A Look Back at My 2011

Honestly I am the person that does not like to rush time by. I know that life is short, but I am ready to kick 2011 to the past. I've been waiting for a long time to see this year go. Perhaps this has been the most challenging year for me, but I also am going to note the positives.

January:
Another birthday came and went for me. I really didn't look forward to ringing in the new year knowing what would lie ahead.

February:
GEM celebrated her 4th birthday! Sean and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day. 3 days later I lost my grandmother and drove myself to GA.

March:
EMM celebrated her 9th birthday! I was blessed to go to Hearts at Home with friends for the 3rd time.

April:
We had bad flooding here with much of downtown submerged. We celebrated the resurrection of our Savior!

May:
Mother's Day was rough. :( School kept me really busy though. EMM sang her first solo in the spring program! She also did her first big project on penguins for Academic Night!

June:
School's out!! HEM and I went with my school through American Christian Tours to Washington, DC. It was incredible (and hot!). My husband celebrated another birthday!

July:
I directed my last Vacation Bible School (for now). My husband left for Ft. Rucker for his Warrant Officer school.

August:
My husband graduated at Ft. Rucker! The girls and I (and Sean's mom) were able to go and I even got to participate in the pinning ceremony. Another school year began with a wonderful class!

September:
HEM celebrated her 13th birthday! HEM began participating in marching band and volleyball.

October:
I attended the Emmaus 75th reunion and enjoyed seeing friends from many years ago! I said good-bye to my mentor as she and her husband moved (but not too far).

November:
My grandmother would have been 86 on the 7th. Our family enjoyed Thanksgiving with my Dubuque family this year.

December:
Shopping, Christmas programs, and lots of yummy treats! Blessed with Christmas, but sad that for the first time in my life I could not tell my grandmother 'merry Christmas'. After being unemployed for a while, my dad got a job!

I look forward to what 2012 will bring for me and my family. There will still be some hard times ahead, but I trust the Lord will bring me through it and give me back some of the happiness I've lost. Thanks to all my family and friends that have helped me through 2011! Many blessings to all of you and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmas Preview

I've rarely had time to get on my blog since returning to work. It's just not easy to work full time and still be a wife and mother. It does teach me more appreciation of our time together at home!

An update on my grandmother:
She is still with us. She is in hospice and still at home. She sounds good on the phone, but she is getting very weak. We feel the end is near, but only God knows her appointed hour. Our family is loading up in a few weeks to be with her for Christmas (but shhhh....it's a surprise for her).

Fall will soon be ending as winter takes over. The leaves have almost completed their shedding process and the temperatures continue decreasing with no promise of "one more" warm day. The stores have already decorated for Christmas neglecting Thanksgiving in the process and even a local radio station is playing 24/7 Christmas music. The kids are excited at the thought of beautiful dresses, Christmas carols, new toys, and time with family. I'm trying to share in that with them, but at times am held back knowing there will be no more for my Grandmother. Actually I feel like I'm trying to pray her through this Christmas!

I'm reminded everywhere I go that God is good ALL the TIME!! We all have to face our mortality yet I am rejoicing as I know that I have an immortal soul and spirit. As for my grandmother, regardless of when Jesus calls her home I can rest assured knowing I will see her again.

Now to figure out what people want for Christmas!! I think I'll wait till after Thanksgiving! :P

New beginnings...

I've never gone this long without posting a blog. As much as I enjoy having a blog, I find it hard to have time to get it done!

So what has been happening? Well, I've spent the last three weeks readjusting to life in the working world again. I am enjoying being in the classroom again, but it is very tiring. It does make me appreciate my evenings with my family and I find myself getting most of my chores done on weekends. The girls are really enjoying the change of schooling. It's a big transition going from homeschooling back into an actual classroom not run by mom. I do still enjoy being very actively involved in their schooling still, especially as I have the two younger ones with me where I teach. The oldest one gets to be with her dad, so I'm very grateful that we are still able to be a huge part of their education.

Hard to believe summer is almost at an end, but I do love fall! We really didn't do anything exciting this summer. We held off on vacations and trips for a couple of reasons this year. We ended up replacing our roof on our house which turned into a bigger job than we originally expected! Our house was built in 1921 and has been wonderfully maintained with various remodels through the years. We did not expect, however, to have the original shingles still on our house under two more labels. I guess previous owners wanted to do the job themselves. :( We are thankful that we have a beautiful new roof. We also held off because of my grandmother. Praise God she is still with us, but she is in a downhill battle with cancer. We wanted to be available in case we had to leave quickly. My family is in the South about 17 hours from where we live. I know in my heart she is dying a little more each day, but I am being thankful for every moment she continues to go on and for the impacts she is having on others.

My sweet little GEM is so exhausted after a day of preschool. She comes home and lays on the couch or floor. It's rather funny. I spend other time going over homework with the other two. HEM is making friends well and getting very involved at her school. EMM is also making friends and adjusting better than I thought she would (she's my dramatic, emotional one).

I don't feel I live a very exciting life, but it is still a very blessed life. I hope to have more to post in the future.

A Change is Coming...

Today was a big day! Unfortunately my sweet EMM was sick all day. She was in bed or on the couch most of the day. She's also my most dramatic child, so that didn't allow me to leave her side much. She wanted me with her every time she was in the bathroom feeling nauseated so at one point I was even doing my toes. My 11 year old, HEM, wanted to know what I was doing and I told her I was multitasking since I couldn't leave the bathroom. Fortunately she seems to be on the mend this evening. She's been taking dance for 4 years and this is the first time she has ever missed a class.

But that wasn't the big moment of my day! Last week I took the 2 older girls to the Christian school where I use to teach for standardized testing. I've done it for 3 years now just for my own records. EMM absolutely loved being there and stayed for recess every day. (She almost cried at the thought of leaving before recess!) GEM, who is only 3, wanted to know where her room was and why she couldn't play with the "little people". The principal, whom I love dearly, was asking if I wanted to come back. In the past I have always said no, but this time I wasn't sure. This last year has been really hard for our family financially. God has been good and gotten us through every time though. I spent a lot of time praying and asking God for guidance. I spoke with my husband at great length about it. Every day I went back to the school the door just seemed to be open more and more with clear signs in front of me. This weekend we made a final decision. Today I called the principal and accepted the offer! I feel really great about it! I love the school and I will still be with EMM and GEM throughout the day. We've been in the process of enrolling HEM into public school where her daddy works for the last few months so hopefully we'll get approval for that soon. It will be a change of pace from homeschooling, but not a new change since I worked there for 4 years until I had GEM.

I've had positive reactions from people so far. I really feel this is where God wants me for now. I'm excited for the future and the kids are excited, too.

Reflections of the past week...

It was a wonderful week spent with my Granny last week among other family. I arrived safely back to my own home this evening. I cannot express enough thanks for all the prayers I've received since my grandmother's cancer diagnosis last June. I also can't say thanks enough to those who have sent my grandmother cards. She absolutely loves them and hangs them on her doors and wall to see at all times for encouragement. She made me laugh about the cards from my church because she said they must be wanting me back!

I held up really well emotionally this week! There was one night where I couldn't contain my sadness and I cried. I was surprised at my grandmother's response. She said at least I could cry. She hasn't been able to for years because she has no tear ducts! She cooked two wonderful meals for me this week. My mom also had a lot of time off from work so that was great too. My step-mom, aunt and uncle, and my youngest brother with his family were able to come spend time with us as well. It felt so good to have everyone together. I was happy to have some good discussions with Granny, usually in the evening. I know I'll treasure them forever. I made a few journal entries from the week, too, so I can always look back and remember more details. I did that last summer when I was there and will one day enjoy reading those again.

I don't know if I'll get to see her again in this earthly life. I have no regrets though. I am so glad I could have more time with her. I'm adding some pictures below.

I did learn a few new things like her favorite colors are blue and lavender, she likes any food that doesn't eat her first, she likes spring and fall (not too hot and not too cold), she likes the hymn It is Well With My Soul, and her favorite inventions were running water and the washing machine.

Here I am with my grandmother and my brother.

This is Granny laughing! It was one of the best moments of my visit!

A challenge in regards to suffering...Worth a read

Forgive me if I've previously blogged on this before. It has been great on my heart in recent times. Perhaps my favorite quote is from Madeline L'Engle, "I don't envy those who have never known any pain, physical or spiritual, because I strongly suspect that the capacity for pain and the capacity for joy are equal. Only those who have suffered great pain are able to know equally great joy."

The other day I had a Jehovah's Witness couple come to my door. They had been here previously in the summer which I vaguely remembered. Of course they hoped to win me over to their thoughts and wanted me to question what I believed. I wasted no time in being up front with my faith. I won't spend time with details, but they really wanted to talk about suffering and what happens when we die. It's not worth mentioning where they wanted to go with the conversation, but it has helped me continue my thoughts I had been having on suffering the last few weeks anyway.

We all have our issues in life. What may seem major to us is in fact really minor so many times. I have been challenged in the last few weeks to be cautious of problems in life. I think we (myself definitely included) forget to let our trials mold us to God and instead use them to distance us from Him and give room for complaint to enter our hearts.

I guess what has really sparked this is the experiences of many of my friends' lives. I think of Cyndi who lost her 18 month old daughter to cancer, Angie who has a toddler son and has cancer (but is about to celebrate the end of radiation YAY!), Carol's daughter with a serious leg injury, Rachel who has suffered from fibromyalgia to the point she could hardly get out for 2 years until remission within the last month (another YAY!), my grandmother with stage 3 stomach cancer, a friend in Georgia years ago that lost her baby 2 weeks before her due date...need I go on?

The point is what do I have to complain about? I have 3 healthy girls, a loving and providing husband, supportive family, a nice home, no life threatening sickness. Why should it greive me that my garage door doesn't shut despite the new door?! Stinkin' wire! :) Why do I get upset over my leaking roof I know is soon to be replaced? Why do I stress about the bills every month that never fail to be paid? Why do I get upset when one of my kids gets me up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning? You get the idea again. It's bad enough to worry about these things, but too many times I find myself complaining out loud about them. There are many that would love to even have a garage, have their own home, have a job, and have their child back. I never forgot what Cyndi wrote on her daughter, Courtni's, care page near the end of her battle with neuroblastoma cancer. She referenced Matthew 26 when Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and how she really understood His words. He tells His disciples, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me." Then when He gets to the garden he "fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.'" Maybe it's too bold, but I challenge anyone and myself to not ask for the minor inconveniences to be passed from us. The loss of a mother's child is much more than ANY problem I have so far encountered and believe me, I've encountered my share.

I reflect on my life and think how the problems I've had in my life have molded me into who I am today. I allowed them to bring me closer to God as I grew up with many challenges. If you want to know more about some of those challenges, let me know and I'll e-mail you privately.

A few nights ago my precious GEM, who just turned 3, was up with an earache. She cried from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. It was 5:30 when I returned her and myself to our respective beds and she was up at 7:30!! Pardon my pride, but I was proud of myself for not once getting frustrated of complaining. I actually found myself thanking God for this beautiful child that I could hold in my arms and comfort (to the best of my ability). I thought about how that night would soon enough be a distant memory to me as my children grow up so fast! (Anyone else have that problem?) I want to enjoy life with all it's challenges for I'm certain I face greater ones in the future. Nothing I go through will ever compare with the suffering of my Savior and He holds my life in His hand.

Here is a verse from a great hymn.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.“

Catch Up Blog

What's been happening with me in the last few weeks? Well, I was blessed to celebrate another birthday on January 26th with my family. It was another 29th birthday! HAHA! I also have purchased a plane ticket to fly to Georgia and visit my grandmother as well as the rest of my family in March. I'll be going alone on this journey and look forward to my time in warm weather! This week we will celebrate GEM's 3rd birthday and on Valentine's Day I will celebrate my 12th wedding anniversary. Seems like a lot in such a short period! It reminds me how blessed I am with each event. Three weeks after GEM's birthday will be EMM's 8th birthday. I just can't get over how quickly my children's lives are going by. I have set a new goal to savor more moments with them, even when the moments aren't pleasant (take potty training for example). I do not want to look back and long for the tantrums and sleepless nights just to have another moment with my children. I want to feel I took advantage of all the moments of my children's lives and was a great mommy. I told my husband the other day that I'm getting a new outlook and that is to not sweat the small stuff. I want to stop letting the worries in life get me down because it's taking away from my happiness and my joy with my family. I challenge everyone to do this. I'm sure I'll fail at times, but with the goal in mind it will help me to strive for the rewards.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases...

I feel like the days have been creeping by. I go to bed each night praying for a settled mind and a peaceful night's sleep. I will ask those of you that like to pray to remember me if you would. I can't really put a finger on what's gotten to me so. I think it's a combination of waiting for my blood tests to confirm what's going on with me, my grandmother's test results (coming tomorrow), and finances (you know...paying bills, medical bills, a new garage door, new roof needed, etc.) Sometimes the last is hard because I feel bad for not bringing in any income. I know my job is priceless, but I know I have the capability of bringing in a decent salary. Honestly there is little desire to be in a classroom for me right now. I know God could change that, but right now my desire is to be home. I feel blessed to be surrounded by my children and my home during the day. I feel blessed, too, to have my friends check on me, pray for me, and read my blog. :) I have felt a dark cloud of depression lingering over me lately, but I am so far able to keep things in perspective and not allow it to consume me. I remind myself of God's graciousness and steadfastness. It gets me through days like this.

Our Merry Christmas

It was such a wonderful Christmas again this year. As usual it seems the kids got everything they asked for and more. We still have one more Christmas to do at Grandma's tomorrow night, but the girls had a great day yesterday and today playing with all their new stuff! HEM's big present was a digital camera. She'd been asking for one for a while, and it is even purple! Other than that she got a lot of clothes, books, and girly stuff in general. EMM's big present was a box full of Tinker Bell stuff. She also got books, clothes, etc. GEM got what most 2 year old's like. Stuff for her baby doll, kitchen, and Little People, and books and games. The girls made daddy a Green Bay flannel tie blanket and the older two made a blanket for GEM, too. Daddy enjoyed some clothes, man toys, and yummy treats while I added some new Willow Trees to my collection.

God is good and we have certainly been blessed more than we deserve. The best is how thankful my girls are for all they receive. They don't seem to take it for granted and even the little gifts thrill them to pieces! They have never complained about what they receive. Tomorrow will be fun with grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins! I also hope to hear from my family back home that celebrated their Christmas together today!

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!!

Our Newest Family Member

We added a new member to the family today. This is Zoe. After weeks of going back and forth to the local humane society we finally found the cat we wanted. The girls all agreed on her and she was already named when we adopted her. She's just under 6 months old. She's a beautiful little cat. Spunky and loves to purr.

Our Family Pictures

Last month, just before the cold and snow finally hit, we decided to get family pictures done. We hadn't had family pictures done since GEM was a baby and I wanted to have pictures for Christmas cards. My dear friend Stef was kind enough to follow us around and arrange us at a local park for some cool shots. Here you go! Hope you enjoy!
She organized a beautiful collage for us.





My sweet HEM.


My lovely EMM.


My adoring GEM.


Daddy's girls.


This year's Christmas card photo.

Snow Day!

Two days ago I was talking to a friend on the phone and mentioning the upcoming snow storm we were expecting. We were talking about snow days and I told her my kids don't know what a snow day is. HEM heard me and said, "We know what snow days are, we just don't get them." Of course we got our snow storm yesterday through today. Schools are canceled and all activities are canceled so I told my kids to do one school subject and they could enjoy a snow day!! They were thrilled! We went outside and enjoyed building a snowman, making snow angels, and eating snow! Watching my kids enjoy themselves so much makes me feel like the luckiest mom in the world. They enjoy every minute of life. Sometimes I forget the simple things and make life harder than it needs to be, so I'm thankful for snow days (even though I don't really like the snow)!

In the background "O Holy Night" is playing and I hear the heat has kicked on in the house. GEM is down for a nap while the other two play in the basement. Sometimes I wish these days could last so much longer. Christmas is just around the corner! Snow days make a good time to slow down and reflect on many things. Just as the song is saying right now, "Christ is the Lord, O praise His name forever!" It is exactly what I look forward to doing the rest of my days and beyond. This may be my grandmother's last Christmas with us on earth. The reality of that becomes more recognizable to me every time I talk to her on the phone. Soon she will be celebrating her Savior and praising His name forever in His presence. For now I will do my best to appreciate my snow days and celebrations here from my home. :) I feel very blessed.

Our First Letterboxing Experience

First of all I have to thank my friend, Kathy, for giving me this idea. I first heard about this from her blog. She's very creative with a beautiful family. I have her blog listed under people I follow. =)

I went to www.letterboxing.org and looked up locations in our area for letterboxes. I was amazed at just how many locations there are around us!! We picked one that was easy to find for our first. It was the first one on the list and it was on the same road as our church so we went for it.

It is a beautiful day here today! We couldn't have asked for a better day to be out. We did find the letterbox and it was very easy to spot. The girls stamped their notebooks and we signed the notebook in the box and the girls brought cute pencils to leave in the box. They thought it was pretty cool and are asking when we can do that again.

Here's some pictures of our experience.


When we first arrived at the site.


We spotted it right away!


The kids wanted to get it open, but mom just had to have a picture!


The girls were excited at all the trade items in the container.


The girls stamped the "smile" into their notebooks.


Such a pretty little spot...


You can see the letterbox in the bottom left of this picture...and the semi up above going on I-80. Interesting location!

Happy Birthday, Granny

Today is my Granny's 84th birthday!! I look forward to calling her later today when my children come back from Grandma's house. 84 years is a long time, isn't it? She'll tell you she has had a long life, a meaningful life. She's lived through the depression, she lost her dad when she was a preteen, she has seen her mother and all 4 of her sibling die as well as her husband of 50 years. She remembers not having electricity or refrigeration, and how her family worked to survive and the blessings God gave so her mom could raise them. It does seem like a long time, but yet I cannot imagine her time at an end. I know it's coming and sadly it'll be sooner that we hope as she fights the cancer that is in her body. This will very likely be her last birthday on earth. Though I am not ready to let her go, it's not her earthly birthday that gives me hope. She has a birthday worth more than that of being brought into this world. My grandmother has a spiritual birthday. That day when she prayed and asked forgiveness of her sins and that she put her faith in Jesus Christ. She has faithfully followed Him throughout her days, not without failures I'm sure. She'll be first to tell you she has made mistakes. But because she and I both have spiritual birthdays we will have eternity together. Someday soon she'll be with some of her own family that she has seen leave this world, including her husband. It makes me think of a line from an old hymn..."When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there." It's what makes this truly a "happy" birthday instead of a sad one. Here are some pictures of my grandmother over the years.


My grandmother in high school.


This is her on the left right after she married my grandfather. The other woman is my grandfather's sister.




At my college graduation.


My grandparents.


My grandmother holding my mom after she was born.


Her wedding picture.


My brother and I with Granny this summer.


My Aunt and my Granny.

Recent family times

I thought I'd post some pics from my family that I've taken lately. Hard to believe fall is in full swing and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Enjoy!

Reality check...

I was enjoying my morning at MOPS when a few thoughts entered into my thinking. It was pointed out in our meeting that we are merely 7 weeks away from Christmas! I know Christmas is just around the corner, and I actually have been looking forward to it this year. I'm ready for the Christmas music, decorations, and the holiday dresses for my girls. Usually I'm not ready this early, but it's been a long year to me and I feel ready to celebrate and make happy memories with my family once again this holiday season. I didn't, however, take time to think about what this Christmas will mean in other ways to my family. This morning our speaker in MOPS was asking us questions about the holiday and one of the questions asked us what we don't like about the holiday. I instantly thought about not having Christmas with my own family. It's been years since I've celebrated Christmas with my family. I've never given it too much thought because we visit my family in the summer when we can stay longer and don't have to battle bad weather for traveling. This year is different though. This year I have to face the reality that it's last Christmas my grandmother will be with us.

My grandmother was diagnosed with stomach cancer in June. Her latest scans have come back good, that the cancer is stablized, but we know the chemo she's taking will only prolong her earthly stay for a brief time. Not to say miraculous things can't happen, but I could see it in her eyes when we were there in August. She's tired. She's happy with the life she's lived. She knows something greater waits for her. These are the moments where I realize how hard it is to live so far away. My mom is seeing it now, too. She is watching my grandmother move much slower, requiring more effort in every activity, and also seeing her memory slowly deteriorate.

I am thankful that I have such happy memories of Christmas in my grandparents' home growing up. I don't know how many more visits I'll have to that home I know so well. Eventually it will become someone else's home. Despite how depressing this may sound, I can honestly say it gives me a new appreciation for the reason we celebrate Christmas. The coming of our Savior and knowing that because of our shared faith in his death, burial, and resurrection, I will someday be reunited with my grandparents. Regardless of the hard times, challenges, and losses suffered here on earth, Jesus has given us an eternal hope. This is why I will look forward to celebrating Christmas this year.

Where I'm at Today!

I am sitting on the couch debating bedtime. I took a 2 hour nap tonight from 5 - 7 because I wasn't feeling well. Last night HEM was sick. I think it made it worse for her knowing we were going out for her birthday lunch today at her favorite place, Biaggi's. Thankfully she awoke a new kid today! I prayed with her last night and gave her as much medicine as I could to relieve her pain. She said it was hard to sleep so I told her to try praying for people and that would take her mind off of her problems. Today she told me how smart I was and wondered how I came up with such a good idea because it really worked! Needless to say it brought on one of those teary eyed moments. Tomorrow is her 11th birthday! She's so excited she said tonight she hoped I felt better so I could wake her up to the tune of Happy Birthday like I always do.

Tomorrow begins our usual schedule because it's the first day of dance class for HEM and EMM who are, thankfully, taking lessons back to back this year. I am also working on the women's retreat here and there because I am speaking this year. I'm doing 2 sessions. God has really been putting His words into my Microsoft Word document. I covet your prayers. This is no light task and I want what I say to be God's words more than my own. He has done SO much for me in my life and continually teaches me new things every day!

Other than all that I am preparing for HEM's birthday party Saturday. She's having a 50's sock hop. Should be a lot of fun! I hope to get pictures up not too long afterward! I'm so proud of the young lady she's turning into.

Safely back home!

Well we finally made it back to our reality this week. We're catching up on sleep and I'm slowly managing to return items to their proper places. Actually the girls are going to Grandma's tonight so I can have more time to clean my house! YAY!

My grandmother is still doing well though I can see the fatigue from a long journey starting to set in as I watched her try to do even the most routine tasks. She said she appreciated the visit and it meant a lot to her. The girls really seemed to enjoy their time with her and the rest of my family as well. I think the hardest part of the entire 6 weeks was the day I had to leave and say good-bye . I wonder if I will ever get to tell her good-bye again. She appreciated everyone's thoughts and prayers and said she hoped to meet them one day even if not here on earth. The most precious things included HEM listening to her "history lessons" about what life was like for her as a child, watching EMM play Go Fish with her, and that GEM wouldn't leave her house without giving her a kiss good-bye.

We are getting back into our schoolwork and looking forward to catching up with friends. We all enjoyed our visit to the chiro yesterday (Thanks Dr. J!). The girls were SO funny talking about how different they felt after that. :)

Keep praying for my grandmother as she comes to your mind. She's a special lady. Pray for my mom who is her caregiver, too. It is very tiring for her and she works 2jobs!

Thanks to those of you that kept in touch with me while I was gone! You'll never know how much that meant to be thought of while away. I'm emotionally drained from the last couple of months and trying to regain perspective again. I'm also preparing to speak at our women's retreat next month so I have a lot of work ahead for that as well.

Praise the Lord!

Hard to believe my time in Albany is drawing to an end. Just one more week yet it is filled with plans. We got a great report from my grandmother's doctor this week. Her stomach cancer has shrunk thanks to the chemo treatments and the spots on her liver have faded. She came home shouting "praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord!!" Tomorrow we have lunch with the family, my mom, my brother, Joey, and his family, and my aunt and uncle. We're also planning to get to Panama City Beach as well as the Georgia Aquarium among other things. Lots to do. It has been a rewarding time with my grandmother, but I'm ready to be back to my reality in Iowa in my own home with my husband. I don't know that I've missed much in Iowa, but I'm looking forward to getting back. I've definitely faced some trials while here in relation to being here in general away from home and also spiritually. There are things I don't understand and I just have to give it to God and try not to let it get to me. I only had one real breaking point a few weeks ago. :) I've appreciated those few friends that have reached out to me and reminded me that they've been thinking of me while I'm gone. I do realize a need to analyze some aspects of my life when I return to Iowa though. A need to step back and withdraw in some ways I think. Not sure how people will view it, but I feel it's needed for my own sake at this point and that of my family.

I have lots of pictures to finish scanning in my computer this week. Hopefully I'll get that done! I realize just how bad the 80's were to me!! Ugh. It just makes me laugh though!

My mom and I enjoyed an orange push-up tonight and now it's time to head to bed. I hope to blog once more before I leave. It's been strange not being able to access the Internet when I want. Hard to believe what a big part of my life that is!

Back at my dad's and able to use my own computer again! YAY! Not as hot today, but still tons of gnats outside!

I really enjoyed my class reunion this weekend! I'm putting a few pics for you to see. I can't believe how some people haven't changed in 16 years!

I'm starting to get a little homesick as I miss my own home, my husband, and my routine. It's hard living out of suitcases in one bedroom for a month and a half, but I'm glad I was able to come. Last night I went through some old pictures with my grandmother. It was cool looking at pics of her as a child and of her mom and grandmother, too. I don't have a very large family so I enjoy learning about my family history. I want to scan the pics into my computer, but was having trouble with my scanner last night. Hopefully I'll get it going soon.

The girls keep everyone entertained as usual. GEM seems to finally be getting settled in to the new locations and is happy to make herself at home. She really enjoys being with my grandmother.









Looking forward to my next reunion in 2013! I guess I'm getting old. Looking forward to getting the girls pictures taken Thursday morning. Thanks again to those who've checked in on me!