Life is

crazy sometimes. This year has had its ups and downs. I've learned a lot. I've changed a lot. I'm not quite sure I'd ever buy a "fixer" again. At least not until the kids are grown. Through it all I've had the Lord by my side. Even when I didn't notice Him there and for that I am thankful.

It's a tricky thing moving back to where you grew up. I longed to be here for so long and now that I am, I've found it to be vastly different from what I expected. Let me be clear... not bad, different. I've had some great opportunities to serve and for that I am grateful. I've made some great friends which was totally unexpected. Life is good.

Life is what we make of it. I've struggled a lot with seeing the good through the difficulties but I'm trying harder now than ever. "It's a good day, it's a beautiful day," is my new mantra. I had a great talk with a great friend and we both decided we were going to see the good over the bad. The next day I woke to a terrible mess (that I'd rather not go into detail about) that I spent the next few hours cleaning up. All the while telling myself, "it's a good day, it's a beautiful day." When I finished cleaning, I went to get my sweet baby (I'll soon have to start calling him little boy) out of bed and found him in his diaper covered in his own poo and handing me his poo covered blanket exclaiming "yuck!" .... "It's a good day, it's a beautiful day."

I've found myself in tears clinging to those simple words. I have so much to be thankful for. I'm resurrecting my blog for the purpose of recognizing what I have to be thankful for. It's my goal to try harder to recognize the Lord's hand in my life and the lives of my family.