Happy day...........

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Lee & Emily being "exclusive", boyfriend/girlfriend, "in a relationship"..........can't keep up with the current jargon! Anyway, they've been "dating", as I would say, for a year now and were able to celebrate not only that fact, but the fact that Lee received his acceptance letter into the nursing program, today!

Whew........that was a lot of words in a short space.

So, happy anniversary, of sorts..........and what a relief to know you may continue in college and not have to wait out a semester. You'll make a great nurse! Your dad and I are very proud, just don't try to practice your needle sticks on us!

Movies.....

Lawrence and I don't generally watch movies. We did when the kids were younger, because we had an excuse for the G & PG movies then! HAHA Spending the time and money on movies doesn't appeal to us, but we took the advice of many and went to see this one. There are no words to describe adequately the impact we believe this movie could have on our nation and the world. Please take the time and spend the money............it's more than worth it. At least check out the website......www.fireproofthemovie.com and www.fireproofmymarriage.com.

Thank you Lord, for our day of rest.

Busy........there are many interpretations for that word! I had the privilege of helping all 3 of my brothers/sisters this past week by spending anywhere from 2-4 hours with their children! Tuesday I got to help with Creed and newest Carlson, Roman. Daddy had some meetings he had to keep, so I went and helped Brylie out for a few hours. Daddy had the week off for the most part, so Mommy had his help except for then. We got to go to Babies R Us and pick up a few things. It is absolutely amazing what is available to new mothers these days. Half of which I'd never even heard of.......I'm sure my mother said the same when Lee & Lauren came along.

On Wednesday, I got to go to Janin & Amie's to watch Aden & Deegan while mommy went grocery shopping after they'd been gone for a week to California. I made supper as well, so I could go to church from there instead of back to Lathrop, then back to Holt after having been to Smithville.

Thursday I went to Jody & Nicki's to watch Cy and Cade while mommy did some "alone" shopping and picked Caleb up for a lunch date after preschool. Cy, the almost 2 year old, and I made chocolate chip cookies!! Why is it I had such a phobia with my own kids making a mess, but it doesn't bother me in the least with my nieces/nephews? I think we call that maturity!

Lauren came in late on Wednesday for fall break and joined me in St. Joe on Thursday. Later in the day we met up with Lee and did supper. It was so nice to have them both together with me at the same time! That doesn't happen very often anymore.

Needless to say, by Friday morning I was exhausted. Working with young people makes you have to be more alert, think quick on your feet and place your body in funny positions! Down on the floor to play, up in the arms to hold, pacing and patting a back to calm, reaching above the fridge to retrieve the thrown ball.......etc....etc....

So did I rest? No, I left Friday evening for our women's retreat, to stay up late talking and laughing, to sleep on a bunk bed!?! and up early for Saturday's activities. I was a speaker for one of the breakout sessions, so I couldn't very well miss it, could I? From there I headed to pick up youth and take them to the corn maze in Liberty. Lawrence and Lauren joined me for that and it was fun. Another late night.

But today..........the day of rest...........morning spent in worship and with God.............and NOW, yes NOW............I'm going to take a blessed nap!

The little blessings keep coming!

This is Roman Lucas Carlson born today (10/10) at 3:22 pm to Rance & Brylie Carlson and big brother Creed! His first 5 hours of life were spent in NICU because his oxygen was low and he didn't want to breath deeply, but he is now at mama's breast and wrapping everyone around his finger! Praise God for another healthy nephew and Brylie's quick and healthy delivery.

Getting on with it........

A Big thank you to our fellow believers that lifted us in prayer. The issue is finally settled and done with. What a big relief. Being allowed to move on is such a blessing. Now I prepare for the next nephew, coming sometime this month!

By the way, we DO still have the house on the market, just dropped the price and are still hoping to move out of Lathrop, closer to the city, somewhere. Time will tell.

A small thorn left to fester.

Have you ever had a thorn issue in your life? My brothers and I have had one for about 2 1/2 years now, it started one month after our mom passed away and we have done our best to put healing balm on it, but to no avail. Besides the fact we were unable to adequately grieve her passing, we have dealt with a situation that simply dumbfounds us. Tomorrow will involve yet another round of legalities, mediation and strong emotions. God has certainly carried us through much of it, but the human side of us still fights God's purpose for all of this, questioning, wondering, not understanding. If I could share the details, it would be mind-boggling and you would wonder why we haven't killed someone yet!! But all I'm going to do is ask that you lift us up in prayer tomorrow, October 3rd, anytime we may cross your mind, as it will be an all day event.......................and no, that's not all of the family, it's about half of my immediate family; in the above picture.

Autumn's splendor.......

This is my favorite time of year.....the nights are cool, the days are pleasant with north winds bringing us dryer air. The colors that God paints on his canvas this time of year are amazing! I just wish we didn't lose our daylight so quickly! Enjoy your fall days and don't forget God is in control of all things.......you just have to quit fighting him, and the ride will be much more pleasant; because you get to look at the scenery while He drives!