Shout-out to all who are loved

It occurs to me that the ones we love never get to hear it enough, so for all those of you that check this blog regularly, I LOVE YOU! I TRUST YOU! I MEAN IT!

I have had a chance to relax this morning and appreciate stuff. I got to talk with Laura Siegrist, a collegiate friend who recently moved to frozen Indiana. I ate dessert for breakfast (yummy apple squares, mmmm), and looked around to see that the laundry was done and the house was pretty clean. I think I heard angelic voices just now.

Thank you Jesus for opening my eyes to see so many folks within whom you are at work. Thank you Jesus for giving me your love through them. Thank you Jesus for showing us your grace when we don't trust you. Thanks for taking away my job, because I have been so blessed by new lessons and new friends.

Thank YOU for thinking of us, we are doing well and setting our minds on things that are good, pure, noble and worthy of our time. The office is clean-- thanks Matt! The garden is full of potential, and we are really enjoying all the warm weather recently.

I cannot believe that this Saturday marks our FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. We actually call it our "Valentersary." Am I getting old? Am I really 5 years older? I've stopped waiting for an epiphany-- life moves too fast to process them anyway.

Watching John's Memorial service DVD has really solidified the gigantic ripple effect of one person's life. He was treasured. We have been burning copies all week and it has been emotional, special and hard. You can watch it by clicking on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1108032059856

A New Year, lots to share

It's been a long time since I sat down to write. I just haven't been ready, like I was scared to think about everything and force myself to put it into words.

Matt's dad left his body behind on the way to Heaven almost three weeks ago. He died on my father's birthyday: January 6. We had just returned to Virginia from our Christmas visit to New England. There was a wedding in DC that stalled our return by a few days, and it gave our hearts & minds a reprieve from those nagging, forboding thoughts of loss. So we drove back to Rumney and stayed a week. We were gone about 3 weeks. I got laid off just before we left, so things have been helter-skelter. Loss of job, loss of parent, loss of structure and lots of change.

Time with the Horkeys was short, but fun. Christmas seems to always a time of abundance and near-glutony, but this time seemed modest, balanced and easy. Hoo-rah! My brother and his family were there, so it was awesome to spend time with them. Michelle is a saint and their son is just so precious. So good-natured and sweet for a two year old. We all went to a butterfly conservatory in Massachusetts which will stay in memory forever. Here's a little piece of it.

Then we traveled on to visit Matt's family. John was spending more time sleeping each day, so we spent a lot of time hanging around the house with nights out to enjoy the snow and local friends. I spent a day sick with some nasty kind of puke-inducing virus. We visited with lots of family and had a great visit from John's doctor. Leaving was very hard; we knew that these had been our last days with earthly John. But the doctor encouraged us to go to the wedding, trying to guess which day John would pass was like shooting at the stars.

The wedding in DC was wonderful. We were surrounded by 'ole collegiate friends. The support, love and merriment was fresh air to us. Matt's best friend was the groom, and Matt was in the groomsmen lineup. Here he is with the rest of the guys. Such a loving, crazy bunch. And of course, DC is a great city.

The wedding was great, and we headed home with minds full of memories and tummies full of good food! Unfortunately, Matt soon cam edown with the vomit-inducing virus and spent the drive back home experiencing the symptoms of said virus. It took him two days to get back on his feet. The morning he was ready to go back to work was January 6th. We got the call at 1:30 am and were on the road back to Rumney by 8am.

Merry Christmas

I want to say thank you to the economy, for giving this gift! The trip to New England has never been so cheap! $1.47 -- Holy Canolli! I can fill my tank for $20, like when I was in college!!

From pen to pan

We had a great Thanksgiving. Of course, we were up late the night before in food preparations. The DeWevers brought buttermilk biscuits, cranberry jello salad, chocolate torte (from scratch!!) and a few games to the celebration.

Next day was the main event: the Turkey Slaughter. Both of us had taken chickens through this process, but a turkey seemed slightly more complicated. So we consulted with the experts and had set the strategy with the guidance of fathers, neighbors, friends and cousins.

This turkey was not phased by much. We let him fall asleep upside down before pulling the plug. It took about an hour from start to finish and another hour for him to be fried for dinner. While not a big fan of meat nor of butchering, it sure is nice to know where the food came from. When all was said and done, however, I probably ate one mouthful of turkey... but I've never eaten much of that on Thanksgiving anyway.

God is Sufficient

Can I just give a shout out: God is doing AMAZING things!

Details aren't important, but have ever seen God "show up" all over your life... like in your best friend, cool giving opportunities, financial blessing, and good worship? Well, that's what is surrounding us right now. Such amazing grace.

Matt leaves on Monday for about 10 days in NH. It's going to be a great opportunity for him. I'll be following next Friday and we return home on November 16th. I'll get to hang out with my mom for a few days, which will be very nice as well.

Everything seems to be falling into place for us. I'm looking at an in-home business opportunity which is very exciting too. Bottom line: I sense the presence of the LORD all around our family.