33 Blessings - #5 My Salvation

My parents are both Christians so I went to church pretty much from the time I was born. The first church I remember attending is First Alliance in Mansfield, OH. We went there from the time I was 18 months until I was 11. At some point when I was very young (about 4) I made the decision to personally trust in Jesus Christ for my salvation. While I am sure that I did not understand all the finer points of doctrine at such a young age, I accepted it with child-like faith. Since that point I have been a constant "work-in-progress." God has been teaching me who He is and who He wants me to be. I believe that my salvation comes from the grace of God which I receive through my faith in the death of Jesus Christ as atonement for the sins which I have committed.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (New International Version)⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

My favorite verse is Ephesians 3:20-21:

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

When it came to choosing a bead to represent my salvation I wanted something really significant. I finally chose to use spacer beads that I would place between all the other beads. This is really symbolic since my salvation impacts every other aspect of my life. 

33 Blessings - #4 My Sister

I have to laugh as I write this post because my sister told me that she checks for updates to my blog like 80 times a day. She knew that she was the next blessing, but she is driving to the place where they are moving and will be on the road when this posts. Sorry I didn't get it up sooner, Rach!

My sister, Rachel, had been a constant companion since the day she was born when I was 3 years 7 months old. I didn't always appreciate that companionship as much as I do now. We were 4 years apart in school. This didn't really lead to closeness growing up since we were rarely in the same school (and explains why I wanted my girls to be born closer together). However our friendship has evolved as we've gotten older. 

 

Rachel and I in 1981(?). Gotta love my bowl haircut!

We fought A LOT when we were younger. I remember we she was little she would climb on my back when I was watching TV and pull my hair. As we got a little older, she would crawl in bed with me at night when she was scared and I would kick her and try to get her to leave. We could get kind of violent with each other! We lived together in an apartment for a year after I finished college and she finished high school. My husband likes to remind me of the time when he and my sister's boyfriend (now husband) had to come over to our apartment to break up a fight between the two of us. Thankfully, we don't fight like that anymore.

Rach & I at my wedding in 2000. She caught the bouquet (we rigged it) and got married the following year.

Rachel and I are different in so many ways. She is outgoing and very social whereas I am more introverted and don't mind being alone. I don't really know how to explain the other differences, but rest assured they are there. However, we are alike in many ways too. I love how I can go to her house or she can come to mine and we can cook in each others' kitchens and instinctively know where everything is because we just think alike in that way. When she was commuting to Akron for college and I was home with two little girls we would talk on the phone for 30 minutes to an hour each day. 

Rach, Mom, & I last December

We support and encourage one another. When my husband and I were going through a very difficult time in our lives (more on that in another post), she dropped everything and came and stayed at our house for a week to help me take care of Sierra. I so appreciate her love and support and humor. Rachel was always the one that would have our whole family in stitches growing up. I think I appreciate that in my Raquel so much because it reminds me of Rachel. I am so thankful for her spunk and fervor, love and laughs, encouragement, and just knowing that she is there! I will miss her when she and her family move in a few weeks, but I know that there will be some long phone calls! Love you sis!

My sis and her family at Easter this year

The bead that represents my sis. I chose pink because it is her favorite color.

33 Blessings - #3 The Konves Family

 My mom's parents were the grandparents that I saw the most growing up. From age 1.5 to almost 12 we lived only about 15 minutes from them. They were the ones that were there for all the school plays and birthday celebrations.

Me with Grandma & Grandpa

My grandma also took care of my sister and me for many years while my parents were at work.  I remember hiding grandma's shoes or her purse when it was time for her to go home because we didn't want her to leave. She used to come to our house early in the morning before our parents left and make us yummy breakfasts. I remember dressing grandpa us with bows from presents at birthdays and Christmas. He was so funny! He loved to whistle and sing and I remember him "cleaning" glasses with his beard. They took me and my cousin to Disney World when we were 5. I remember going to Circus World and getting our faces painted for a parade. My grandparents used to host most of the family dinners. I remember bartering with my cousins for candy after the Easter Egg hunts. I have such wonderful memories of being at their house for holidays, eating grandpa's mashed potatoes and grandma's yummy turkey and dressing. Some of my favorite recipes are ones my grandma makes.

Holiday Dinner circa 1985

Grandpa and Grandma with Uncle Greg

On this side of the family I also have my great grandma Miller. I spent a lot of time with her growing up. She used to babysit us when my parents went out some Friday nights. She also came to church with us. She is still with us at the 95 and the girls and I go visit her nearly every Wednesday at the nursing home. 

Rachel & I with Great Grandma Miller in about 1983

5 Generations - 2007

I don't see my aunt, uncles, cousins as often as I would like, but I have wonderful memories growing up with Brandi, Candie, Julie, Ian, Nick, and Ross.  

Uncle Greg, Aunt Lori, Brandi, Ian, and Ross - 1996

Uncle Doug, Candie holding Antonio, and Nick in 1996

The cousins (minus Candie), Great Grandma, and Grandpa in 2000

The bead that represents the Konves side of my family

33 Blessings - #2 Roelant Family

Well, the flood has dissipated. I am so thankful for Mike and all the equipment he lent us to dry out our home after this happened. Now that life has returned to some kind of normal state I want to get back to my series. If you want to know more about it, read this.

The second blessing that I want to highlight in my life is my dad's side of the family. My grandparents had 16 biological children (no twins or triplets) - 13 boys and 3 girls - in a 23 year span.

My grandparent and their children in 2004

They are all still living except for my Uncle Don who passed away at a few days old. They have 48 grandchildren and 36 (so far) great grandchildren.

My grandparents and their grandchildren and great grandchildren in 2004

  They have been married for 66 years. They were (and still are) farmers who instilled in each of their children the values of faith, family, and hard work. They love each of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren individually and are faithful with birthday cards and Christmas gifts. I know that I am lifted up in prayer often. They are getting older, but still do as much as they can. My grandpa turns 90 next week!

I can remember going up to the farm for a week for several summers. I would help grandpa drive the tractor, work the farm stand selling sweet corn, and help grandma in the kitchen. I have fond memories of playing with my cousins. Not everyone has the privilege of growing up in a large family. It really can be a lot of fun. When I graduated high school two of my cousins did as well and we had a joint graduation party. While I was pregnant in 2003 so were three of my cousins and two of my aunts. I had a joint baby shower with my cousin Debi who gave birth to her daughter just three days after Sierra was born. I am so thankful for the entire Roelant family and the love and support they have given me over the years!

The bead that represents the Roelant Family