December already

I can't believe it's December already! It's been a little bit of a rough week. Our dog Taco passed away Wednesday evening. He was a rescue the came to us from my sweet friend Mary who saved him just as they were taking him back to euthanize him. She got him to us, and we had two sweet years with him before he passed away. 

Friday we had a family get together at my cousin's house, which was fun. The kids got some fun gifts, and I got to see some family I don't get to see very often. 

Yesterday my mom brought by some groceries, which was a huge help as we were basically out. Right now I would really appreciate your prayers that God will send some funds by tomorrow. We have car insurance coming out, and I don't have the money in there to cover it right now. Nick also needs gas in his truck, and we have about another $85 in bills to cover by tomorrow as well. I know God is able, and I'm grateful already for His timely provision!

 

Sad News

I just wanted to let you guys know that mthc, a long time reader of and commenter on many of our blogs lost her dear husband Thursday evening. Please keep her and her family in your prayers during this difficult time.

Bas

Today in Blogland we  received the sad news of Bas' passing. He was such a precious man, and I know his sweet wife Lisa is hurting. Please keep her and the rest of his family in your prayers.

Loss

It's been a rough week. That's probably a bit of an understatement.

The day after my last post, things were going okay. I was just taking a minute to breathe after the chaos of getting ready for the craft sale. A girl who was at the sale messaged me on Facebook and asked if we could meet so she could buy $30 worth of merchandise. And Nick was coming home that night. 

Then about 2:30 the phone rang. It was Nick, and the sound of his voice made my heart jump with fear. 

"What's wrong?"

He couldn't find the words for a second, then, "Papaw just died."

"What? How? Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry! What happened?"

His precious grandfather, the absolute rock of the family, the man who spent last summer mowing yards for 5 different people on his street, the man who should have lived to be 100, was gone of a heart attack. He was on the phone with Sears, trying to find someone who stocked the fish finder he wanted for Christmas when he fell out of his chair and hit his head. Nick's grandmother called the paramedics, and when they came he was both responsive and lucid, clear on the day, the year, the president, all those questions they ask. He didn't, in fact, want to go to the hospital, but they insisted, and thank God they did. He coded in the ambulance and passed away at the hospital, stunning everyone.

Nick's dad and stepmom were at the hospital when he died, but neither they, nor Nick's grandmother got to see him before he passed. Nick's aunt arrived knowing only that he had been up and talking to the paramedics before they took him to the hospital, so it was especially devastating for her to get there to find him gone.

Nick headed home as soon as he got off the phone with me, and I got on the phone with Robert so that he could go be with the family (as Nick's dad's pastor), and my parents to tell them the news. My dad has always been especially fond of Nick's grandfather, and he took the news hard.

When Morgan got home from school I had to break the news to her, and she was heartbroken. There wasn't a whole lot we could do until Nick got back to town, so we went to meet the girl who wanted to buy some of my merchandise. By the time we finished with her, Nick was back, so we met at his grandparents' house to be with the rest of the family.

Kate, Will, and the kids flew in Thursday morning, the one bright spot in the week. We were not going to be able to see them for Christmas, and I feel like this was one last gift his grandfather gave us. 

That afternoon my dad called with the news that my uncle had just passed away. This was not unexpected as he had been hospitalized for most of the last six months, but it was still very sad news, and my heart hurts for my aunt and cousins

Friday we were at Grant and Kelly's house. Nick was checking his Facebook, and he said, "Did you know there was another school shooting?" We'd been so busy with family that we hadn't had any opportunity to get online or turn on the news and had no idea of the tragedy that had befallen Sandy Hook Elementary. Honestly, I tried to go online later on to find out more about the story, but I just couldn't. My heart is already too full of heartbreak, and there's just no room right now for dead children and Christmas gifts that will never be given. That probably makes me sound awful, but I just can't.

Saturday we attended Nick's grandfather's funeral. He was an avid fisherman, and in his honor we each wore on our coats a fishing fly that he hand tied last year. It was a beautiful service, and a comfort to see how many lives he had touched. That night we had a Christmas gathering to attend at my cousin's house. I missed this one last year because I was in the hospital, so it was good to get to be able to be there, but there was a somberness to it for some of us.

Sunday after church we went back to Nick's grandparents' house to spend the afternoon with his grandmother and with Kate, Will, and the kids. I had managed to finish up all of their Christmas gifts, so I sent them home with them, and they seemed to like them all. After they left we stayed with his grandmother for a while and read her the entries people had left in the online guest book for his obituary. 

Monday night we attended my uncle's funeral. Afterwards my dad took us out to dinner, a very rare treat for us these days.

Since then I've been trying to finish up the rest of the Christmas gifts. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. 

Anyway, that was our week. I'm off to bed now.

Catching up a bit...

Hello, everyone. Hope you're all enjoying spring! It's been gorgeous here, although we did have a nasty storm yesterday. Nick has been enjoying some golf lately. He started to really get interested in it last year when he played in a charity tournament for Morgan's old school. He played again this year with Robert, Grant, and a guy from our church, and they had a ton of fun. He and Robert have been hitting the driving range every chance they get.

Looking back, I realize I've left out all kinds of blessings and family events over the last few months. Let's see, back on this post I mentioned that we needed a new roof. With everything that happened with me going in the hospital and then Jack's NICU stay, it kind of got put on the back burner. Finally, toward the end of January when things kind of started to get settled down, we looked into what we needed to do. The main issue was that we really didn't have anything to spend out of pocket, so we were hoping that the roofing company would be willing to do the work for what the insurance paid after our co-pay. Also, we were dealing with the issue of trying to get the payment from an insurance company we no longer used.

God's hand was truly on the process from start to finish. Not only did the insurance company not balk at paying, but the roofing company was happy with the amount, and they put on much nicer shingles than we had before, exactly, in fact, what we would have chosen if money was no object. They had the old roof off and the new one on in about 4 hours on February 20, which just blew our minds.

THEN, about a month after all that awesomeness, we got an unexpected extra check from the insurance company. It turns out that they had decided to send a little extra (like almost $1100.00 extra). We were very surprised, and it came at a very good time, but we didn't want to cheat the roofing company out of anything (or have them come after us if we didn't turn it in to them!). So we prayed about it, and I called them and told them I needed to see if we were paid in full with them because we had gotten another check from the insurance. Now when the adjuster had come out, they had included in the estimate some damage that we didn't have the roofers repair (a small water stain on the living room ceiling as well as repainting in there). The roofing company assured me that we were paid in full, and even sent me a paid in full letter for our files.

Nick's sister Kate and her family came in from Texas the weekend we got the new roof and stayed for 5 days. We had so much fun with them, and we were able to take the kids to the aquarium, as well as to play putt-putt and a very nice dinner (all of which they paid for). That weekend Nick's other sister and her husband also made an announcement - they're expecting their first baby! We're super excited for them, and they're due the day before Daisy's birthday. We found out a couple of weeks ago that they're having a boy, and I can't wait to throw her a baby shower.

We did have some sad news a few months ago. Robert and his wife Faith, who announced their first pregnancy in December, lost the baby just a few weeks after Jack was born. She was just about 8 weeks along, but it was truly heartbreaking. What made it even harder was that the miscarriage happened the weekend she helped throw my baby shower for Jack. She didn't feel well during the shower, so we sent her to go lie down. The day after the next (Monday), she went to the doctor and they were unable to find a heartbeat. This is the brother who is our pastor, and I can truly say that they have shown such an amazing testimony during an incredibly difficult time. I pray that God blesses them with a baby sometime very soon.

Speaking of brothers, my other brother James (the one who's been living in L.A.) moved back in February, and he now lives about 3 minutes away from me! He was living out of state for about a year and 1/2 for his work, and I've missed him so much! It's so good to have him home!

Oh! Another cool thing - for the last 3 months I've been taking part in a monthly girls night out. The first Thursday of the month I go out to eat with a group of other women, most of them also married with children, and I can't even tell you how incredibly much fun this has been. One of the women is a girl I went to school with, ironically enough one that I had a VERY volatile friendship with during high school, with much more fighting that friendliness. All these years later we're great friends, and Nick and the kids and I actually went to a family game night at her and her husband's house last month. We don't have all that many friends who are in the exact stage of life with are in (married with 3 kids, all younger than teenagers), so it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them, and Nick got to meet some of the wives I've been spending girl's night out with.

Easter was lovely as always. I kind of went nuts with matching our clothes, but we all wore black/gray, white, and yellow, and I have to say, we looked pretty great together. We had dinner at Nick's grandparents' house, and Jack was the star of the show. :)

The 21st I had a photo shoot. It was my first since the baby was born, and it was pretty intense. It was at a special care facilty for some pretty severely disabled patients, and they were very challenging to work with. That said, it was a blessing to be chosen for such an opportunity, and I have such respect for the workers who spend their days caring for these very special patients.

The 24th was Nick and Morgan's birthday. My baby girl is eleven years old! We had a small family get together, and it was a lot of fun. I can't believe another year has passed!

And speaking of Nick, I'm so very proud of him! He decided at the new year that he was going to make some healthy lifestyle changes, and he used part of our income tax return to buy bicycles for me and him. I've sadly not had much opportunity to ride mine (um, new baby!), but he's been taking his to work with him and faithfully riding on his lunch breaks. He's also gone on a few ride events, and he's been eating a lot healthier too. He's dropped some noticeable weight, and I'm so impressed with him for sticking with it!

What else? In March Nick and I got to have a real live date night! My in-laws kept Morgan overnight, and my parents kept Jack and Daisy for the evening so that we could have dinner and go see opening night of The Hunger Games. Nick and I absolutely loved the books, and I have to say that they did an awesome job with the movie. We can't wait till the next one comes out, and we already have it planned as a date.

Anything else? Oh yeah - our old, faithful, much used gas grill finally bit the dust earlier this month, right at the beginning of grilling season. I mentioned it on Facebook and my friend Denise commented and said that we could just have hers. I couldn't believe it, because hers was in great shape, but she's single and lives alone and just never uses it, so she passed it along to us! Our dishwasher also had to be replaced. Fortunately we were able to get one reasonably priced, and it should be here on May 1st. Unfortunately I'm revisiting my dishwasherless newlywed days until then, but I think I'll live. :)

Nick has picked up a bit on the discipline side of things, although there's not been any actual spanking. He has, however cracked down on my tendency to stay up all hours of the night, and it just feels really good to feel him there setting some boundaries.

Anyway, I know this has been a long, rambling post. But I kind of had my head stuck in the sand there for a while, and I wanted to get all this down. :)

Whew! A minute to breathe again!

Hey, guys! I hope everyone had an AWESOME Christmas! Ours was lovely, going back to the day after my last post.

On the day of the 22nd Morgan, Daisy, and I got to spend some unexpected time with mine and Nick's niece Kit. Her mom is Kate, the sister who lives in Texas, but Kit was in the state to spend Christmas with her dad, so we were thrilled to get to see her. On the 23rd we did Christmas at my parents' house. Everybody really loved the homemade gifts I got them. Nick and I both got some clothes, and I got a pair of boots. We also got a gift card to Red Lobster from my brother Robert and his wife Kate. The girls got both clothes and toys, and it was just a sweet time together as a family. The 24th we went to have Christmas with Nick's extended family and there was a neat video montage of pictures from Christmases past. I got a set of stuff from Bath and Body Works, and Nick got a gift card to Olive Garden. That night when we were wrapping gifts I was trying to remove the glass from a picture frame to clean it and the glass cracked. Unfortunately the frame was the biggest gift we had for Nick's dad and stepmom, so he ended up giving them the Olive Garden gift card to replace it.

Christmas morning we opened gifts at home first, and the girls had a blast. Afterwards we went to Nick's dad and stepmom's house for breakfast and gifts. My favorite gift there was a beautiful Stella & Dot necklace from Kate. It has 3 charms, a silver circle with "mom" stamped in it and two gold circles with the girls' initials. I totally didn't expect to have something over there to open from them because they had already sent us the biggest gift we got from anyone - a nice big check that allowed us to pay the house payment and buy a few things. This was such a blessing, and truly an answer to prayer, because I didn't know how we were going to pay the house payment.

Saturday we went running around for a bit and did a little after Christmas shopping. We bought this coffee maker as a gift to each other, and it is FABULOUS! It was a little pricey for a coffee maker (okay a lot pricey, but we got it 20% off), but we love, love, LOVE it!

But the best, best, BEST thing I got for Christmas wasn't a physical gift. Okay, first of all some sad news. On my meme the other day I said that I hadn't been to any funerals in 2010. Thursday I got word that yet another former co-worker had unexpectedly passed away, but this one was a man I very much liked and respected. In fact, he was my direct supervisor for a number of years, and I always had a soft spot for him. His funeral service was tonight, and I made arrangements to attend with my friend Denise. Now I've mentioned Denise on here before. She's been coming to church with us quite a bit lately, and she's really been under conviction, but she had never broken down and become a Christian. The deaths at work lately have really hit her hard, and the funeral tonight even harder. Jim, the man who passed away, was a very strong Christian, and one of my former coworkers shared this story about him: Last week she and Jim were talking about the woman who had passed away earlier that week. They had just come from her funeral, and the coworker sharing the story said that it was weird to think that you just never knew how much time you have left. "That's why you have to be ready," Jim replied. Within just a few days he was gone himself.

After the funeral tonight I asked Denise if she wanted to grab a bite to eat. She agreed and we went and had dinner. I had been in prayer for her all evening (well for days really, but especially in light of the funeral tonight). Dinner was lighthearted for the most part, but toward the end it turned toward spiritual matters, and I could tell that she had been trying to work her way around to this conversation. We spent a long time talking, eventually moving out to my car where we talked some more. She broke down in tears and asked me to please show her what she needed to do to become a Christian, and I had the amazing privilege of leading her to the Lord! I have to say that this was none of my doing whatsoever - I rambled and cried and went off on rabbit trails and was generally just a terrible evangelist, but God used me in spite of my shortcomings, and I'm absolutely thrilled! This has been such an amazing answer to prayer, and I know that Jim is in heaven rejoicing that such a blessing came from his passing!

So that's been my crazy wonderful week - how has yours been?

A Sad Occasion and a Selfish Spanko

Tonight I went to a memorial service for the husband of a lady I work with. He was only 39, and now she, at 36, is a widow. Last Friday she came home from work and found him unresponsive. She called an ambulance and they got him to the hospital, where they found that he'd had a stroke. Unfortunately he never came out of it, and he passed on Sunday.

I've known my coworker for nine years now, but I'd only met her husband in passing. The service tonight made me wish I'd known John better. I know that at a funeral, naturally everyone is going to focus on the good qualities of the deceased, but you could really tell that he was just a great guy. His uncle runs a ministry that focuses on helping the homeless, and, John was very involved with it, despite numerous health problems that made just taking care of himself difficult and eventually led to a tragically early death.

My heart breaks for his wife tonight, and it makes me even more grateful for Nick.

On another topic, I'm due for a spanking sometime in the possibly near future. It's for a financial issue, although not an overspending issue. Here's what frustrates me: when I've done something wrong, Nick is pretty good about dealing with it (eventually). And that's a good thing. But when I need a spanking for something else (stress relief, etc) I don't really feel like I can count on it happening.

The much promised birthday spanking, for instance - never happened. And what I wanted from the birthday spanking was less a playful experience than a slate cleaning experience. And the night before New Year's Eve, I mentioned to him that the next day would be our 5 year DD anniversary and asked him if he would give me a sort of here's-what-I-want-you-to-focus-on-for-the-future/start-the-year-fresh spanking. The next day nothing was said about it, so finally, as we waited for midnight to roll around, I asked him about it. He looked surprised and told me he didn't remember the conversation. Okay, we were in bed when I asked him, so I could see that I had probably misjudged the sleepiness factor when I asked him, so no big deal. But then he said, "Okay, how about this - tomorrow it's happening, no matter what, come hell or high water." Except it didn't. Not the day after that, either. Or any day since then.

I guess what kills me is that I don't know how to fix this. I know and can accept that one of my biggest needs is for the occasional serious (non-punishment) spanking. It's obviously important that the punishment ones happen too, but those I try to avoid, not only because they really, really hurt, but also because the fact that I'm getting one means that I've somehow screwed up and put stress on our lives. So I'm not about to do something to earn one just because I'm feeling the need to be spanked.

I've never been the type of person who was comfortable with that kind of manipulative bratting. It's selfish and thoughtless, and it completely undermines all the good that DD can do in a marriage. However that leaves me stranded when it comes to just getting the reset button pushed. It's hard enough for me to ask without feeling like I'm talking to a brick wall, regardless of how promising and attentive he may seem at the time.

We've done the whole maintenance thing, and while that had its time and place, we both feel like we've grown beyond that, and that at this point it would just feel forced and fake (as it began to feel toward the end of the time we practiced it).

But of course this whole part of this post leaves me feeling incredibly guilty, because what Nick does for me in doing DD at all is so much more than he signed on for when we got married, and I truly am grateful for all that he does. He's very good at disciplinary spankings, and not the just actual spanking part of it. He's good at the lecturing, at taking me to the point where I need to go, at knowing that it's not something that can be handled in the time it takes to beat my behind, but rather involves giving me time to process the experience, cry myself out, and come back out of my cocoon.

And yet, selfish as it makes me feel, sometimes I need another level.

Sad news and spanko stuff

Last night my papaw passed away. I'm afraid it wasn't an easy passing. He spent the last few hours of his life gasping for breath. He had been diagnosed with emphysema several years back, and the last few months he'd gotten progressively worse. He came down with pneumonia a few weeks ago, and he just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. Right now I'm still sort of in the numb stage, although I know it will hit me soon enough.

On the DD side of things, I very definitely have a "seriously, look at this house" spanking coming, although I'm sure it will be postponed until we get past this latest crisis.

On a lighter note, I came across a couple of really cute spanko things. I got this reversible blindfold in Target's Valentine's Day merchandise. (Sorry for the blurry photo quality - one side says "I like it spicy" and the other side says "I like it sweet") It came with four chocolate bars, two sweet and two spicy. The spicy ones had chili powder in them, and let me just say, in this case "I like it sweet." Chili chocolate is not for me!

And in the "I can't believe I found it at Wal-Mart category", I picked up this awesome St. Patrick's Day card. I'm dying to wear the button on the front of it!

Changes

First of all, very sad news on the puppy front. When I got home today to take her to get her shots, she had gotten out of the fence. Nick and I both searched for hours, but we couldn't find her. Morgan, understandably is pretty upset.

Second of all, there are going to be some changes on the blog, namely the links and the artwork. This has been a difficult decision, and a very personal one, but basically it comes down to the fact that some of the sites I've linked have become a conflict with my faith. I don't make it a secret that I'm a Christian, but I've not had a very good testimony on here all the time. Because I refuse to point out this blog or that, for the time being at least I'm removing all the links except the links to DD forums, implement resources, and literature sites. I'll also be removing some of the more graphic artwork I've posted.

I know this won't be a popular decision, in part because I've always made it a point to promote new blogs, but I feel like this is something I have to do. I know that I'll lose a lot of hits, because understandably a lot of people will de-link me too, but I didn't start this blog to generate hits. That said, I'm very grateful for every hit that I've had, and I hate that this will inevitably offend some people. Please don't email me asking me to re-add your link, because I won't. Also, please don't take it personally.

I've made a tremendous number of friends through the blog, Grace, Paul, Carye, Eva, Bonnie, Ceeci, Reesa, Paige, Joannie, Tanya, Kallisto, Bethie, Cindy, Dave, PaulH, just to name a very, very few. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. I don't want to lose any of you, and I hope that I can continue to be friends with all of you. I ask you to all please respect my decision, even if you don't understand it.

God has been very good to me, and I owe it to Him to live a life that shows Him to others. I know that I'm far from perfect at that, but this is a message He's made clear to me, and I won't ignore it.

Bittersweet...

Morgan had her kindergarten graduation tonight. She looked so pretty and she did so well! I can't believe my baby girl is in the first grade - it makes me so proud and so very sad at the same time. It seems like it was just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. All of a sudden I look up and realize that she's headed toward six and 1/2. In October I'll have half a teenager! I turn thirty this year, and it seems like all of a sudden my life is hurtling by.

This has been a sad month for me. A few weeks ago I found out that one of my oldest and dearest friends has developed some frightening neurological issues. She's 28 years old and had two little boys. She's still waiting on some tests results, but the symptoms are disturbing to say the least. Her doctor is saying things like "eventually end up in a wheelchair" and "probably need a pacemaker at some point."

Another close friend is very likely looking at the end of her marriage. Her birthday was Tuesday, and she's been stressed about the big 3-0 for months now. As silly as it is, she's really been worried about this birthday. Over the last couple of years she's had to battle with unfaithfulness on the part of her husband. He seemed to have really turned things around though, and the last nine months had been very good. Wednesday, the day after she turned thirty, he announced that he'd been having an affair until about three months ago, and that his mistress contacted him a few days ago to tell him she's pregnant. This is the third time I've been through this with her, and it tears me apart every time. Hopefully this will be the last. I'm not a fan of divorce, but I think it's time she moved on. She deserves so much better, and I believe there's a great guy out there for her. The saddest part of all is that they have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who doesn't understand why Daddy keeps leaving her.

I'm so very blessed to have an amazing man like Nick, and I thank God for him every day. But I tend to feel guilty having such a wonderful relationship in the face of what she's going through, and I always feel like I'm less effective as a friend in this situation because of it.

I've also had a bit of a disappointment at work. A position came open in another department and I applied for it. It wasn't a position I was in love with, and it was basically a lateral move, but I would've been working literally three minutes from home, and with gas prices that was a real draw. And there would have been room to move up from there, which there's not a whole lot of where I'm at now.

Okay, now I'm not being conceited in saying that I'm overqualified for this position. I've been with the company for over seven years, and in my current job I work on every system I'd use in the one I applied for, as well as quite a few others that go beyond what the new position would require. In fact, my current job is providing support for the one that opened up.

I did some research and contacted the person in charge of placing people, introduced myself, and basically felt pretty good about my chances. The guy in charge faxed me a survey to fill out, and I did this and faxed it back. This morning I got a form email back telling me I failed to meet the minimum requirements for the position. I have to admit, I was a little stunned, so I contacted the guy and asked if he could elaborate on his decision so that I could improve my chances for next time.

It turns out that the survey, which was multiple choice, had a point value for each answer. I aced it, except for the section on sales, which consisted of exactly one question. My current job is in customer service, not really a sales position, so I rated my selling ability in the top half of the population but not the top 20%. I do very well at what sales are involved in my job, but it's just not a big part of it.

That one answer knocked me out of consideration, and once you're denied for a position, you're barred from reapplying for six months. I know that it probably wasn't meant to be, and that's fine. Like I said, I wasn't really in love with the position anyway, but I'm really irritated with the way this whole thing was conducted. To reject a qualified applicant out of hand because of a form survey that takes very little into consideration and because of that prevent them from moving in that direction for six months seems pointless and terribly bad for morale. If I had gotten that answer after an interview, I would have felt that at least I'd had a chance to present myself for consideration, and I wouldn't have been as bothered. I just felt like it was poor form. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I hate to think of it happening to someone else who may be just as qualified and really, really want the job.

Anyway, enough of my bitching. Nick has promised to schedule an "ass-beating and blow job night" soon, and I can't wait!

In Memorium

An Unexpected Horror

Gratitude Tuesday will resume next week. Today I just want to take a moment to remember those affected by yesterday's horror at Virginia Tech. My prayers go up for those injured and for the families of those lost in an unspeakable tragedy.

In Memoriam...

In the comments on my last post, I received some very sad news. A very dear man I met through a forum I once roamed on passed away suddenly on Sunday. Alan was a sweetheart, a wonderful storyteller and a generous and imaginative artist. My blog is sprinkled with artwork he gave me permission to post, and I've gathered them here in tribute to him. You can see from the content that Alan was a sweet and fun-loving person who truly embraced the playfulness of spanking. He was always there with a kind thought and an understanding word. He will be sorely missed.

Very Sad News

When I was first becoming comfortable with my desires and exploring the idea of DD, I joined an MSN group called the Brat's Place for Spanking. One of the founders was a beautiful person about my age, a girl named Jesse. Jesse reached out to me and encouraged me when I was struggling with my new ideas about myself and my marriage, and she was always there to remind me that I wasn't the only one.

In the last year or so I've not spent much time with the MSN community simply because of time constraints, but I've dropped in from time to time to lurk, and I've missed seeing Jesse's posts over the last couple of months. Still, it was a shock to read Patty's memorial post on her blog. Jesse sadly passed away after a struggle with leukemia, an illness she kept well hidden from most of us.

Jesse, thank you for the friendship you showed to me, and for a lovely, safe place for your friends to gather. We love you and will miss you dearly.

To Stephen, Annie, Eagle, and Vickie, you have my most heartbroken condolences. You are all in my prayers.

Sad news

I'll miss you Bliatz and Urbanstud. I'm sorry this has happened to you, and I hope you'll find a way to join us again soon. They'll get theirs.

Letting go...

I want to thank all of you for your prayers for my family in regards to my grandmother. She passed away peacefully at about 20 minutes to five this afternoon. It's terribly hard to let go, but it's equally a relief to see her suffering ended and know that she's in heaven with her husband, parents, sister and two oldest sons.

Katrina

This is just a quick post seeking your prayers and best wishes for those affected by the hurricane. We don't live in the part of the country hit, and for that I'm thankful. But it breaks my heart to think of all the poor people who are now homeless, without food, clothing, or medication.

Jesse from The Brat's Place for Spanking (link at right) lives in the heart of things. She was able to get out safely, but I'm sure she can use our prayers as she waits to return to a home that is undoubtedly changed. A close friend of mine who at different times in her life lived in both Louisiana and Mississippi has friends who've lost their homes completely. One family will be traveling here to stay with her and her husband for a while.

The gas prices are making things even worse, and please God may there be a swift end to the constant rise there. My prayers and best wishes to all of you who have had their lives uprooted by this hurricane.

A Sad Story

Tonight as I rounded the curve in our street just before our house I nearly had a heart attack. There was a fire truck parked on the street that runs into ours, and I was so distracted by it that I nearly ran over the fire hose that was attached to the truck directly in front of our house. My heart in my throat, I went as far as I could, slammed it in park, and jumped out of the car. As I got close, I was overwhelmed with relief to see that it wasn't our house, then stunned to see that the house directly across the street from us was in ruins. From what I could gather from the crowd of neighbors (and eventually from the father of the family that lived there) there was some sort of explosion, and the house just went up in flames. He and his wife were the only ones inside, although their daughter was somewhere on the property. Fortunately everyone got out unharmed, but the fire was devastating.

Nick and our daughter were in our driveway as I walked up, and we just huddled together and prayed for the family and thanked God for our blessings. They were able to get a few things out, and Nick offered the use of our garage for storage. They were mostly too dazed to know what to do. The poor father wandered around wrapped in a blanket, just staring at his home. Any prayers I know would be appreciated.

Very sad news...

A very dear friend and DD sister passed away Wednesday morning along with her unborn child. She was in a car accident on her way to one of her last few OB appointments. Please keep her husband Nathan and two remaining children in your prayers.