catching up!

So, I haven't written in a while so it's time to catch up! Life's been busy and very challenging lately. In the past week both our car and our truck had significant malfunctions, significant enough to prevent driving so my husband had to take my car (I know...we're spoiled with 3 vehicles!) to work on Thursday. Of course when he said he needed my car I said "take it! I'll be fine, but inside I'm thinking..."I have Activity Girl's today and I still need to run errands for that and then I have 4 or 5 girl's who need rides and I need to find someone to pick them up!" this couldn't have landed on a tougher day (well, actually it could have because Sarah was scheduled to be in McMinnville (30 minutes away) on Thursday and Friday for some standardised testing for school but fortunately her teacher became ill (Sorry Mrs. Seretan!) and we didn't have that hanging over our heads!). Fortunately I had walked to the college track for my daily exercise and my friend and walking buddy Melissa asked where my car was and I told her about all of the chaos and she said "don't you have Activity Girl's today?" and I said "yes" and she said that it was important for me to have a car so she loaned me hers....her husband buys and fixes up cars for additional family income and so she had plenty of other vehicles to choose from. This to me is proof that God watches out for us! I had been walking to the track praying that I'd have enough stamina to walk to the track and walk 2 1/2 miles and then walk to the store (1.1 + miles) and then back home (an additional 1.1 miles) and still have the energy to get AG planned, my house cleaned and Sarah's schooling appropriately addressed (child is difficult to motivate!! This is taking up my LIFE!!). Melissa loaning me her car was an answer to my prayers.

Activity Girl's itself was really fun! We had a chocolate party! The girl's had planned it. We played games like pass the parcel and colored our own personal pumpkins and fixed up our faith in God bags (added new glitter and stuff!!) and had chocolate FONDU!! Yummy! Those girl's were bottomless holes. I literally couldn't seem to fill them full enough of the chocolate! It was very cute and a little piggish! Gotta love those girls. As we were finishing up one of my girl's (Ashley) came up to me and handed me a pumpkin with all of the girl's names on it. They'd made it for me. That touches me so much!
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I had a funny discussion with Ashley and her sister Camille as I drove them home from AG. Camille was commenting on Recognition Night and how I'd cried when I gave Ashely her final charms and certificate. Camille said I'd cry harder with her. I said it's not the same and that I might not still be the leader when she graduates (she's 8) because I've had this calling for 5 years. Ashley said that they would 'leave me in there forever because I love my calling and you're good at it and you love us'. I was touched that the girl's know how much I love them. They're such young, sweet little beings. I didn't realize they felt my love that much.

So, John has the truck patched up and the car working beautifully. (did I mention my sewing machine also went kablooee on me, but I fixed it!). Now our old computer has gone haywire on us. It's not a horrible thing because we have all the old info off of it and John and I have our laptops and Sarah has her school laptops BUT.... our phone comes through our computer...the broken computer. right now I don't have a phone. I can receive messages but I can't call out. I guess it never rains but it pours.

So, in honor of all of this stress I figure I need to do some serious gratituding!!

I am grateful for my daughter Sarah. who currently is laughing and giggling in my kitchen. She's so beautiful, so intelligent and so talented!

I am grateful for a husband who given enough time can fix almost anything! A man who takes his roll as father seriously and is involved in Sarah's life and is a great dad!

I am grateful for my marriage to my wonderful husband. It'll be 16 years on Friday. I look around at my friend's and feel so fortunate that John and I not only love each other but have a serious case of like for each other. we can (and do) tell each other anything and we spend our spare time together laughing and goofing off. This week when it felt everything was falling apart it was good to have a partner who I knew was in it no matter what fell apart! We're committed to the long haul!

I'm grateful that God gives me children to love. I have so many beautiful nieces and nephews and even two grand nephews. I have my daughter's friends and I have my activity girl's. Life isn't complete without the opportunity to love children.

I'm grateful for Christmas music. This year I am in two choirs and a small women's group singing beautiful songs of praise. I wait all year to get to do this! I love singing hymns at any time but our church choir has been struggling and had kind of disbanded and then reformed @ Christmas and I don't have opportunities to sing with other choirs (would if I could). the gift of music is huge in my life. I love to sing! I wish I could read music better...but, I'm gradually getting to be almost marginally OK at reading. One of the choir's I'm in I'm singing 2nd soprano and I'm holding my own (of course we have a rather simple harmony with first soprano for most of it with only a few minor exceptions and my ear tells me more than my eyes!!)

I'm grateful for my home. When the financial crisis hit (and hit us plenty hard) it became increasingly obvious what was important in life (family!!!) but it also gives me a security to know that I'm not stuck! I love where I'm at. I have a darling little home that isn't big, but it's sufficient for our needs and plenty big enough to fill it with 18 giggly little activity girl's every other Thursday and have Sarah and all of her friend's storming through. It's an oasis for me among all of the chaos of the outside world.

I am grateful for a testimony of the existence of Jesus Christ and that he is the Savior of the World, the literal Son of God. He is not a myth. He is not a great prophet, he is the God of this world! Knowing that God exists and that we are loved and important helps all of the bad stuff seem small in comparison with the greatness that is there for us after we leave this earth.