This is it......for the day.

What a life! What a blessed and wonderful life. My oldest son called me today and said he'd see me at the end of the month. So excited. Haven't seen him since May. I haven't told Kirsten and Brandon yet that he's coming home and may stay for a bit. Think I wanna surprise them with it.

I am so ready for school to start. I don't think the kids are ready other than being ready to not be so bored. Kirsten is taking a full load of advanced classes for her junior year. She seems really determined to stay focused so that she can sign up for the navy next summer. One of her best friends moved back to town a few weeks ago and I think they are both ready to buckle down and use their brains for more than just looking pretty with hair and makeup.LOL. I just know that God has a plan for her and I hope she stays focused enough to follow it.

Brandon told me tonight that " getting a job, getting a wife, getting a family.....that's gonna be hard." I asked what he was talking about and he said "growing up. it's just gonna be hard." I told him that he needed to worry about getting through the 5th grade first. LOL. What a funny lil guy. He told me tonight that if Daddy was here he would make everything better. We got his trampoline moved over here and put back together. Needless to say, he's a much happier lil boy.

All 3 of my kids try to take care of me and make my day to day better. Such sweet love. They give me the strength I need because I know that God provides for me through them. Amazing love all because of a Savior that loves me.

I'm missing my Doug a whole lot right now. Don't know why it's harder some days than others. Guess it just depends on what I'm doing or what the kids do. Found a bunch of pics of Doug when he was really young and Brandon thought that some of the pics were of him. When I told him they were pics of his daddy he said, "Wow! I look just like him." Yup. He does. So does that pretty girl of mine. As hard as it is for me, I know it's harder for them. Especially when they see other kids with their dads and they don't have that anymore. But that's ok because it's all in God's plan. I submit to His will and know that he is always with me.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day for us at church. We have been searching for a new pastor for quiet some time and we have a new pastor coming to preach tomorrow that is being called to our church. So very excited to see what God has in store for our little church with a big heart. So thankful that God knew where I needed to be, when I needed to be and who I needed, when I needed them.

Don't take a moment for granted! Live your life, Love your life, Commit your life, Submit your life.

Gettin' By.....Because of HIM

What an amazing life!!!! I could start out by telling you all about the last 18 months and the details that tried to destroy me and the kids, but I would rather use this first installment to shout that JESUS IS SOOOOO GOOD TO ME. Only through His mercy and grace can I wake up every morning and know that all is in His hands. I wake up and remember, even on the days that start out with pain, that it's God's day, not mine, and I ask the Holy Spirit to clear the path for me or at least to pad it so it doesn't hurt so much if I fall. So far so good. You see, I'm not perfect. I know, that surprises many of you and that's ok. It shocked the heck out of me too. But see, here's the thing.....I am one, in a long line of imperfections, that isn't deserving of the absolute perfection that is Jesus Christ. WOW. Did you get that? All because God loves ME. I don't have the first clue why except that He does. If He loves me, knowing all I have done and all I will do, then I know He must love a whole world full of those just like me. You see, my sins are just as bad as your sins, whether it be a lie, a theft, an envy, a murder, or any of the hundreds of other sins out there. They all amount to the same thing....sin is sin no matter what color you paint it. But praise God, there is hope. There is a promise. There is a way. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I can't say His name enough. For those that know me, you know that it's only through His grace that I have gotten to where I am today. For those that don't know me, you will hear my story, in time, and you too will know that it's only through an absolute faith in the all powerful I Am that I can keep on gettin by. Do you need something to believe in? Do you feel a little tug at your heart? Open up and see that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light.