A Rather Long Overdue Post

It has been on my mind to do this blog for awhile but I just have not taken the time to do it. I am used to running behind so I might as well blog "behind" also!! This picture is a little old but its the only one I could get my hands on for now!

I have the best husband! See - the first three months of the year are pretty full with "celebrations" around our house. My birthday and his birthday are both in January. We have Valentine's Day and the anniversary of our first date in February and our anniversary is in March. We don't always get to do expensive and elaborate things but we celebrate anyway. So this blog is for my sweetheart!

Dave, happy belated birthday, happy belated Valentine's Day and a small, early happy anniversary!! My life just would not be complete without you! You continually amaze me every single day! First of all, thank you for being sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives! I appreciate your willingness to do the "right" thing even when it is not the "popular" thing! Thank you for allowing God to use you! Thank you for being the spiritual leader of our home!

Thank you for loving our children and accepting each one of them for who they are! Thank you for teaching them to laugh and have fun! Thank you for being the spiritual leader for them! Thank you so much for leading them by example! They look up to you so much and I am so thankful that they have you!

As for me, I could not ask for a better husband! You are my best friend! I have no one that I can talk to like I do you! I am so glad that I have spent the last 22 years with you! I am simply amazed at what God has done for us! I am so thankful for a husband who loves me enough to pray for me and gently guide me into a closer relationship with God! I cannot believe some of the things we have done in our lives and I cannot believe the laughs we have shared!! We have laughed at ourselves more than anything and I would not trade those laughs for anything!! Thanks for loving me and being my very best friend in the world!!!

I hope that you had a fantastic birthday, a wonderful Valentine's Day and I know that I get the privilege of doing another blog about you in a few weeks for our anniversary!!! I love you!!!

An Overdue Blog

I know that this is a few days overdue but it is time to blog about a certain event that happened a few weeks ago. It has taken me awhile to work up the courage to do it but here goes. This is pretty earth-shattering news so that is why it has taken me so long to do it.

A few weeks ago, something happened that really bothered me a lot. It has caused me great concern but I feel like I am dealing with it pretty well. You see, I am now officially old!!! I turned 40 and I can say that I have never been the same! I think my eyes are going bad! I now have more than one grey hair! There is no such thing as losing weight! That is an absolute impossibility! I am sleeping - or not. It takes forever to shut my brain off and when it does I finally get to fall asleep!!! I am having pains in my feet that just never used to happen before!! My back gets sore easier than ever!! Things are just not the same!!

Ok the previous paragraph is pretty much a joke!! Although I did have a birthday and I did turn 40, and I do have grey hair - the rest is not really true!! I did not have a party and that is ok! I really didn't do anything to celebrate at all besides work. I received a really pretty bouquet of flowers from my friends in Florida - and no, like a dummy I did not get a picture. I know - not smart!! A few days later, Dave and I went out to the Olive Garden to celebrate both our birthdays since his is a few days after mine! We really had a great time!!

So, I am now 40 and I guess I am supposed to be an adult! Yea - for most people that is supposed to happen shortly after 18 but for me, let's just say that it takes me longer than normal to do things!! I was hoping to be able to accomplish some things before I turned 40! Some of them I have managed to accomplish and some I haven't. For now, I am planning on just enjoying my life and living it to the fullest!

The Family Update

Well, lets see - what is new at the funny farm? Anyone want to know? Anyone? Anywhere?
Dave has worked steady this week for which we are thankful. This morning he woke up and started getting this nasty cold and junk that is going around here. I am hoping that a day of rest will knock it out pretty quick. By the way, for the record, I had a great Valentine's Day with the best husband in the world!
David made it safely home from his training and wants everyone to know that the desert is not always warm!! I think he got rather cold a time or two!! :)) I know that Christa is really glad to have him home!
Josh is here visiting and so we have been busy planning the wedding. We looked at a place yesterday for the reception so we will see if that works out. We also took advantage of some GREAT sales at Michael's and Hobby Lobby and got some decorations for the wedding. That was pretty exciting! Carrie is pretty sick today so she has spent the day on the couch. She has the next two days off so hopefully that will help her get over hers quickly.
Ashley is surviving school and will be starting her first job this next week. I told her I am looking forward to borrowing money from her in the near future!!! She has started in this afternoon not feeling all that great so there goes number 3 in this family!
Can anyone sense a trend here? Anyone see anything in common? So help me if I get sick I am not going to be a happy patient!!!!!
That's it for now! Who knows? Maybe one of these days I will have something interesting to blog about! For now, sickness is the theme and it is a boring one so I am going to shut up!

A Powerful Word

I have been doing some thinking recently about a lot of tough spots that different people I know are going through.
A horrible wreck that claimed the lives of a precious mother and her two little children.
A little 17 month old girl that has cancer and is very weak - whose parents and other family members must be devastated.
Another little 7 year old girl who passed away very unexpectedly - whose family must be in complete shock.
The hurt of a relationship not going the way that was planned.
The struggle of not knowing where money is coming from for bills in this tough financial time.
The emotional depression that has some looking for any small ray of hope.
The dark spiritual valley that seems to have no end in sight - God feels very far away in the eyes of the one walking through that valley.

We often find ourselves looking for the right words to say to people when they are going through situations like I have mentioned. I mean - how do you pray for a family who has lost a child? What do you say? You can't say that you understand because you don't - unless you have been there. We say that prayer is all we have but praying the right words seems so hard. Of course, its easy for us to pray if we are NOT in any of those situations!

So - what power is in a word?
A word that brings healing when sickness overtakes us.
A word that brings peace when our heart is troubled.
A word that brings comfort when we are overcome with grief.
A word that brings wisdom when we cannot see the end of the valley.
A word that brings light when the darkness will not go away.

That name would be..........Jesus.

There really isn't much else to say now is there?