Sunday, June 24, 2007

Family Reunions

Yesterday our entire family took a day trip to my in-laws for the annual family reunion. We used to go every year, but as DH got busier with his medical practice we didn't make it very often. The years that we did go, DH's sisters or their spouses didn't go. We were all there at the same time, all 23 of us! The first time since 2003. In the 4 year span, our daughter-in-law was added to the family as well as the births of a nephew's 2 little girls. Yesterday was the first time I'd seen the youngest one. She turned 1 in March & she's a cutie pie! His older one is 3 1/2, also cute as a buton. My, they do grow up fast.

My mother told me today that my niece is pregnant. That'll be the 2nd grandchild for my younger brother. It's happening the same with grandchildren as it did with having children. The younger ones have them before I do when I want them so bad. But God's timing is perfect!

Tomorrow I'm leaving to go visit my mother & sister for a few days. I haven't been to visit them since Christmas. Although I did see them when they came down for the wedding.

That's all till next month.

Friday, June 15, 2007

This & That

Last Sunday my youngest son set out on a "road trip" with 3 of his friends. They made it to their destination with no mishaps. They should be returning on Sat. night or sometime Sunday after spending the week as alumni judges at the NCFCA national tournament in Belton, TX. I'm sure they've had a good time!!

Then on Wed. I took my oldest daughter to the airport for her trip to Pasadena, CA for a Nancy Drew convention. This will make the 3rd convention she's been to. She'll be returning on Sunday night. The sleuths will be enjoying a tour of Warner Brothers Studios, a special showing of the new Nancy Drew movie, & a tour of 2 different libraries. She did call earlier today & it sounds like she's having a wonderful time.

DH is off this week. The first part of the week was spent recovering from his 2 week work shift. Wed. night we were alone for dinner so he went & picked up Chinese food. Then we watched The Fantastic Four on DVD. Yesterday we got the yard work done. With all the rain it was looking pretty bad. After cleaning up we went out to see Spiderman 3. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie!

Today has been spent working on homework for the Characterization online course I'm doing through ACFW. I'm learning a lot with this course. I've had to give considerable thought to my main character, Mona, & have fleshed her out some. The bonus to that is I've also got the main outline of the story!

Zoe misses her "mommy"! She's still housebound because of her injury from the vicious Siamese. She pulled her stitches out so the "hole" has not closed up at all. It looks fine though & doesn't seem to bother her at all. She gets lonely & searches me out. Sometimes she wants to play & sometimes she just wants to be loved on. It's amazing how sweet she can be then quickly changes into a little demon. I'm really getting attached to her though, she's a lot of company.

Next weenkend we have a family reunion to go to on DH's side of the family. It'll be at his parents house with both of his siblings, their spouses & all their children in attendance. This is a yearly event, but it'll be the first time we've all been in attendance since I can remember. I went to my first one just 2 weeks after marrying into this family. Hopefully son #1 who got married 2 months ago will change his mind & attend. Everyone wants to meet his new wife & congratulate him on his marriage. I'm not sure all of the great-aunts even know about his marriage since invitations were only sent to the immediate family.

I think I'll go to Arkansas to visit my mother & sister when DH goes back to work on the 24th. I haven't been up there since Christmas.

That's it for now.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Where did May go?

I truly meant to update this blog more often than once a month. But, May simply flew by me!

We've been getting some yard work done finally. Bought a new mower that can handle our huge yard & will help with clearing out some of the brush in parts of the yard that we want to reclaim. It will be slow going though.

DH & I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. He was working so I took him lunch. Then I met my 2 daughters at the theater to see the new Pirates movie. It was a good movie & we had a good time. We've spent many anniversaries this way. But, I knew it would be that way when I married him. A successful marriage to a busy doctor who really cares about giving his patients the best care possible is not always easy. Yet, knowing that I'm married to the man God made for me & knowing how much he loves me makes all of it worth it. The times he couldn't be here for special occasions such as Christmas with the kids, the times he had to leave me in labor to go see a patient in the ER, the times we didn't get to go out to eat for our anniversary, etc. it's all OK. Why? Because our marriage was God's will for our lives & I knew from the beginning that he would not be able to give me & our children 100% of his attention.

When I hear women complaining because their husbands weren't home by 5:30 or he was off playing with the kids & not with her, I don't understand what they're complaining about. Having to handle crises & 4 children on my own has made me a stronger person. When there's no one to call on for help you learn to handle more than you thought possible. God used the verse "you can do all things through Christ" to remind me that He was looking out for me & I could handle whatever came my way.

That's not to say that crises or homeschooling 4 children or my husband not being around all the time were easy situations to handle. Some things were really hard & I wasn't always sure that I would make it. But, I did make it & I'm a stronger person because of it. God was faithful & still is!

As I'm struggling to find my place in life with all of my children grown & my husband still working those long hours, I need to remember that God is still faithful. He has a plan for this season of my life. I just have to lean on Him more & seek His guidance. Ah, peace - what a wonderful thing!