So....It's Been a While!

Goodness!  It has been so long that when I logged into Blogger, I didn't recognize all the "new" stuff!  It has changed drastically.  I know I need to update pics...they are a year old...but that will come later.

So, what has everyone been up to the past six months?  I have missed my on-line "journaling".  Great therapy, but I got tired of only writing about (or FEELING like I was writing about) my strong dislike of shopping and the war between Kroger and Wal-Mart.  There is only so much of that one can take.  Also, I am NEVER on the computer at home.  Thanks to the iPhone, it really isn't necessary - however, blogging from a phone is so not appealing.

That being said, I have decided that I need to get back into this.  If anything, for my kids sake.  This is something for them to be able to look back on in years to come.  It is all about them (well, mostly).  They can read about the funny stuff, the serious stuff and things they will likely forget or maybe even never knew about.  I regret not blogging about the great Disney trip of Christmas 2011. I did make notes on my phone, but no official blog.  :(  We did take a gazillion pics tho.  I think it is a memory that will live forever in spite of my lack of writing about it!

So let's just fast forward to June 2012. 

Sarah and Ava both had birthdays this month.  They are now 6 and 5 respectively.  WOW!  Time has flown so quickly (as any good mother would say!)  Really it has.  They aren't toddlers...they are little people! Their little personalities are unfolding more each day.  I think I now have a little Zachary and a little Josh on my hands,,,how I love my kids!

This is the thing that has been weighing heavily on my mind lately.  On the day of their party, I had been reading the blogs of two very sick kids (Trey Erwin and Lucy Krull - click on their names and go their respective blogs if you aren't familiar with their stories), and on this particular day, neither Lucy or Trey were doing well at all.  It weighed heavily on my heart because I just could not fathom what these parents must be going thru.  I looked at my own kids and thought about the party we had just come from and was so thankful for all the giggles and fun that had been had that day.  I thought, "I am so blessed."  Then just as quickly as I thought it, a small voice inside asked, "And they're not?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.

These families are no different than ours.  They love the Lord as much as we do.  Their faith is an amazing testimony of what God is doing in their lives...even in the midst of the storm.  It was as if I was saying I am blessed because my kids are healthy.  Okay, I guess I am - but do you understand what I am trying to say here?  We are all blessed.  In spite of circumstances, we are all blessed.  When we are rejoicing in life's victories, we are all blessed.  When we are grieving in the pit of despair, we are all blessed.  It is easier to feel it in the good times, but it still holds true in the tough times.  I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before....but it does make me think twice about using the phrase "I am blessed.  Well, maybe not using it --- maybe just the context?  You know what I mean... :-)