Happy Birthday Ali

On July 24, 1990 Ali Thomas Imad Jaber was born. It was one of the wonderful days of my life! There is nothing I cherish more than my family and he was the beginning of a wonderful adventure ~ Life as a Mom :) It is by far my favorite, and it is not a job it is a Lifelong Adventure. A journey with Hills and Valley's and I would not have wished to miss one of them! This Saturday, July 24th will be his 20th birthday...He is leaving his teenage years and I could not be prouder of him. I look at him and know that he is a good man! I thought I would put a few photos to recollect~








































I am so proud to call him son!

Happy Birthday, Ali!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

How Many Lives Do You Touch?

Last night we were at our second Wake in less than a week. Our very dear friend that lost his son last week, lost his uncle this week. Imad and I knew his uncle, Imad knew him much better than I did though.

We paid our respects to the family and sat down to reflect and pray. As I sat in the pew I thought first about the guest book that we had signed. Would his children know who we were when they saw our name? Probably not...But what they would know, was that he touched our lives. That he meant something to us and that we had come to show our respect for him to them. Which then made me think how many lives do I touch? Some day I shall pass too. My Headstone would have my name, the date I was born and the date I died. In between those dates there will be a dash symbol. My birth and death are not nearly as important as my dash. That is my life and how I lived it. My beginning, middle and end.

Never take life for granted it is a true gift. Enjoy everyday you have doing something you enjoy. It doesn't have to be a major trip it could be something small. It could be a call to your mother to catch up, a trip to the mall or sitting at the lake for lunch. I used to say to my son "I Love You More Than Life", after we lost our daughter, it made me re-think that statement. I now say "I Love You as Much as Life!"
Live, Laugh and Love!!!

Live, Laugh, Love...A LOT!!!

My Family

First let me say I love them all so much! My family is my world,so saying that means things in my life can sometimes be complicated, exhausting, stressful and yet at the end of the day I wouldn't want anyone else to be my family!

I married the most amazing man anyone could wish for and I am so blessed to have him. He is the love of my life my soul mate. I have often spoke of the my mother and father in-law and the wonderful people they are. I will never be able to thank them enough for raising this amazing man I married. I will be forever indebted to them. They took me into their family and loved me like I was their daughter never making me feel anything less! I adore them :) Yesterday we made our usual Semi-monthly call to them. I was so excited to be calling as Ali was home and not working which would make their day because they would finally get to talk to him! Just to hear the kids voices brings both of them such joy. My mother in-law did get to talk to both Ali and Jasmine and it did brighten her day. However, when Imad asked to speak to his dad she had to tell us he cannot talk. He is very sick, there is a bad infection in his lungs that he is fighting. What made me the most worried was when i asked what was wrong she said, "he's tired, he tired"... That made me worry more than anything to know my father in-law the little pistol is to know he doesn't get tired! He is always on the go! In the past couple of years we have actually had to worry about him because he accepts no limits! He got stung by a scorpion while drying wheat on the roof of a house and he has fallen out of a tree TWICE picking olives! He doesn't get tired!!! I am very worried.....I pray he heals and we get to see him again sooner than later, my husband needs that! So for now we wait for information praying that we get much needed good news!

God Does Not Make Mistakes

On Friday of last week we went to a funeral. It was one of the hardest things I have done in a long time. Some very dear friends of ours were mourning the loss of their very sweet son. He was a beautiful young man that adored his family. He was born with Downs Syndrome but I don't think it was a handicapp in many ways. Obviously he was delayed in most areas of his life but the most important things in life he was ahead of most! Family, friends, doctors, nurses and classmates all were in attendance. It was a true testament to the life he lived and shared with everyone that came in touch with him. He brought out the best in everyone that knew him! He taught love and laughter :)



The Minister was giving the Eulogy and spoke of the handicapp that this young man was born with. He reminded us that God does not make mistakes! That we all have a mission on this earth. It made me think of our Briana. How perfect she was, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. Listening to him reassured me that she was chosen. No mistakes happened the day she died. NONE!!! I believe God knew how much we loved her and that we were chosen to give our precious angel her wings.(I know mom it's a figure of speach she does not have wings, no angel does, lol!) Without the gift of life, body and spirit being united she could not be resurrected. She could not serve the Lord. I will forever miss her but I will be FOREVER Grateful to our Heavenly Father for loving me and trusting me with one of his special Angels!



In listening to him I also thought of my brother. I thought of the sweet heart he has and how much I love and miss him. It reminded me how things could be so much worse than they are right now. He is a good man that made some bad decisions. Everyone deserves forgivness. I will wait patiently for the day he is home. I pray that he has the strength to go the distance one step at a time. I know this is the beginning of a long journey with him and his family. I will walk with them one step at a time. My brother has made some mistakes along the way but he is not a mistake! GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES!!!