HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!

And we Wait...

This has to be one of the longest days on record. We called the kids at 7:00 their time this morning just to let them know we would be thinking of them and praying for them. They sounded good, but maybe a little stressed? That's to be expected. They are children after all, but they know this is a very important day.

For us, the day is just dragging on and on. Hopefully there will be some direction after today. Everyone is tired. My folks called this morning and wanted me to go to lunch with them, then my Mom and I went to their house for a game of Scrabble. (I won) They are trying to keep me busy and occupied. Thankfully, Rick had a busy day with his work.

For now, we just wait.....

It's a good day

It's a good day...enough said!

Eleven minus One =Ten

This was our first Christmas without the 11th family member present. It's hard for me to even mention the name. I still have such bitter feelings, although I don't think of this person as much as I once did. We drove to California (in record time, I might add) anxious to spend the holidays with our dear family. We spent more than 2 wonderful weeks together, just spending time together and loving each other. I am so grateful to God for the family He has blessed us with. We have 2 wonderful sons, a daughter-in-law who we adore, and 5 of the dearest grandchildren on this Earth. I thank God every day for them. And we thank God for His protecting hand on the ones who are in need of it at this time. I can hardly believe it's been a year now since our lives were changed. Here are a few pictures of our trip.

Not such a good day

This is a really hard day for me. There's nothing I can really put my finger on...just a bad day. I've tried to keep myself busy while hubby is working. I've vacuumed, scrubbed, polished moved furniture to vacuum under even scrubbed the kitchen floor with Murphy's wood soap. Why...? I'm not sure. Something I think is fairly minor...which I won't go into...happened yesterday and it ended up ok, but now it's just like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have to remind myself that I must be "on guard" at all times. Just when I start to think better of a person, I'm reminded over and over again that there is a horrible sin involved here. I must continue to pray for EVERYONE who is affected by it.

There are some other things I should be doing. I should be going through photos that need to be sorted and organized. I just can't bring myself to do that. It's still too hurtful. Our entire family made 2 wonderful trips to Canada right around this time. We have wonderful photos of the trips. I used to love looking at the albums I made of those trips. I spent many hours putting them together and now I can't even open them.

My heart is heavy and I have a lump in my throat that doesn't seem to want to go away. I want to smile and be happy, but I can't let my guard down. I know this makes no sense, but it makes ME feel better just writing it.

For now I lean on Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord have never forsaken those
who seek You.

Happy Days

Here are some pictures of Steve and the kids on their recent camp-out at Montano de Oro. They had a great relaxing time, as you can tell.

Status Quo

There has not been much to write here as of late...you can tell from the title of this little post.

We just talked with Elizabeth and Jacob and they seem to be doing fine for the time being. In fact, they are leaving today (with their Dad of course) for a 3 day camping trip to Montano de Oro near Morro Bay; one of my favorite places. Elizabeth is part of a group from PMC called "Shadow Riders". They are trailoring out their horses and will spend several days riding trails along the beach. Rick is very envious. They will be staying in tents, having cook outs, roasting marshmallows, singing around a campfire...it all sounds wonderful. This will be the first time Steve has had any time off, other than days in court, which shouldn't be counted as time off...so we hope they have a wonderful time.

The next court date is sometime the later part of July.