updates, pictures & what's to come

Wow, what a Monday.   I have to admit, coming off of the kind of Spring Break we had here at our house (sick, sick, sick!) I was ready to get back to work.  And that is saying a LOT!!  

Here are a few updates from our  household:

• Laurie is back at work in full swing and doing a great job.  We are all very proud of her determination and hard work.  She is definitely a hero of mine. She's been through a literal hell and is finally walking (although sometimes painfully) on the other side! 
• Preston is doing great.  Mean as a snake, but cute as a button!  We love him.
• JP (as most of you already keep up with) is also doing fairly well.  He continues to do well in 1st grade.  He likes his doctor that we see each month.  I am, however, thinking of calling a therapist for him.  Someone he can talk with on a weekly basis to help him sort through his emotions.  He continues to be very up and down emotionally.  As any child in his shoes would be.  I am proud most days of how he handles himself.  Your prayers for him will be appreciated.  He has a long road ahead of him in trying to understand his circumstances.

I have picked up my devotional manuscript for the first time in eight months and am putting the final touches on it.  A handful of them needed scripture references and prayers.  Once I am done (hopefully in the next week or two) I will begin my search for an agent.  Please keep this in your prayers as well.  As I have learned with our children's book, it is a very LONG and tedious process!

 

One of the many things I am obsessed about love about Facebook are the inspirational pictures that my friends post.  I found this one this morning and LOVED it.  How true.  I realize I have shared my feelings on this topic FAR MORE than any of you care to read about, but oh well.  I am very passionate about this subject these days.  So, here is YET ANOTHER shout out to my BESTIES!!  You all know who you are!  I love you guys more than life.  Literally.  (And through my storm I've even made one or two new friends that I am very thankful for.)  God is very good.

Sunday, I played hooky from church.  I woke up, crawled out of bed, got JP ready for his dad to pick him up for church and then I slowly crawled back into bed.  I began to cry.  I never know when it's going to hit me.  Sunday morning, it hit me like a truck.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to move.  I was overcome with sadness.  I have decided that when times like this occur, rather than fight it, I am just going to roll with it.  So I did.  My dad came in and consoled me as best he could.  But, honestly there is not much anyone can do to help.  I made the decision not to get ready and go to church and rolled back over to drift back off to sleep.  All day.  That's when my Heavenly Father woke me, by way of a text message from a friend.  The message read, "Good morning, beautiful, get out of bed and GO TO NEWSPRING TODAY!!! This sermon is for you!!"  No joke!  Those are the exact words.  This friend was sitting in the service and sent this message to me.  They had NO IDEA I was still in bed!  That's how God works.  So I did force myself up and got dressed.  I asked my family to leave little Preston at home and we went to Furman.  It is AMAZING what spending the day outdoors in the sunshine can do for your emotional health.  Needless to say, I went to the six o'clock service at Newspring.  And yes, it was for me!  So, thank You God for using my friend to speak to me.  You always know exactly what I need at the exact moment I need it most.

Here are a few pics of us at Furman...

A few other things from this week... we had a family fun night where we ate dinner and the boys worked puzzles together.  It was really cute.  Friday night, I hung out with my best girl, Kathi and her family.  We watched a movie and LAUGHED REALLY HARD!  It was a wonderful night.  JP and I went on a picnic lunch Saturday.  Here are a few of those pics...

 And this is my boy and I on our way to church Sunday night.  Love him!  (And his blue popsicle mouth!)

 

 
 
Well, that is about it for our week/weekend.  Here is a sneak peek at what's to come!
 

 
 

I am REALLY excited to share with you what God shared with me in church through the pastor's message.  It came from the book of Acts (one of my favorite books) and it was an AMAZING word!
 







 
And finally, spending time with my BEST friends (who are family) at their house at Pawley's Island this summer!  We do not have a vacation planned, but between lake Keowee and Pawley's, it's going to be a GREAT summer! 
 
 
Alright, I know this was long, but hopefully you survived!  I hope everyone has had a happy Monday. At least it's over.  And not that I am counting, but I have about THIRTY EIGHT days of school left before the door hits me on the way OUT!!!  Woohoo!  And special olympics is this Wednesday, so there is alot to look forward to.
 
 In the words of TIGGER,  TaTa for now!!