Good-byes

Same old story, told once again. We live a great life with wonderful opportunities to meet new people. We create friendships and make memories. Those experiences come with the regrettable downside of, eventually, saying good-bye. It's unusual to see more than one person off in a short period of time. To say good-bye to three people in one day....CRAZY! That was my day. Tears shed, hugs given, good-byes said. And it's a scene that will replay several more times in the months to come. There are many dear friends who will be making their way back across the pond during a sort of mass exodus. The reverse of our mass arrival! Gonna miss 'em all! Truly blessed to have them as friends. I'm already scheming for reunions:)

New Obsession

I have a lot of addictions. Coffee, chocolate, good books, laughter. Some I have learned to control. Like, I don't buy Sudoku books (unless I'm traveling) anymore as I can't put them down until all the puzzles are done. Instead, I have found a great website that has a new daily puzzle so I do it in the morning and get my little "fix". I try really, really hard to only make cookies when I can take the majority of them somewhere away from my house to keep me from eating every last one. Now, how to curb the latest obsession.
Facebook! The addiction has slowly been growing since September when an old HS friend "found" me. You see, I started an account last spring when a friend moved and sent out pictures of her new home via her FB account. The only way to view them was, you guessed it, to start an account of my own. So I did, saw the pictures, and then forgot about it! Enter aforementioned friend and, after reconnecting, I was directed to our 20-year reunion group. It's been a wild ride since then.
I love reconnecting with people I haven't seen in years! I love "chatting" with my friends next door. I really don't know exactly what it is, but I am slowly becoming more and more obsessed. I even come back to check any updates every 5 minutes or so when I'm online doing other things! There is something to be said about a friend request showing up that lifts your spirits. Oh, what is a girl to do?!!
Step One: admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion.....

Another Incredible Loss

We've just received word that baby Sarah Abigail, born 16 weeks early, passed away today in her parents arms. I cannot even begin to imagine what our dear friends are going through. I know that in the week she was in this world, she brought people together from all over the world to pray for her and her parents. The power of prayer is an amazing thing. There is faith in trusting that, even if the answer is not what we wanted, the Lord is still in control.
My heart is broken for them and for the fact that we will never get to hold this sweet baby girl. All I know to do is lift her parents up in prayer. Praying for strength to get through the coming days, peace in their hearts and comfort from the Lord. I ask that you join me in lifting this family up in prayer.

Chinese Laundry

So my dryer is, as the technician said, total gebrochen (oder Kaput!). Now, those who know the story, know that I've had dryer issues since nearly day one in this house. The fact that the current said kaput dryer is the third one since we've lived here proves that.
They've replaced the dryer (yes, twice so far), cleaned the air ducts (although I am convinced that there is where the problem lies, so I don't trust the thoroughness of their job), and still I am left with another gebrochen machine.
Those close to me have heard my sob stories far too many times. How I've only been able to do 2 loads a day because each load took 6 hours to dry. How the laundry never actually got caught up....how could it at that rate?
Anyhow, since it doesn't dry any longer at all, I've given up. I'll get another machine one day next week (or the week after, it depends on their overly busy schedule!) but in the meantime, I'm left with mountains of clothing, linens and all manner of material that needs cleaning. What's a girl to do? Wash....and find somewhere to hang all of the wet laundry. I've done (not kidding here) 20 loads over the last two days. Can't hang anything outside (where would I do that?!) so it is all over the laundry room, door jams and staircase! Hubby announced this afternoon that he was glad that my inventive Chinese laundry theme was working so well. Out of necessity.....
One thing I have found, everything dries incredibly FAST! True, I have a bit of a warped perspective since I typically wait 6 hours, but it is fast. I strung a line on the third floor staircase and hooked up Log's fan to blow. I am nearly done...woohoo! I have even become incredibly in tune to the washer as I am diligently adding fabric softener to the rinse cycle. Something I have never done in nearly 19 years of marriage. (Can we say fabric sheets!)
One day soon I'll have my fourth dryer to burn-up. One day further down the road, I'll have my own dryer back. The one that takes huge loads of laundry and dries them lickety-split. I'll dream of that day. Until then, I'll duck going through the doorways to avoid the gauntlet of wet clothing.

Calling All Prayer Warriors

A dear friend has just had her baby. We rejoice that Rach has a beautiful baby girl. There is need for much prayer on her behalf though. You see, Flippy (in utero nickname) came a little early. 16 weeks early to be exact. While Flippy is holding her own so far, this week is crucial for her. Please be praying for this family as they face this unexpected turn of events. Pray for comfort, peace and rest so that the parents will be able to maintain their health...both physical and mental. Pray that this sweet baby develops normally and strong from this point forward.
We rejoice in this tiny 1.5lb baby. We all just want the opportunity to kiss her and love on her!

The Weekend

We made it to Friday. Whew! What a crazy week. There were meetings and dinners. Errands and errant schedules. The weekend, however, isn't going to be much slower.
We got L off this morning for his adventure to Garmisch and the Cub Scout Alaska Days. He headed off with our friends for the next couple of days since we are unable to take him. We have a ball to go to tomorrow evening. That sort of hampers play time in the snow 3 hours from here. True to form, L didn't have any problem saying goodbye to me. I couldn't even get a kiss out of him. My little man is 'all growed up'!
We have a couple of extra boys here spending the night with us though so the house isn't exactly quiet:) Other friends of ours have their ball tonight. It's a bit like a child swap weekend the more I think about it! B and Dad have some Boy Scout stuff in the morning and then we will all be off for the ball later tomorrow afternoon. We will be staying the night at the hotel. A little away time. B is going to act as sitter for our extended "family" as we all will be attending the same function.
I made a horrible boo-boo this evening. I was trying to steam out some wrinkles in my dress and I put a big hole in the side with the iron. (I was almost done, having successfully substituted the steam from my iron for a real steamer, when I touched the iron to the dress.) Ouch! I believe I have a fix that will get me through tomorrow but I may have to retire it after this. This will be the 4th time I've worn it. Pretty good life for a gown!

The Future is Unknown to Us

Even when we have the best intentions, everything planned out and ready to execute, it all changes in a moment. One moment everything is wonderful, a future of promise and opportunity and in the blink of an eye, it changes.
We had our share of witnessing futures change over the RLBT. Young men, engaged to be married, who were excited about what was ahead of them, were taken from this world. Husbands with wives, fathers with small children were taken. Little ones will grow up with only dreams of what might have been. It's the world this family lives in. We chose this path and come to expect tragedy when it comes to the job. It doesn't make it any easier but it doesn't come as such a shock either.
Then tragedy strikes close to home and the air around you gets sucked away. There are no words to say when something completely unexpected happens. When sorrow replaces the promise of a future. Of happiness. Of life.
I've been a bit introspective today as a friend has had tragedy hit their home. The loss of their unborn child who was due to be born any day. I don't know what to say or what to do. All I can do is pray and hope that peace finds them quickly. That the Lord will reveal to them His plan and purpose for this situation.
I've also been reminded, again, with the fact that there are no moments in this life that should be taken for granted. Each moment is a gift to cherish. Rejoice in the smallest things.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009! A year of promise, change, challenges, family and friends. We had an exceptional leave in December enjoying being together as a family. We were able to even get a few days of staying in our PJ's for the entire day. At first I felt guilty about it, thinking that we should be traveling or doing something "exciting". Once I started looking at the calendar for the new year, that feeling very quickly went away. There won't be much down time between now and, oh lets say, July :)
As we get settled back into a routine, I thought I would get back into my blog. I've slacked off a bit as of late. I will also get the photos from our trip, Christmas, etc on here soon. Promise!
We hold you close to our hearts and cherish the memories we've made the past year. Here is to many more memories to come. Cheers!