, a friend, etc.  If all of life's experiences for me (from now on) could be as good as those four years (1983-87), I will certainly be blessed.  I did happen to earn an Associates Degree from Anderson College and a Bachelor's Degree from Carson-Newman College.    I also met the man of my dreams during that four year peroid and we were married in June of 1987 and began our journey as husband and wife as well as educators.  

There is much more to be said about my college journey.  I didn't stop with a four year degree.  I chose to go on to earn a Master's Degree and a Specialist Degree in education at Brenau University.  I will spend more time later talking about that part of my college journey in a future blog!  

Socks

Today, I am blessed to have some great socks!!!  Seriously, I have looked in various stores to find just the right kind of socks.  I finally found some that I like the other day at Belks.  I am picky about my socks!  I really would prefer not to wear them and just wear flip flops.  However, there are some shoes that just require socks!  Also, I can't stand for my feet to be cold once it gets cold!  In Georgia, it seems that we can just about have all four seasons in one week.  One day, I am wearing flip flops and the next day boots.  

In between day!

Today is the in between day!  The day between two birthdays in our home!  I metioned in an earlier post that I have 2 January blessings!  Yesterday, my sweet daughter, Rachel turned 10 years old.  Tomorrow, my dear son Kaleb will turn 18 years old.  We have been busy celebrating this weekend!  Rachel had 3 girls over for a spend-the-night party last night (which is why I didn't get to post yesterday!  Busy, busy, busy!)  Tonight, Cecil fixed Kaleb's favorite meal - low country boil with lots of shrimp!  We had grandparents and Uncle Jason to eat with us and enjoy the meal!  We have been blessed with January birthdays to celebrate!  

My mother is a blessing!

My mother is such a blessing to me.  She is always there to lend an ear in the good times and the not so good times.  I am so fortunate to have a loving caring mother.  She is one of the reasons that I decided to start my "Counting My Blessings" blog.  Whenever I get down and start into one of my pity parties, she usually responds by telling me about someone that is going through a trial that I need to be remembering in prayer rather than focusing on my own problems.  I have definately been blessed to have a wonderful mother!

Moses - aka "Mo Kitty"

Blessing Count:  I am so blessed in so many ways.  I guess it is not unusual for a little girls to want an cat is it?  I always wanted a cat as a child.  A few years ago, our youth minister had a cat that he could not longer keep and asked if there was anyone who would be interested in this cat.  It was a male cat that had spent time both indoors and outdoors.  The cat's was named Moses (because he was a wanderer!) At first, Cecil did not go along with the idea of getting the cat.  I think that the kids and I must have made those faces that scream - Please!!!  Tonight as I type this post, Moses (our cat) is cozying up beside me.  Most evenings, he sits in Cecil's lap.  I have often joked with Cecil saying that Moses was his cat rather than mine!!!   I am blessed to have a gray tabby cat names Moses!

Things we often take for granted!

I didn't quite get this blog post in on time to count it as a post for Jan. 7, 2013.  The clock on my computer indicates that it is about 5 minutes past midnight which means that it is officially Jan. 8th!  Today (1/7) has been another migraine day.  It seems like I am having more of those kinds of days than I would prefer.  I really need to start a blog to journal about what I am eating and the things I am doing each day to possibly help me pin down exactly why I am having frequent migraines.  I am certainly blessed to have good doctors and good medicine, even though the migraine medicine often makes me feel groggy or just plain weird!  It does make the headache go away most of the time.  

I want to count the blessings of having my basic needs met for this part of my post.  I have spent the majority of my career as a teacher in the lower grades, specifically in Kindegarten.  It has been many years now since I taught Kindergarten, however, one of the things I remember talking about with my sweet K- Kids was our basic needs.  We discussed that living things have basic needs such as air, water, food, and shelter.  I often take those things for granted until we have a power outage or something happens to our water such as a frozen pipe of plumbing issue.  We live in the city limits which means we have city water and do not have to have a well.  I am very blessed to have my need for each of these things met.  There are many people even in America who struggle to get their basic needs met.  I heard it mentioned on the News tonight (TV) that it has been 70 days since the New Jersey shore and surrounding areas were struck by Super Storm Sandy.  Many people in that area still are not able to get to their homes and clear away the debris caused from the storm.  I guess after hearing that stated on the News, it made me think about those very basic needs that we as humans must have in order to live.  

CBC - SS class

I will need to spend some more time at some point talking more about my three blessings: Nathan, Kaleb, and Rachel.  I am trying to get used to being a blogger!  Also, I need to work on the exact thing that I have always told my students (when I was teaching) about their writing which is to be more descriptive in writing.  Obviously, it takes more effort to think descriptively!  

I am very blessed to be a part of a wonderful church family at Cornerstone Baptist Church.  Specifically, I would like to talk about how blessed I am to be in the Sunday School class that I am in at CBC!  We had a wonderful get together today.  Technically, it was our Christmas get together!  We just couldn't get it in before Christmas.  Today, we went to Gary and Teresa Waters home (who hosted our Christmas party).  Gary and Teresa have been a part of our class for about a year, and they have been such a blessing.  They are such a loving and caring couple.  Kaleb has been working on their farm for a few weeks and he really seems to enjoy the work.  In a short amount of time, the Lord has blessed us with the new and dear friends.  We are so thankful to have them be apart of our class, our church fellowship, AWANA, etc.  Martin Carruth is the teacher in our SS class.  I really appreciate Martin's committment to teaching out class.  He is always prepared and makes a point to make what we are studying applicable to our on lives.  

KWM and RMM - January Babies

January blessing - This time next week, we will be celebrating the 18th birthday of Kaleb William Marett.  The Lord blessed us with my precious son Kaleb on Jan. 13, 1995.  He is an amazing guy.  He is so talented and is hoping to do something with graphic art as he goes on to college next year.

My other January blessing is Rachel Marie Marett.  She was born 7 years and 363 days after Kaleb.  We celebrated Kaleb's 8th birthday at the hospital two days after Rachel's birth.  She was born on January 11, 2003.  In a few days, she will be celebrating her 10th birthday.

It is hard to belive that each of my blessings have grown up so fast.  Back in early 1991, I was told by my doctor that I may not be able to have children because I had endometriosis.  After several procedures and treatment and lots of waiting, the Lord blessed me and Cecil with three precious children in His timing!

NTM - First born

Day 3 of counting my blessings!  I am posting late again!  I didn't almost forget today, I have spent the day with a migraine.  Fun!  

On December 4, 2012, our son Nathan Thomas Marett celebrated his 20th birthday.  It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since his birth!  Wow!  Nathan has definately been a blessing to me.  He was the first person to call me mama!  He has grown into a handsome guy that any mother would be proud of!  Thank you Lord for blessing me with my oldest son Nathan!  

CDM - What a blessing!

I almost forgot that I had set a goal to blog every day during 2013 already.  I am blogging late on day 2 of the new year!  My desire is to create a blog entry each day this year about the many ways I have been blessed.  In other words, I am going to be "counting my blessings" each day this year.  

Today, I would like to talk about an amazing person.  This person has definately been a blessing to me in so many ways.  It was one afternoon long ago that I decided that this guy that I had become acquainted with through mutual friends would be a great guy for my roommate to get to know better.  I don't exactly remember how I managed to gather up the courage to talk to this guy, but I did.  I vaguely remember talking with him while in the cafeteria one evening while eating supper at Anderson College (now Anderson University).  It was at the very end of the spring semester in 1985 and we were all looking forward to the end of the sememster and graduation.  Like I said, I don't exactly remember how the conversation with this guy got started, but I told him that I had a really great friend that I would like for him to meet.  His response to me is the main part that I remember (because he has retold his response to me to others many times over the years since then!)  He said, "I think you need to quit thinking about the guy (left out that name - bad memories) that you like and like me instead."  He totally took me be surprise.  And.... believe it or not, he has been taking me by surprise again and again over the last 27 or so years since.  That wonderful guy's name is Cecil Dan Marett.  And yes, he is my husband for the last 25 years.  WOW!  What a blessing he has been to me and continues to be to me each day.  He is my best friend in the whole world.  He has seen me at my very worst and he still loves me.  

There is much more to the story that I told above that I will probably end up sharing more of it in detail as we go along through the year.  I am so thankful for my dear husband Cecil and he has most definately been a blessing to me.  

Happy 2013

Well, it seems that my good intentions of blogging previously have not been successful.  As I was reflecting over 2012 during the last few days of the year, I thought that perhaps I could make a resolution in the new year to create a blog entry for every day of the year in 2103.  Since I am one of those people who often looks at the glass half empty rather than half full, I decided that I would blog mainly about my blessings in this life.  It seems that in the past, each time I have found myself having a "pity party" and focusing on all of the bad things that are going on in my life, my mother challenges me to try to think on the good things going on or to think about the many ways I have been blessed in her attempt to get me out of the slump.  When I am in the midst of a "pity party", the last thing that I want to do is to focus on good things or the many ways that I have been blessed!  So, I decided that if I took the time to write down my blessings, that the next time I find myself being the life of a "pity party", I could easily go to my own words that are written down and read about the many ways that I have been blessed.

For the past few years during the month of November, I have created post on Facebook (along with many of my friends) sharing things that I am thankful for.  I begin my thankfulness post by sharing about most important people and things in my life.  I am going to begin counting my blessings blog by mentioning the most important person in my life.  I am truely blessed and I have the priviledge of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a nine year old girl.  I know that He will never leave me nor forsake me.  One of the verses that I learned as a child was John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world (Cyndi) that He gave His only Son, that whoever (Cyndi) believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  Jesus is most definately a blessing to me and He has bestowed many blessings on my.  Thank you Jesus!