M...is for Mama Mia

This is one of the best movies of all time, in my very humble opinion. The clip is a little long, I know, but the movie will be worth your time.  It has romance, intrigue, and a delicious twist, that will keep you guessing.  Mama Mia is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, and composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who happen to be former members of the band.

This building is the original home of Mama Mia the musical. The Prince Edward Theatre. The musical opened April 6th, 1999 and 5 years later was transferred to the Prince Of Wales Theatre in June of 2004.

Take my advice and rent this musical, it will be well worth your time, that is, if you like this kind of thing. Blessings to you all.

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I feel it not. I believe in God even when He is silent. *Written on a wall in a concentration camp*

© 2012 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

M is for...Miracles

Miracle is defined as…


An effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
A wonder; marvel.

Miracles happen all the time, you just have to look for them. I thought I would share 3 miracles that have happened to me, well 3 that I am aware of anyway.

Miracle #1...

When I was about 17 I was dating a man who had just gotten out of the service. He was quiet and very respectful and his story was one that tugged at my heart strings. He told me of being abandoned as a young child, in and out of foster homes, and finally of being taken in by his grandparents. He said he had been medically discharged from the military because of a tragic and painful incident; he never really went into detail. One day while looking with him through his things we came across a gun. A Black Hand gun. I did not really think much about it at the time. (Much too late I did find out all he had told me was a complete and utter lie, but by then it was too late.)


About a month or so into the relationship things turned dark and scary, with a little violence thrown in to the mix. I got scared and asked my parents to let me join the Job Corp and go to Seattle, Washington. Thankfully they agreed and off I went, while there I got into drinking and drugs, life wasn’t so great there either, it turns out. I tried to get into my courses but to no avail. One day HE called me and told me if I didn’t come home to him he would hurt my family. I went home, saw him once to tell him goodbye forever, and tried to stay out of sight and hopefully out of mind. My friends told me he was looking for me and was saying he wanted to kill me. We all thought this was just talk because I had broken up with him a week or so after coming home. If only it were just talk.


Sitting on the floor watching the news one day, a horrible sight came on the screen, changing my life in ways I never thought possible. Two men had kidnapped, raped and shot two female hitchhikers, execution style. The pictures they showed were of my ex-boyfriend and another gentleman I had met only once. I had been dating a murderer, and he had wanted to kill me, but for the grace of God, it could have been me. Trials and testifying left me scared and scarred for life, and the nightmares took years to disappear completely. I am alive today, and for me it’s a miracle I am here writing this post. There is more to this story and perhaps one day I will share the rest but for now this is all I can put down on paper.


Miracle #2…


When I was in the delivery room with baby #2, Jacob got stuck. His shoulders were just too big, and for some reason I could not push him out. So after about 20 minutes with me pushing with all I had and a nurse pushing my stomach as hard as she dared, out popped Jacob, grey and not breathing. My OBGYN had not arrived yet, so they had to call down to the ER dept. and have a doctor from there come up to labor and delivery stat. They beat on my poor little baby boy with a rubber mallet and whatnot and finally got him to breathe his first tiny labored breath. He was blue and looked very angry in his first picture but oh, so beautiful, my miracle child was alive.


Miracle #3…


During a routine ultrasound for my 4th and final baby the ultrasound technician found 3 abnormalities that indicated that she might have Down syndrome. After calling in the doctor to confirm, we were rescheduled for a second more intense test and told they found the same 3 abnormalities that indeed looked as if she had Down syndrome. My husband and I were heartbroken and went home to try to make sense of what had just happened. One moment we were on cloud nine after finding out we were finally having a baby girl, and the next we are told to be prepared for life with a child with Down syndrome.


We were beside ourselves with fear and grief, but not once did we think to have an abortion as the doctor suggested. For us, any child is a gift from God, no matter what disability she came with. Skip ahead to the day when my doctor told us she was breach and had to be turned manually or taken by C-section. Turning her did not work, so we were rushed into the surgery suite and Molly was born by C-section. The first miraculous words out of my doctor’s mouth were “She’s perfect”. Boy she could scream and let me tell you she had some head of hair. She had dark brown hair that was about 2 inches long already. No wonder I had so much heartburn…lol. When the doctor said the words “She’s perfect” I was sure I had been witness to a real life miracle. She had more than enough evidence to indicate Down syndrome including a small hole in her heart. Two weeks after being born she had a heart test that showed the hole had all but closed up. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!


So yes, I for one believe in miracles, because I can think of 3 that I have been witness to in my very own life. How about you, what miracles have you seen in your own life?


Blessings to you all, and please go check out tossing it out and have a look around at all the other blogs in this wonderful challenge we are in.