What Were We Thinking?!?

What oh what were we all thinking as we

were waiting for our Sam to set the

camera up to take our family pics such

a very short time ago?!? I know one thing

for certain our Jesus knows.  I would so

love those strong hands to be on my 

shoulders right.this.very.second to guide

and protect me as they always have.

Not a second goes by that I do not thank

the Lord for giving our wonderful

husband and Dad to us . . . even if it were

for a much shorter time than we had 

anticipated or wanted.  There are so 

very very many things that I miss about

our Dad, way tooo many to list.

It is a blessing that our good Lord 

quickly makes faint the thoughts of

suffering and pain and replaces them

with only pleasant memories and 

remembrances.  The wind has been taken

out of my sails, but I know that my

Jesus would not give me more than I 

can bear.  I am counting on that.

Another Blessing.

So cuuuuute!!!  We have done TONS and TONS

of reminiscing over the past several days.

We have had fun talking about and looking

through memory books, pictures, and listening

to stories about our Dad.  What a wonderful

man he was.  It is still so very difficult to believe

that he is no longer with us on this Earth, but

we are so excited and grateful that he is no

longer suffering and is with his Jesus!  

Our family is excited that tomorrow we will

have the opportunity to celebrate this

awesome man's life.

What.a.blessing. 

Black Friday Fun.

Sam, Luke, Grandy, and I made a run for

Black Friday!  We had so much fun tramping

through the crowds.  I was excited to 

be out and about after feasting yesterday.

The kids, on the other hand, managed to

munch down after having Thanksgiving

leftovers for breakfast, chocolate pie and

whipped cream for a snack, and a few

pieces of turkey on their way out the door!!

*I am thankful for my people who stick

with me, it is not easy!

*I am grateful that, even though we

are in difficult circumstances, we

still have a spirit of levity in the air!

*I am thankful for those who are

praying without ceasing.

*I am thankful that their are 

advanced medications . . . although

the side effects are tremendous!

*I am thankful that, even though

our life changes each and everyday,

we are able to work through 

anything TOGETHER!

*I am thankful for memories.

While it is difficult to remember my

old life, maybe that is the way that

God wants it.  I try really hard to 

remember when we all jumped in

the car on a whim.  Went on long

trips together and made decisions 

off the cuff.  It is difficult to remember

some of them thinking that they may

never happen ever ever again.

One thing I know for sure, "If He

brings you to it, He will bring you

through it".  I am counting on that!

Summer 2012.

This time of year, I always begin to

get so excited for our new school year.

As I was preparing for next school 

year today, I began to think what a

fun . . . and different summer we have

had this year.  It all seems like a 

whirlwind in many respects and

cannot believe that we will settle

back into our fall routine within the

next couple of weeks.  It seems crazy 

that I will just have Luke with me

as the rest of the guys are all registered

for their college courses and will be

super busy with schedules of their

own.

Over the summer we have:

*accomplished a MAJOR move

*began to settled in at our

new church

*gotten reaccustomed to 100* plus

temperatures

*make new friends and cherish

old friendships

*began a clinical trial

*spent a wonderful week at

the beach

*said a tearful goodbye to

our Grampa

*missed, missing our Grampa

*lots of cozy days in our new

home being with our Dad

*tons of laughs as a family

*tears were included as we

began to face difficult facts

and harsh reality

*movies

*tons of chocolate chip cookies

*Sunday dinners

*Family Fridays

*camps

*golf

*swimming

It is hard to say goodbye to summer,

but I do love the fall and I love,

love, love my homeschooling and 

am so grateful that I have had the

opportunity to homeschool all of our

boys for a bazillion years.