{"id":700,"date":"2009-11-09T10:04:18","date_gmt":"2009-11-09T14:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heidiannie.com\/?p=700"},"modified":"2009-11-09T10:04:18","modified_gmt":"2009-11-09T14:04:18","slug":"thankful-for-the-daughters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/?p=700","title":{"rendered":"Thankful for the daughters…"},"content":{"rendered":"

My husband and I have two wonderful sons.  They are loving and wonderful men and I am thankful for every moment I have with them.  But they are going to be a different post.<\/p>\n

Because, although we don’t have any biological daughters, God has gifted us with many beautiful young women who have fulfilled my desire for daughters.  And I am so very thankful for the love and memories and hopes and joy we have shared through the years.  <\/p>\n

I really started to engage with these women before I was married.  I started with my nieces and have developed deep relationships with some of them.  I love all of my nieces and nephews dearly, but with some of them there was a resonating desire for more than a casual friendship and they pursued the relationship as actively as I did.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth and Allyson  and Meredith fit into this daughter category- because we played together when they were young and have only grown closer as we have matured and taken on adult responsibilities and burdens.  I love these young women- and I admire and love their  real mothers and appreciate the love they have shown in sharing their daughters with me. <\/p>\n

Willow is the daughter of my heart as well as my daughter in law.  I am so VERY thankful for the friendship we share, for the love we have for each other as well as for Luke and Aidan.  I didn’t have much of a relationship with my mother in law.  She was not open or allowed to spend much time with me.                                            <\/p>\n

And although my mother was a wonderful woman who loved the Lord and her family, she was not a good role model for being a mother in law.  So I was worried that I would mess up in this department- but God is so gracious and He has given me the opportunity to become a better woman through these women who have allowed me  a place in their lives.<\/p>\n

I also have been gifted with the friendship of young women that I have mentored through the years.  Jen and Johanna came into my life when they were in their teens and have remained close in many ways, coming to visit when they are in town and staying connected by prayer and Facebook.  <\/p>\n

\"Aidan's<\/a> \"Aidan's<\/a> \"Hot<\/a> \"Meredith<\/a> \"image\"<\/a> \"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love all the women in my life- but these just qualify for a place in the “daughter”<\/p>\n

category.  Thank you Lord for providing for the desires of my heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My husband and I have two wonderful sons.  They are loving and wonderful men and I am thankful for every moment I have with them.  But they are going to be a different post. Because, although we don’t have any … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stepsonthejourney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heidiannie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}