Thankful Thursday

When you feel the first beginnings of alertness as you awaken in the morning and your first thought is "I slept all night. The phone didn't ring.", that is something to be thankful for! Most people don't even have this though in the morning. That is good and right and normal.If you have reason to think that as your waking thought, obviously, the opposite has been true. And when you wake up and realize nothing interrupted your sleep the previous night, you are thankful! Thank you, Lord, for a peaceful, normal night! I slept with my land line and my cell next to my bed and they both were quiet all night.

2 nights in a row a ringing phone cuts through our silent house. This is never a good thing!

Long story short, my very dearest friend's son is in the hospital. Has been there since Sunday night. Lord willing, he'll go home tomorrow. That is a LONG time to be in the hospital, by today's standards. Especially if you are 9. It has been a scary week! A middle-of-the-night seizure got him a ride in an ambulance (that he doesn't remember) to the hospital. Another (much worse) middle-of-the-night seizure the next night proved the first one wasn't just a fluke as we had hoped. After a TON of not-too-fun tests and exams, he has a diagnosis and we're praying hard that he keeps getting stronger and healthier with each hour (and especially, each night) that passes. Thank God for modern medicine and anti-seizure drugs!

The truth-teller, rule-follower in me cringes a little inside when she introduces me to the rounding ICU doc :: "This is my sister. Sam's aunt." She mean it with all her heart, and I believe it too. But a little part of me worries we'll be "found out". Will they catch us and accuse us of lying or deceit? No one cares, really. They believe us. (Who wouldn't. We look SO much alike . . . well, except the hair color, skin color, body shape, 9 inches of height difference. You know, no big deal). She is an only child. I have a younger brother. Growing up, there would be summers when I'm fairly certain she went DAYS without seeing her parents. She practically lived at our house. Kept a toothbrush there. Didn't ask if it was ok before opening the fridge and taking whatever she wanted. Using our toilet with the door open. Family stuff! We really are sisters in any way that counts! We have been friends for decades (about 3 of them, if you care to know). Friends through good and plenty of bad! I've never had an "actual" sister, but I can't imagine I could be any more "sisterly" with someone who actually lived in my house every day growing up, whose college and wedding was paid for by the same 2 adults as mine. I'm pretty certain this is as good as it gets :: I adore her. She drives me nutty. You know, just like a sister should! I would call her in the middle of the night, without a thought, if I needed her and she would do the same (I have phone records from this week as evidence of that fact).

So I hurt with her. Pray with her. Worry with her. And when I wake up in the morning to the realization of a phone call-free night, I am thankful with her. I am thankful today!

Thankful Thursday

It's been an exceptionally cold month (with a few short breaks where you can get outside for longer than it takes to run from the house to the car). I am so thankful for a warm home to live in (and not leave) on days when the temperature doesn't ever climb above zero.

I'm so thankful for our home and heat and warm clothes and a coat to wear . . . but I would still appreciate a warm up!

Dreams

I had an especially weird and crazy dream early this morning, right before I got up {maybe even during the 10-minute "snooze" after our alarm went off the first time}. All day yesterday and all day today our house has been extra full as we're hanging out with 3 extra kiddos. My friend Allie's little man, Sam, and Vince and G-Rae, the 2 kids from the family that I've done daycare for the past few years have been here. Sam is here for 48 hours straight {since he lives on the other end of the world and coming to get him at night isn't so smart}. The other 2 go home at night. When you have a teacher for a parent, childcare gets a little extra tricky the week before school starts, since you need to "go to school" and your kids don't. So what is any good teacher to do? Call us! Thus we've been a 9-kid house.

Possibly that fact had something to do with fueling my dream -- a dream in which I "gave birth" {not in the normal way though . . . you know how dreams are!} to triplet boys! It also might have to do with the fact that we just got home from a WONDERFUL, FABULOUS, favorite-week-of-the-year week at family camp {which, hopefully, I will get a chance to blog about later} and there were 2 ladies at camp who were about 37 weeks, plus there was an adorable 4-week old boy there with his family, and a few other not-quite-as-far-along pregnant ladies there too. Also, I have a thing for babies! {in case you didn't know!} And, also, I have to add that there was a family at camp with 7 kids. Their oldest was a few months younger than Jacob and their youngest was a few months younger than Sara, so basically we had kids the same ages, they just squeezed one more in there than we did. I told them we had 4 girls and 2 boys and the mom answered, "So did we until we had the seventh one." I love being around other big families! They "get it" so much better than most people.

So, back to the dream :: In my dream I was sitting in a chair in a room with another woman {OB? Nurse? Produce manager? I'm not sure of her exact role in the whole thing}. Appearing, seemingly, out of nowhere {wouldn't it be nice if that's how birth really was?} into this woman's hands one at a time came these three little spheres which she then peeled, kind of like you would peel an orange, and then she handed me my baby -- which had emerged from the little sphere. None of the boys cried or anything when she peeled/delivered them, but that didn't seem any weirder to me than the fact that she was peeling them in the first place. As I held the boys one at a time, my thoughts went immediately to the fact that I would have to name them. Being that they came together, I wanted their names to kind of "go together" too.

My first thought was "John, Paul and Ringo", even though I'm not a major Beattles fan or anything. But I shot that brainstorm down quickly when I imagined introducing my kids :: "These are our kids, Jacob, Rebekah, Lydia, Joseph, Anna, Sara, John, Paul and RINGO." It just didn't work for me. Plus, there is also the fact that I'm bothered by rhyming names. Contrary to what many people think, our last name is pronounced "stall", as in the place in the garage where you park your car, or where you pee in a public bathroom, or when your car stops going . . . not like "stole" as if you think we take things that don't belong to us. So, anyway, Paul Stoll is not a good choice in my book. {On a related note, some of you know that my father-in-law is one of 17 kids in his family. Now I fully understand that if you give 17 kids a first AND middle name that you have used up 34 names, which is quite a few, and by the end there you could possibly run out of names you really like. But, guess what they named their firstborn boy? You guessed it. Paul Stoll. He was a wonderful, godly man, but I've always thought it funny that, when they had all the boy names in the whole world to choose from, they chose to name their first boy a name that rhymed.} I also considered naming the triplets "Alvin, Simon and Theodore" but decided that wasn't the right three-some either. Finally we settled on Peter, James and John, in the spirit of the catchy Sunday school song that many of you might know. So, I finally got a Peter, which is a name I've wanted to throw in the hat each time I was pregnant, but Kirb always shot it down.

Maybe I should get Joseph from the Old Testament to come and interpret it for me. Or maybe my Joe could do it. Or maybe I don't want to know!

Anyway, that was how I started my day!

And for you long-time blog readers, in the spirit of 'Thankful Thursday' I will add that we are not expecting any number of babies . . . just in case you were wondering. {And I know some of you were!}

thankful thursday

We had a great weekend celebrating {very nearly -- their anniversary is on Sunday} 40 years of marriage for my parents. Our whole family {my parents, the 8 of us, my brother and his family, my best friend -- who is an honorary Carlson -- and her family, my grandma and my cousin}, 20 of us total, headed up to Trout Lake Camp on Friday afternoon for a weekend of family fun and celebration. The weather wasn't overly cooperative, but we had tons of fun anyway.

The whole lot of us {minus my Grandma, unfortunately}
Joe, Anna, Kirby, Sara, Brie, my mom, Haddon, Jacob, Lydia, me, Rebekah, Schaeffer, Jenn, Allie, Ava, my dad, Justin, Sam & Luke::

My parents and our family of 8 were the only ones who had seen, in person, the result of the years and years of hard work my dad has put into the new Timber Ridge Dining Hall, so it was fun to have the rest of our family finally have a chance to see it. It is amazing, that's for sure. He laid nearly every cement block that makes up the foundation and structure of the building, then proceeded to put stone on the {very tall} chimney and the pillars on the outside of the building -- and since the building stands on the highest point of land in Crow Wing County, saying he was up high when putting the tippy top stones on that chimney is an understatement! Praise God he was safe through it all, especially since he was often working alone, without another soul around! After that was done he grabbed a few thousand more stones and built 6 stone fireplaces inside the building. The main one of which is the largest stone fireplace in the state of Minnesota {and my dad thinks, although has no proof, possibly in the entire country}. It's HUGE! And beautiful. {and Lydia would have you know that she laid 3 of those stones too. She can even point out exactly which ones they are.}

The biggest of the 6 fireplaces
The focal point of the dining area::

When we arrived on Friday night we got all situated in our rooms for the weekend and had some hot dogs and s'mores cooked on the fire out back. One at a time, the 10 kids got tucked into bed and the adults stayed up to chat a bit before turning in as well. Saturday we ate, played some games, had a tour of camp, ate some more, climbed rock walls, went skateboarding, played air hockey, had a snack, played some board games, ate dinner, enjoyed the machine that automatically dispensed hot chocolate at the touch of a button, strained to hear my mom {who had laryngitis} say a few sweet words to my dad, looked at pictures from their wedding, toasted my parents and ate wedding cake, watched movies, played some more games, ate a bit more and turned in for the night. Sunday morning we woke up, ate again, took a "Doug and Marcia" quiz {which I won!}, had a family church service where Kirb preached on God's faithfulness, packed up our stuff, had brunch, took a walk {since the temps were a bit less arctic than they had been on Sunday}, made sure everyone went potty one final time and piled back in our cars for the ride home. It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend together. Between the 20 of us, hopefully we can find a major milestone to celebrate each winter as an excuse to do this again each February!

I am so thankful for my family and for the example of love, commitment and faithfulness that my parents' marriage is a testament to. What a blessing!

Here are a bunch more pictures from our weekend. Enjoy!

Our 6 kiddos in the bookshelves my dad built flanking one of the 2 basement fireplaces::

The Carlson boys take a turn::

My best friend, Allie & my cousin Brie::

Joe, with the Dining Hall seating in the background {aren't those windows fabulous, too?}::

Another view of the biggest fireplace::

Ama & a few of her favorite little people::

The other basement fireplace::

Singing "Head & Shoulders, Knees and Toes" on Saturday morning
{we must be at the "eye and ears and mouth and nose" part}::

I just think this is a funny picture of Sara. It makes me smile::

Cheers::

The cake cutter::

A rousing game of Scrabble::

Grandma and Allie::

Feeding each other cake::

thankful thursday :: my "mudroom"

We enter our house through the side door -- which leads directly into the kitchen. No closet. No mudroom. No nothin'. It didn't bug me too much when we first moved in. It was just the two of us then. Now that there's 8 of us . . . and long before we were that many, even . . . it started driving me mad! Shoes, backpacks, coats, boots, snow pants. They took over the entire kitchen. It made me crazy!

I didn't take good before pictures, but here are some pictures from about a year ago {not staged, mind you} of the area I'm talking about ::


And here's that same space now ::
It had bugged me for so long, but I had no idea how to remedy it. We tried a couple little changes without much positive impact, so I kind of gave up. Fast forward to about a month ago. Enter my friend, Nicole :: a organizing guru with her iPad and a latte for me in hand {bless her heart!}. She had spent the night before looking up and organizing ideas for me online and came armed and ready to go. We looked at the nasty space {or lack thereof}. Measured. Brainstormed. Studied the space a little more. Sipped our coffee -- I even spilled a bit of hers, klutz that I am. Looked at pretty online pictures {that I'm confident WERE all staged} and made some plans.

I then did a bit of online shopping {directly from Nicole's links!} and got to work. It's so very fabulous now, and so far {about a week in} is working out great for our family. I'm so thankful to have the space be better used and so, so much cuter too!

My parents came over for an entire day last week and helped me put on the finishing touches. I am so grateful!

Here's the whole photographic tour of our entryway {also all unstaged -- this is how it looks most of the time now! Praise God! Well, except for the fact that 5 of the people who live here weren't home when I took the pictures, so there were coats and backpacks and some shoes missing that are also in this area when everyone is home -- but the coats and backpacks all have hooks to go on and the footware that was upon those -- possibly stinky -- feet when these pictures were taken fit right into those empty cubes you see there. Prett great, huh?}::


Inside of the door leading to the basement :: shoe organizer that holds winter gear {hats, mittens, scarves, etc.}. When winter is over -- not that it's even really been winter this year -- we'll rotate that stuff out and it can hold summer stuff {sunscreen, goggles, flip flops, hats}::

View from just inside the back door looking toward the dining room::
Our new recycling bin {IKEA has the best stuff!}::
Looking from the dining room toward the back door::
A wider-angle look from the dining room::
Boots and a bucket for music stands and the patrol flag {which isn't in there in the picture because the kids were at school} and umbrellas when that season is upon us::

So, what do you think? Isn't it great? Do you love it as much as I do?

thankful thursday

Despite all the complaining that may suggest otherwise, I adore these people that I share my life and my home with. My family. I am so very thankful for each of them. Here are a few of my favorite recent picture of our clan::

thankful thursday

I'm so thankful for help, support and encouragement; this "village" of support in raising our kids. It's a tough, tough job and we couldn't do it alone, that's for sure! Joe is having a tough time lately. Poor little man is just completely wearing us out with his misery, pessimism and stubbornness. But we aren't in it alone. We have each other. We have the Lord. We have many friends and people around us loving us, loving Joe, giving suggestions, helping out and and praying us through. I just got off the phone with Falcon's school social worker. I've probably spent at least an hour on the phone with her this week. She is one of our "helpers" through this. It's great to know that Joe has so many wonderful people in his corner.

This picture of him {taken while waiting in line to get in to Night Trains a couple weeks ago -- by Rebekah, I think} makes me smile. I love it! That's my boy::

thankful thursday

I'm so thankful that I get some kid-free girlfriend time this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also very thankful for my wonderful husband who will be far from kid-free while I'm away. Thanks, babe!

thankful thursday

Yesterday two women stopped by our house. Sisters. They had stopped by once before, probably 5 or 10 years ago already. I had almost forgotten about that visit. I wasn't home when they first got here yesterday. My mom was watching the kiddos while I was out for a bit. I called her on my way home and she told me about the visitors that were here waiting for me. When I arrived at home 5 minutes later, there they were. In my kitchen. In their kitchen. They did their growing up here. In this house. They were probably in their 60's. 70's maybe. They brought some copies of pictures of our house from the 40's and 50's. Some inside, some outside. Some including naked kids in a clawfoot bathtub. A fabulous old car in the driveway of one of the pictures. They said I could keep them. They brought them for me. Their family lived here from 1945 until sometime in the early-mid 70's.

The house was built in 1927. We moved in in 1998. I think that their family was the 2nd family to live here. I think we are the 5th. I know a teeny bit about the family that built the house (the Peterson's) and now I know quite a bit about the 2nd family. We bought it from my good friend, Carol's parents, so I know quite a bit about them too. I was at this house quite a few times over the years before I even had an idea that someday I would raise my family here (my junior high and high school years). It's so fun to know so much about the history of our home. It just makes me love it all the more.

I was thankful that, yesterday, the house was less than the complete disaster it often is in the middle of a week day. It was actually pretty clean! We looked at the pictures they brought and chatted for a bit. When they showed me a picture of some kids near a swingset, I told them that the frame from that exact swingset was still in our yard. We looked out the window and I pointed to it. It was here when we bought the house and we didn't have the first clue what to do with a huge, substantial, metal swingset frame, so there it sits along the fence in our backyard. Current day swingset makers should take note. That puppy is probably at least 60 years old and still as solid as can be. The younger sister said that she was often afraid to go upstairs to bed at night and wanted to stay downstairs until someone else went up there with her. Just. like. Lydia! It was so fun to hear their stories.

They saw a stack of (4 copies) the same book on the hutch and asked me about it. (Kirb said later that maybe they thought I was an author. Who else has multiple copies of the same book?) I said it was the book that had had the greatest impact in my life and I always keep a few copies on hand to give to people. Would they like one? I think they were surprised at my offer, but seemed genuinely excited and took a copy -- but only after offering to pay me for it. I said no, I would love them to have it. I gave them my usual warning that the book starts out really sad (I would have appreciated a heads up on that fact before I started reading it in a public place!), but if they could make it through the first chapter they could continue reading without a box of tissues right by their side (well, maybe keep one tissue available, just in case. It is cold season, you know).

As they were leaving, the younger sister asked me if I would pray for the older sister because she has cancer and isn't doing well. She wants to keep getting treatment, but her platelets are low and they have had to stop the treatments for a while until the platelet levels come back up. I told them that I would pray and that I was dealing with low platelets at this exact time last year. She said she could tell that we were believers, otherwise she never would have asked. I was touched deeply by that comment. What an unexpected blessing they were in my day. I'm praying that Ann's book blesses them as much as it has blessed me and many others!

We just got a new computer (our old -- and it was old -- one died with the ending of 2011) and it isn't hooked up to the scanner yet, far as I can tell. As soon as I get the fabulous pictures scanned in, and in digital form, I promise to share them with you. They're SO fun!

thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for this week where we can relax and re-group before the new year. We've had some fun, stayed long in our pj's, played games, read books, watched movies, played with all our new "toys", had a fun dinner with friends, sang Christmas carols gathered around the player piano, upgraded our cell phones to ones that actually work, purchased Santa-looking diapers for half price on the day after Christmas (plus I had a coupon, which made them nearly free!) and slept in. It's been just what we needed! To cap off the break, we're going to spend nearly 48 hours together with our bestie family ringing in 2012.

thankful thursday

I think we're on the other side of major big-family shared sickness and for that I'm thankful. One parent spending 6 hours in bed during the day is a big deal around here. Add to that 4 sick kids with 3 missed days of school, an angel fully robed and halo-ed puking all over the stage during the Christmas program, a toddler taking a major tumble down the stairs, at least a dozen loads of laundry done this week and a mom trying to finish up Christmas gifts {that she just started last week} and you've got our house the past 5 or 6 days. I think {at least I hope} everyone who was going to get sick has, and everyone who has been sick is now better. Here's to a Merry and puke-free Christmas!

Here's our poor, little brute of a toddler smiling despite her painful looking face::

thankful thursday

This week one year ago the Metrodome roof caved in and we had to cancel our Christmas party because we had nearly a foot of snow. Yesterday it rained. Yup, rained! All day long. Weird!

Anyway, onto the thankful part :: In addition to being thankful for the mild weather we've had so far, I am so very, very thankful for my "village". You know how "they" say it takes a village to raise a child? (actually, first someone in Africa said it, and then Hillary Clinton published a book with that title and made it more popular) Anyway, it's so very true. Parenting is hard enough with a village, I can't imagine doing it alone!

I am always so thankful for my wonderful, wonderful village and all that they add to my life. In our "village" we have people who are gifted in basic car repair, an ER nurse who has saved us many a trip to the hospital (not to mention HUNDREDS of dollars) with his little tube of super glue and willing, helpful spirit, people willing to drive my kids here and there when we are heading in more directions than is humanly possible on any given day, playdates that save this mom's sanity, date night babysitting swaps, friends who will drop off forgotten violins at school so I don't have to wake the baby from a nap and people to bounce ideas off of or just vent to. My kids know that they can ALWAYS go home with any of the village parents, even if that wasn't the original plan. If a village mom says she's supposed to take you home, my kids know to just go with her :: she probably has better snacks and I'm sure her house is more fun than ours anyway! Isn't that wonderful? Our friends, especially those we are raising children alongside, are so much ore than just friends :: we're in this together. We can't do it alone. It's hared! We need to watch out for each other. We need "spies" who will tell us things about our kids that we would never have known or discovered on our own :: what they heard in a conversation between friends in the back of the van, what they noticed or picked up on when they were volunteering at school, what they hear from their kids about my kids . . . I'm so thankful for good, trusted, solid friends -- Christian friends -- to raise kids with. To steal a line from one of my favorite Sara Groves songs :: "Life with you is half as hard and twice as good!". I am thankful!

thankful thursday

I am thankful for so much today. Friends who are encouraging, extra help from my selfless mother, patience from my saintly husband, good news from the shoulder specialist (no surgery!), a beautiful Christmas tree in my living room, big kids quizzing little ones on their spelling words, my Bible study girls . . . this is staring to sound a lot like a Monday, it would seem.
Happy Thursday to you!

thankful thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day all about being thankful. How great is that? I heard someone say recently, though :: "Thanksgiving isn't a holiday, it's a way of life." I try to live that one out each day. I sure do mess it up quite often, but I keep trying! How much more wonderful would the world be if everyone made thanksgiving a way of life?

Today marks 6 years exactly since my father-in-law had a major stroke :: sitting in his favorite recliner, surrounded by his kids and grandkids {most of them, anyway} in the afterglow of Thanksgiving dinner. It's a moment I don't think I'll ever forget.

Here he is on Thanksgiving Day 2008, 2 years {exactly} after his stroke. {Isn't he cute? I've always been especially fond of him. It's hard to believe I've known him for nearly 20 years already :: I first met him in early 1992, if I remember correctly -- a couple months before I met my mother-in-law}::
Life can make MAJOR changes in a single moment, without a bit of warning.

So be thankful today. Be thankful FOR today. Be thankful with your whole life.

We are thankful to still have my father-in-law with us. Thankful for these 6 years that we realize have been a gift. Life hasn't been the same for him since that day, but he's still here. We still love him! We are so thankful to have him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

thankful thursday

I'm so thankful, lately, for our chiropractor. I started going a while back for some pain in my shoulder. He worked with me for a month or so and when I was still in pretty nasty pain {you know, the kind that makes your eyes water} he suggested I get a MRI. I did and it revealed that I somehow tore my labrum, which is the cartilage in your shoulder. I have an appointment with an orthopedic shoulder specialist coming up to see whether some physical therapy could help me at all or if I'll have to have shoulder surgery. Anyway, back to the thankful part :: during the time I was seeing him for my shoulder Lydia's migraines had become more frequent and she was pretty miserable, so I asked him about it. Now he has started seeing her, and although it's too soon to tell at this point, I think between the adjustments and a few other changes we've made at home on his suggestion we can trust she'll experience less frequency and less intensity of headaches in the future. Also, Sara has started seeing him too, since she's had quite the history of ear infections. She's already had the first full night of sleep in her life {my kids are never great sleepers until they're at least one though, no matter what we try!} since we started taking her to him, so that's a big perk. Overall she just seems happier and more mellow too, so that's fabulous and we trust he has something to do with that. So, if you live nearby and need a chiropractor, you should give Eric Lund a call.

thankful thursday

I feel like I've said this every Thursday for months, but I am so very thankful for the amazingly beautiful fall we've had. The leaves are glorious. The air has been crisp, but not too cold. Anna still goes out to play with bare feet {which makes me cold just looking at her, but she says she's fine.} The kids walk to school at 8:15 with nothing more than a sweatshirt, and front yard football is still going strong. This is Minnesota, so I know that the yucky stuff is inevitable :: sub-zero temperatures, snow that was novel in December driving you nutty by April, scraping frost off car windows and being cold even with 7 layers of clothing on. Last night we had our first hint of flurries and this morning was a chilly one with coldish air coupled with wind, but I'll sure have enjoyed our nearly-mid-November-and-still-snowless fall. Fall is, after all, my favorite season, hands down!

thankful thursday

I am thankful for my parents. They are wonderful and such a blessing to me, to us as a family and, I know, to lots of other people too! Tomorrow morning I head out of town for just under 48 hours with my mom and dad to attend a conference in Illinois with my mom. I'm excited! I'm so thankful for the chance to get to go. I am thankful, too, for Kirbs, who is excited for me to go and willing to hold down the fort while I'm gone. I am thankful for the full night sleep I plan to get {unless one of my parents needs something in the middle of the night, that is!}, for the chance to grow and learn, to hear some fabulous speakers {one, in particular, that I'm especially excited about} and go be filled up. After having the weekend on the calendar for months and months, I'm really looking forward to it and can't believe it's finally here . . . already {I know the finally and the already seem to be opposites, but isn't that how life is?} . . . less than 24 hours now. Whoo Hoo!

thankful thursday

Book club, a morning spent at Caribou celebrating a friends birthday and Bible study all in the same week :: how fabulous is that? Lots of fun, meaningful, laughter-filled, tear-filled time with some wonderful friends :: I am thankful! Plus, on top of that, our beautiful fall weather has continued. What a wonderful week!

thankful thursday

Today I'm so thankful for a break. A break from school for our kiddos. A break from the routine for me (Rebekah and I are going away for an overnight . . . just the two of us). A break from the craziness that the first month and a half of school has brought :: now that soccer is done and football is done hopefully we can settle down a notch or two as a family. A break from Sara's sickness (she's so much better than she was a couple days ago). Breaks are good! I am thankful!

thankful thursday

Today I am so thankful for the people who walk this journey of life with me :: my friends. I have the most wonderful, wonderful friends {including my husband, my mom, my wonderful girlfriends and even friends I've never even met in person . . . yet}. I've been praying like crazy for nearly 24 hours now for the daughter of a girlfriend of mine who is really sick with meningitis and is in the hospital. It was looking pretty dire at this time yesterday and we all started praying {and crying and emailing and making phone calls and texting -- well, not me. I'm not a texter. But the rest of the clan was texting and some one would call or email their 2007-model friend to keep her up-to-speed. Thanks girls!}. Today, I'm thrilled to say that she's doing much better. Out of the woods, it would seem, although still in rough shape. Hopefully she'll be home again over the weekend. Anyway, all that to say that I'm so very thankful for friendship and all that it means in my life. I really couldn't make it through a day without it. "Life with you is half as hard and twice as good!" Enjoy::


And on a differnt note, this is another of my favorites. It's totally the story of my life. If you haven't heard it {or even if you have}, you should listen!