Crossroads

Time...not sure where it goes. The past few months have been a blur of activity. I graduated last Friday. Woohoo! I am glad to move on from this chapter, but am so thankful I was given the opportunity.

Now, I find myself at another crossroads. I solicit your prayers as we try to make the right decisions about our family's future. I am praying our family will be back together soon, praying that we can give our children the love, time and support they need and praying for a JOB!

The lyrics to a song by Nichole Nordeman have been food for the soul lately...

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes
You are good, so good
In the heat of the day, with each stone that I lay
You are good, so good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight
You are good.

When the road starts to turn, around each bend I learn
You are good, so good
And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand
You are SO good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
Cause it's more than enough just to know I am loved
And you ARE good

So, how can I thank you?
What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King?
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands.

When it's dark and it's cold, and I can't feel my soul
You are...STILL good
When the world has gone gray, and the rain's here to stay
You are still good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
And the storm may swell, even then 'It is Well'
And YOU ARE GOOD!

So, how can I thank you?
What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King?
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands

So I'll sing you a love song!
It's all the I have!
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands!!
YOU ARE HOLDING MY LIFE IN YOUR HANDS!!!

Christmas Magic

Trek took this picture of my two youngest kidlets while we waited in line to see Santa.

I remember the magic of sitting on Santa's lap as a child, so excited to see the guy in the red suit.

As an adult, the closest I have come to feeling that Christmas magic is standing in front of the snow covered tree in Rockefeller Center. The vision of skaters on the ice, the shoppers with arms full of packages, the Christmas music playing overhead, and the smell of the clean snow falling from the sky was a dream come true to this displaced Northern girl from Alabama.

Oh, how I want my children to have the opportunities to make wonderful memories. It is the images, sounds, and smells burned in their memories that will hopefully bring great joy to them as adults.

Many times, in the hustle and bustle of our adult lives, it is easy to forget that our children are in the midst of experiencing magical new things. We, too, would be happier adults if we could enjoy the simple joys that our children experience everyday.

Where would we be without our memories? Isn't there so much happiness in recalling a favorite memory?

Take a moment to recall a magical childhood memory and let it take you back....

Martha Stewart just called...she could smell our supper from her house.

I know some don't believe me when I say things like...

"I can't be trusted in the kitchen"
"I have to be supervised in the kitchen"
"I can't cook, no I REALLY can't"
"I hate to cook"

This is just a glimpse at the wonderful, delectable dishes I prepare while standing in my well-equipped kitchen in my freshly pressed apron...

I just got off the phone with Martha Stewart...she wanted my recipe for
"Freshly Burnt Cheese Sandwiches."

Just call him Jack Bauer!

Trek just sent this to me.

In case you are confused about what you are looking at, this is the view Trek had of the SWAT team pulling up with weapons drawn to take the criminal down.

Wow, what an exciting life my Jack Bauer...I mean Trek leads. Now that I think about it...he does kind of remind me of him...hmmmm.



Mental note: Christmas present for Trek...Two tone Sig 228 pistol.

But I don't have my shopping done!

Here is the crew...bundled up in 15 layers of clothes for our town's annual Christmas parade. Brrrrr!

Count Your Many Blessings

I'm reminded of a song I learned years ago in worship that says "...count your blessings name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done." I feel compelled to write them down now, maybe not for the three of you that read my blog, but for me to see how God has worked over and over again, never leaving us alone.

To summarize...


1. Ice Queen goes to school






2. Trek gets laid off






3. House sells









4. Move to new house
5. Trek gets new job 200 resumes later...in city 3 hours away...can anyone say "4:1 kidlets to parent ratio 5 days a week!"









I sit and recall the happenings of our life over the past few months and cannot help but be so thankful....

School is a challenge but is exactly what I had hoped it would be.

Trek lost his job because of the housing slump but with the loss came the loss of so many worry lines on his face.

The house sold after 4 days on the market in an economy where NOTHING is selling right now. I realized in the process that the house is made of just wood and bricks...we took our 4 treasures with us.

We moved to a different house that is a little rough around the edges, but is located where help with little ones is literally steps away.

Trek got a new job 3 hours away...but we are SO thankful for a job! It holds promise of new experiences, new challenges and new adventures! We don't know where the road will lead, but we know it will be interesting along the way.

George had a great first football season. He learned the game from a committed coach that taught him so much about respect and teamwork.

Twirl continues to be challenged to learn more difficult dance routines and more difficult art techniques.

Halloween was a nice reprieve of family time with loads of chocolate in the midst of our crazy life!

Turkey Day was spent with wonderful friends that we came to know because of Hurricane Katrina. Sometimes the best things in life come from the worst of times! This Thanksgiving we were introduced to a strange new bird called Turducken...don't know what it is?...LOOK IT UP! The real question is...does it gobble, quack or cluck?

The road is still bumpy and I solicit your prayers. There have been a lot of tears and worry over the past few months, but I can honestly say that God has been faithful. I have seen his presence over and over. I don't deserve his blessings, but am so thankful for them.

I have SUCH an exciting life!

Here is just a few of the heart stopping highlights from the past month...

I gave blood on a bus that reminds me of




Instead of getting a pizza dinner like Shaggy...I got a XXXXL t-shirt and two huge bruises on my leg. (I'll save you the visual) They took a hammer and beat my leg because I flinched when they came at me with the 75 gauge shotgun...I mean needle with which they intended to remove my blood.


(Okay, sorry that's not true that's just my fiction writer wanna be alter ego coming out.)

Back on track...here's the facts

• pizza dinner - did not get

• XXXXL t-shirt - kind of true, it may have been an XL but it was big enough to put on all four of my kids...AT ONCE

• bruises on leg - true but not from a hammer but from yours truly Ms. Graceful running into the huge metal thingy protruding from the side of the bed that they hang the blood bag on

• 75 gauge needle - I don't know but it was a big mama needle and felt like 75 vampires sucking on my arm
  

But all discomfort and bruises aside, I want to give a shout out to the two awesome vampire women that entertained Monkey and Little Bit while I was laying on the bed willing myself to hang on for the reward...the XXXXXL t-shirt!

Another day another story....

I decided today that I should be an instructor for the "I have a huge family and I'm trying to buy for the entire year, okay month, and I will NOT submit to filling one cart and parking it at the front and starting on another one but WILL fit everything I need in this one cart that barely holds enough groceries for one person...balance, balance...stop looking at me like I'm an alien fellow shoppers" class.




Classes start Monday...cost of enrollment...my grocery bill!