TRADITIONS

I LOVE Thanksgiving!!!! With Thanksgiving day a few days away,I think about the many things that I have to be thankful for. I am so very thankful for my family-my husband, my 2 sons, my stepdaughter, my daughter-in-law, my parents,sister ,brother and their families,and my inlaws and 2 sister-in-laws and many neices and nephews. I have the BEST family. My 2 sons are graduating from college and I am very proud and thankful.I am thankful for our health and jobs.I am thankful for God showing and teaching me how to grow a stepfamily.With God's guidance and alot of prayer,great things are happening.A few days ago my stepdaughter ask if we were going to do a tradition this year that we started the year she came to live with us-each of us would take a turn picking a movie to all watch together once a week during the month of December.At the age of 15, I wasn't sure she would want to continue this,but this has become a tradition to her.Traditions play a huge role in holidays. When family traditions are continued,they reinforce family identity.For my stepdaughter,this is huge. In stepfamilies you should usually create new traditions slowly while holding on to old ones. My stepdaughter and I are creating some new traditions. We have done 1 bible study together and will be starting another one soon. She has her own Christmas tree in her room to decorate on her own with her choice of ornaments.Holidays can be stressful times,but as a stepmom remember to keep your eyes on Christ and follow his example and this WILL have an impact on your stepchild. Continuing the Journey! Happy Thanksgiving !!

ENCOURAGING MOMENTS

As a stepmom,I try very hard to continue building my relationship with my stepdaughter(Hope).She has been living fulltime with her dad and me for almost 3 years.A few months ago I started having some "encouraging moments".Encouraging moments are things that show me we are getting to know each other better and becoming closer.This kind of close relationship develops with time and ALOT of PRAYER.Some encouraging moments for me are that my stepdaughter loves my blog. She even has my blog on her list of favorites.She also has a photo of me on her facebook page.How cool is that!! She has complimented me on things like my cooking.She has even written me a few personal letters thanking me for things I have done for her. I feel that God is looking at our step family saying "Let me keep showing you how good things can be".Continuing on the Journey!

A NEW DESIGN FOR BLOG

I love my new look for my blog. Thanks so much to HOT bliggity BLOG and Casey for all her work and creativity in the design. It looks FABULOUS!!

BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR STEPCHILD

My stepdaughter and I recently completed a bible study together entitled ' A Young Women's Guide to Making Right Choices' by Elizabeth George.This was an awesome bible study that I would recommend to any mother of a teenage girl. I can't say enough good about it. My stepdaughter and I would do the bible study together weekly and discuss the topic for that week. This led to many interesting conversations. We usually went to Starbucks to have the bible study.We even had a few people stop and comment on what we were doing which I thought was neat.In doing this study,I learned alot about what teenage girls are going through today. Also,I feel this has brought us closer together. As some of you know, Hope's mother passed away several years ago and it is really important for a girl to have a female role model. I pray that I have a heart like God to share with my stepdaughter in life's ups and downs.I know that God is in control, not me and  I know that I am right where he wants me to be.To be honest,when Hope first came to live with me and her dad fulltime, I was unprepared and overwhelmed by such a sudden change and responsibility.  In saying that ,what I have learned is that if God does not change a situation, he will surely change us.