Day Two of Vacation...Where's the Fire???

Dirk had this grand idea of the family getting up at 6:30 AM to go to the beach and look for seashells. Though the kids were completely for this plan, I was not. Since I was out voted, I had to make myself get out of bed this early to go along.

Once we got there, actually, it was a lot of fun. We were the only car parked out there at 7:00 am. Dad’s plan worked, as we were able to find a lot of cool looking seashells.

By the time we got back from the beach, we were all starving. Okay, since we got up at the crack of dawn…I had a plan that I (with Dirk’s help) would cook this big breakfast for the family.

I make better scrambled eggs, so I was going to be in charge of cooking the eggs today. Well, I made a huge mistake in letting the skillet heat up to 700 degrees and then dropping butter into the skillet. The smoke from the immolated butter billowed out. First it overtook the kitchen and then quickly spread to the living room where the smoke detectors were and also the “FIRE” alarm to the local Fire Department. Yep, I set the darn things off! Unfortunately, once our condo’s smoke alarm went off, each individual condo’s alarm went off as well. I couldn’t believe it! Dirk ran to open the doors and then started fanning the smoke detectors while I was panicking in the kitchen in cleaning the skillet. Not too long after that, we started seeing other residents walking past our front door looking in. Dirk went outside…only to find that the ENTIRE resort was standing out looking in our direction. What humiliation!!! The maintenance crew came to check things out and said that they were working to turn off the alarms. Now, the whole episode was over in a matter of seven minutes or so, but it seemed like forever to me.

I did end up cooking the eggs (with hesitation) and we were still able to sit down and have a humorous breakfast.

We took a mid-morning nap, had an early lunch and then took the girls’ to see, WALL*E. This is a very cute movie. The cost to see a movie is a lot cheaper in Galveston than it is in Dallas!

Later we went back to the beach. We dug a sand-hole and buried both of the girls to where only their heads were sticking out. It was actually kind of creepy. I’ll post some pictures of this once we get back.

Tomorrow we will be visiting Moody Gardens. Apparently, this is a very hot place to visit in Galveston. The girls are definitely looking forward to it.

Day One of Vacation

I love burgers! Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone loves burgers! But, for me, it’s more than that. I don’t like just any burger though. I like to think of myself as a burger gourmet. But I’m not looking for a fancy, gimmicky burger. If I am going to eat a burger out, I like ‘em very greasy. I know…sounds terrible, huh? Anyhow, the night that we checked into the resort, I asked Shea, who checked us in, where to find a good burger place. We went to this place called, “Blue Water Grill.” Just walking in, I knew that this place made good burgers. So, I ordered a cheeseburger. Dirk ordered a Bypass, a cheeseburger with an egg and bacon on top of the meat and lots of mayo. I know…sounds disgusting, huh? The girls just wanted a pizza. I tell you, this was the greasiest, most flavorful burger that I had ever eaten at a restaurant. It was delicious!

BTW – If you know of a good place to eat a good, homemade, greasy burger in Dallas, please let me know.

Later on, we went to the beach. Our little one, Jae has never been to the beach, so she was not too sure about all of this. Once we convinced her that she would really like it, she took off her shoes and started walking into the water with me. As the waves started coming to us, she held my hand with a death grip. She completely froze and wanted to get out and sit on the mat. So, I got out with her and, as we were sitting on the mat, she saw another mother taking her baby out into the water. For a moment, I could read Jae’s mind. “If a baby is going out there, it should be okay for me.” A few minutes later, she asked me to take her back out. This time she still held my hand very tightly, but her body was a little more relaxed. Morgan and Dirk were sitting in the water trying to find the “coolest” seashells. Jae saw how much fun they were having and finally sat down to join them. I was not actually ready to sit down and be drenched in sandy, muddy salt water, but knew that I needed to make a point showing my kiddos that I’m still a cool mom. We were having a blast. Jae got completely used to the water and the big waves. After a while, daddy even convinced her to go further out with him and Morgan for the deeper waves. Sorry…that’s where I drew my line of being a cool mom. I was not interested in dancing with the waves. I headed back to our mat to dry off and take some pictures. The wind was blowing just enough for it to be a perfect day at the beach. We stayed there for hours.

As we were packing up to leave the beach, Jae kept asking if we would come back another day. For a little girl who wasn’t interested at all until she found herself having so much fun, she would, of course, be the one to want to stay longer or come back again very soon. Wouldn’t you know it though?


PS – I forgot to bring the right camera cord to transfer the pictures to my computer. So I will have to post pictures of each day when I get back. I know…I am so retarded!

T'was the Night Before Vacation

Throughout the day (Thursday), we were preparing to leave for vacation around 9 am Friday morning. I was thinking at one time that just about everything that could go wrong was doing so!

Now I look at the things that went wrong on Thursday before leaving and I laugh.

My morning started out with some trouble at the office. It seemed like every phone call I answered was an issue. I made a special effort to get into the office early to take care of last minute things. Unfortunately I stayed behind the entire day and instead of leaving early or even on time, it was 7 pm before I even left the office. What a bummer!

Earlier in the day I had dropped my van at the shop to get an oil change. Unfortunately, I was hit with another issue. “Mrs. Reeves, I need to let you know that your two front tires are in bad shape and your two back ones are not far behind. We recommend that you replace them very soon.” I asked if replacing the tires could wait until we returned from vacation. “Well, you can if you’d like but you need to be very careful as the thread is very worn.” I asked if I could see what they were talking about with the tires. I don’t know much about tires, but after seeing my two front ones, I was convinced enough that they were right. I called Dirk and told him what was going on. The tires would also have to be ordered! The earliest that they would be able to replace our tires would be 9 am Friday morning. We accepted. I left the shop totally upset that this would not only delay our trip by a few hours, but it was going to cost us a fortune to replace all four tires right before vacation! Another bummer!

Next stop…I needed to stop at the mall on the way home to pick up some more foundation (makeup). Okay, for some of you who don’t already know, it is VERY HARD for African American women to find the perfect match in foundation for our skin color. About two months ago, I had a makeover done at the mall and fell in love with this foundation. I purchased the foundation along with many other things. I walked in and asked for my foundation color and was hit with, “Oh, our company has discontinued that line of foundation and we have a few bottles left, but not your color.” For a split second, I thought I was going to sit on the floor and act like a 2 year old. I couldn’t believe this! So, I asked the obvious to the same woman who gave me the makeover to begin with, “Did you not know at the time you gave me the makeover that they were discontinuing it?” She claimed that she didn’t know at the time so I left it at that. She tried to sell me on another foundation. It was such a big difference. By this time, I was desperate so I purchased it so I would have some type of foundation while on vacation. As I was walking out of the mall, to keep from crying, I started laughing out of frustration. Another bummer!

Finally, I got home around 8:30 or so. I was exhausted, but knew that I needed to quickly eat dinner and finish my packing. I had all of my clothes laid out and was about to pack them all up and finally be done with this day. That was until; I remembered that I didn’t have a suitcase as the American Airlines baggage thingy destroyed my last one. About this time, I thought I was going to have a panic attack. Another bummer!

Eventually everything worked out and we’re now enjoying our first day of vacation already!

The shop was able to put the tires on about an hour earlier than originally planned.

Dirk was nice to let me use his suitcase while he used a couple of bags.

AND…the lady at Merle Norman called me to let me know that she felt really bad about the whole thing and was able to find me three bottles of my foundation color from another store. She said that she would hold them until I got back from vacation. Yes, I know that I will still have to change to yet another foundation since this one is discontinued, but at least her finding three bottles will allow me six months to find a new one!

My Husband is a Lot Nicer Than I Am!!!!

So, Dirk was driving into the office this morning when a driver of a big rig became very irate with him and nearly ran his car into the HOV lane.

Apparently the truck driver was in more of a hurry than Dirk was! He started driving so close behind that Dirk was not able to see his license plate. Being afraid that the driver would run into him, he didn’t hit the brakes, but picked his foot up off of the gas and slowed down just enough to let the driver know that he was following too close. Well, this sent the driver into a rage. He switched into the lane beside Dirk and attempted to drive into Dirk’s lane. Unfortunately, there was no place to go but into the HOV lane. In Dallas, on this highway, the HOV lane is separated by traffic poles which are collapsible, but could cause real damage if struck at high speed.

Dirk held up his cell phone to let the driver know that he was calling the number listed on his truck. Before the driver backed off, he rolled down his window and threw a cup of coffee at Dirk’s car. Thank God the driver came to his senses before this got any worse!

Dirk called the driver’s employer and reported the incident. They claimed that they would take care of it. Okay…this is where I must say…MY HUSBAND IS A LOT NICER THAN I AM!!! My initial thinking was there no way I would have let this driver get off this easily. I asked Dirk if he was going to call the police. He said, “No, I’ll let his boss handle it in the way he thinks is best.” At first, I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t going to call the police. Then I quickly realized that this was just Dirk’s way (of handling most things) not making more out of it then reporting to the driver’s place of employment. After much thought and getting over my anger with this driver, I feel that Dirk handled this correctly and probably better than most of us would have.

Okay women friends ….……………I know what most of you are thinking while reading this.

I can think of several ways that I would have initially reacted to this had it been me!

First, let’s assume that I survived the incident in the first place and didn’t die running into the HOV lane.

Secondly, I would have immediately called the authorities.

Thirdly, I would have made every attempt to have the law changed for this irate driver to take an Anger Management class before being allowed to go back out on the freeway. Just kidding!

Last, but definitely not least, I would thank God for saving my life!

Teeny Tiny Body...Great Big Heart

Tonight our two girls were arguing over who would get to use the computer in Daddy’s office. There are three computers in the house, but they have to argue over this one. I didn’t get it.

Unfortunately for Morgan, Jaelyn asked if she could use it first. It didn’t make Morgan happy that she would have to use another computer other than Dad’s office. So for a little while they were both very upset with each other.

Jaelyn goes to Morgan after about thirty minutes. “You can use Dad’s computer, Morgan.” Morgan took her up on the offer.

Dad later asked Jaelyn why she had let Morgan have his computer since she had asked first. She said without hesitating, “Morgan hasn’t been on the computer all day and I was able to play my game earlier. She can do her MySpace and talk to her friends, I can use your computer tomorrow.”

What a big heart Jaelyn has! Not many seven year olds would care or think about this. But, then again…Jaelyn is not like most seven-year olds.

I Am So Done with Zinnias!

For those of you who are not familiar with the name, this is a type of flower.

I planted these flowers a few years ago in my front yard. They were awesome! They had a beautiful bright bloom the entire summer that year. They grew like out of control. At the time, I thought they were the most beautiful flowers to have in a front yard.

I planted them again the following year. They changed to this pale, dull, ugly, embarrassing color and then rejected the fertilizer that I gave them in attempt to help them spring back. Yes, that would mean that they died!

Okay, it’s been a few years since my last planting of zinnias. So for this year, I thought I would try them again. A friend and I went to the nursery and hand picked each one of them. They were absolutely beautiful! I purchased about a hundred of them to put out in my front yard. They bloomed beautifully for several weeks. Their color was so bright and vibrant. One of my neighbors asked if they were fake.

Then slowly they starting fading and losing their bloom. I went out and tried cutting the dead part of the flowers off. I fertilized them. Yep, you guess it. They died!

I considered for a split second not to replant any more flowers for this summer. However, after seeing how dull my flower garden looked, I couldn’t help but to run down to Home Depot to grab whatever looked good.

I purchased a hundred and twenty hot pink and white vincas. This is not one of my favorite flowers, but they were the only flowers blooming that looked half-way decent this time of year at Home Depot.

I was dragging my feet the whole afternoon in planting them. I can get my husband to do just about anything. But, planting flowers is not one of them. After the flowers sat in the back of our van for over an hour, I finally made myself get out and get to replanting. I kept running inside and outside. I would plant about 10-15 flowers and then run inside to sit down for a while. I am normally not like this when it comes to working in my flower garden. It is something that I look forward to. I just look forward to doing it when the temperature is about 75-80 degrees outside, as opposed to 90-100.

It took my about four hours, but I managed to get ALL the vincas planted and they look great!

No more zinnias for us!

BTW – Time for an unpaid advertisement for Home Depot. Had we bought the zinnias at Home Depot we could have taken them back for a full refund. Did you know that HD offers a one-year refund policy on all of their plants and trees? So many people don’t have any idea. Just bring the dead plants back to the store with the receipt and get a refund on the spot – no questions asked. So not only are we done with zinnas, but we are done with buying high priced flowers at nurseries, too.

You Can't Fight City Hall... or Can You???

See…my mom had mentioned to me about a month ago that there was some major construction taking place in front of her apartment complex. She was a little concerned that she would have problems getting in and out of her home during the course of all the construction. To be quite honest, I thought to myself that the construction that was taking place where she lived was nothing more than the construction that is happening all around us all the time. So, I didn’t think too much about her complaint.

Well, I visited my mom last Sunday. We live about forty-five minutes away from her. As we drove up to the main street to get into her apartment complex, we found the street to be completely torn up. Meaning, a vehicle literally could not get in or out without driving in a mud hole. This was a two-lane street. One side of street had been completely torn up and left without concrete….just black dirt (which turned to mud when it rained). The other side of the street was newly paved concrete which the construction was using to park their crew trucks, equipment and excess dirt.

Normally, road crews will tear up one side of the road, resurface or replace that side, then open it up so they can start the same process on the other side. This allows traffic to continue, albeit slowly. But this crew tore the entire road up all at one time, forcing drivers to drive on plain dirt (or mud). This has now been a month.

To spare you some of the details and fast forward to what transpired this past Tuesday… We had planned to take our children to my mom’s house for a short visit (Tuesday to Friday). Prior to us leaving home, my sister (who lives with my mom) called and suggested that it would be best to bring the girls next week due the possibility of us getting stuck out in the mud hole in front of their home. At this point, I sort of lost it….not with my sister, but with the construction company that was doing the job. I could not believe a company would leave the street in such bad shape like this in the first place. I asked my sister for the contact number to the city hall.

I called and asked to speak with the person who was overseeing the construction company where the construction was taking place. Mind you, it was 4:57 pm when I made the call. As it was almost quitting time for the girl that answered the phone, she was not too eager to assist me. She first told me that the gentleman that I needed to speak with was already gone for the day and that I could leave him a voicemail. My response to that was, “No, I don’t want to leave a voicemail.” I stressed the urgency of needing to speak with him right then. Again, she was not eager to assist me. So, I took it up a notch. My next statement was, “ I need to get in touch with him immediately or I can show up at the construction site with Channel 4 News.” “Hold on please.” She came back and gave me a cell number to reach Mr. Carrell. Hmmm….

You guessed it. I wasted no time in calling Mr. Carrell.

Now, since I don’t live in this city, I thought it was appropriate to say that I was calling on behalf of my mother. I went into all the details with Mr. Carrell. By the end of our conversation, he was in totally agreement with me that leaving the street like this for the residents was wrong and totally unacceptable. He was going to hang up with me and call the construction company to go back out (before I got there) and put out gravel in order for residents to be able to get out of their homes without getting stuck.

It got a lot worse before it got better!!! See the letter that I came back home and wrote after leaving my mom’s home Tuesday night.

June 17, 2008

To: Royse City Public Works
Attn: Mr. Dean Carrell

Cc: Royse City Mayor – Mr. Jim Mellody
Cc: Fox 4 News – Shaun Rabb


Dear Mr. Carrell,

I write to you this evening in regards to our conversation regarding the construction that is going on at North Houston Street in Royse City and the scene that I witnessed this evening with residents getting stuck and very frustrated tonight as I was visiting my mother.

For some reason, residents have been left without a road to allow them to get in or out of North Houston Street without getting stuck! The original road has been completely stripped away and the new road section has not been cleaned and prepared for use. I find this to be very wrong and totally unacceptable. It is not possible to drive a car on without real danger of sliding off of the road or being buried in the mud.

As I stressed to you earlier today via phone, my mother had complained to me about a month ago how bad it was for her to get in and out of her place of residence with all the construction that was taking place on her street. Unfortunately, I did not realize how bad it was until I visited her last Sunday, 06-15-08.

During our conversation, you agreed that this was not right. You also advised me that you would instruct the construction company to go back out this evening and put white rocks out so that cars could get in and out. I arrived in Royse City around 9:00 pm tonight for another visit to my mother’s home. I had to park my vehicle at a local dry cleaners and walk to my mother’s home. It was fortunate for me that I made the decision not to chance going down this mud hole. Unfortunately, the next car didn’t have that choice since they lived there. They got stuck.
Another vehicle came up behind and also had difficulty getting through. I attempted to call you on the cell number that was provided to me and at the same number that I had spoken to you at several times this evening. However, you never answered.

I did take pictures of this street and the vehicle that was stuck that I can send to you if need.

Several things here:

I thought after I voiced my concern to you earlier this evening that you were as concerned as I was at the way in which the construction company had left the streets. However, I had to revise this impression later on since the rock truck that you ordered never showed up nor did you bother answering my later calls.

This may be considered the poorest side of Royse City. However, these residents still have jobs to get to and families to care for. There was one single parent that wouldn’t drive to her home tonight on this street for fear of her car getting stuck. She spent the night at someone else’s home because she wouldn’t take the chance in getting stuck.

I asked this question earlier today while speaking with you, “Why would the construction company (with the city’s approval) tear up the entire street?” I have seen a street torn up on one side with the other side left to drive on numerous times, but, I’ve never seen the entire street being totally unavailable.

You mentioned during the course of our conversation that you made it very clear to the construction company that the streets be left in a shape for residents to be able to get in and out of. However, the construction company chosen has done totally the opposite. Is the city not overseeing this project closely? I know that there are many other projects to oversee, but even the Royse City police officer that showed up tonight was completely thrown off by how bad this road is. As I started complaining to the officer this evening, he mentioned that he did not realize how bad it was until tonight.

Though the city is writing the check to the “preferred” construction company, this is still taxpayers’ money and again, this is not right and is totally unacceptable!!!

In case of an emergency of a resident getting very ill and an ambulance being able to get in, it would be very difficult, if not completely impossible.

It seems to me this being a low income side of town in Royse City, not many city officials are even aware (or even care) of how bad a condition this street has been left in.

In closing, and speaking on behalf of my mother, I would appreciate some feedback to this letter and what the city plans on doing in correcting this problem immediately.


Sincerely,

Daphine Reeves



After staying up to almost 2:00 am writing the above letter and then tossing and turning most of the night out of anger and frustration, I felt that I still had not done enough. So, I made up my mind to go back to Royse City the next morning to meet the construction crew. I arrived at 7:45 with my camera and video camera in my hands. I immediately started taking pictures and then paused a second or two in order to switch to video taping.

A man walked up to me and greeted me with, “Hello ma’am, you’re going to be able to use this newly paved street tonight to get into your home.” I quickly corrected him with, “ I don’t live here. My name is Daphine Reeves and who are you?” His eyes grew wider. “I’m Dean Carrell,” he said. I have to be honest. I gave him an EAR FULL!!! He quickly took responsibility for not overseeing the construction properly. He sincerely apologized and told me that the entire job had ceased until the newly paved street was clear for residents to drive on with the crew trucks, equipment and excess dirt removed . He reassured me that the street would be open by noon. I shook his hand and agreed that if the street was open by noon that I would not proceed any further.

I walked away, got in my car and droved into the office. By 11:00am, my sister had called to let me know that the new paved street was open already.

I have since shared this story with several friends. I’ve heard comments such as;
“I would never be able to something like that,” or “I would have never thought to call Channel 4 news.”

Although, the road is now in a drivable condition, I still feel really sad that people could be treated like this. I am also not sure why the construction company left the residents to fend for themselves to get in and out of the mud hole that they left behind. I am just happy that I was able to help out.

An Old Friend...

Today was bit of an awkward day for me. My emotions were all over the place.....

As my feet hit the floor this morning, I was filled with so much joy, peace and happiness. I got dressed, left for work and was ready to take on another day!

My sister called me not too long after I got into the office. She was updating me on an old friend of ours that we had worked with many years ago.

This friend, her husband, and their baby were involved in a serious car accident almost two years ago. The husband and baby almost died. By God's grace, they all lived and our friend is able to freely talk about one of the darkest and saddest days of her life.

Their lives have been changed forever. Due to many complications from the car accident, the baby and husband have undergone numerous surgeries. It appears that the baby girl (who is now three years old) is able to do most (if not all) the things a three year old can do. Unfortunately, it's been more difficult for her husband to be completely healed yet. I think that he's had five surgeries since the accident. I knew about this accident and tried to keep in touch with this friend for occasional updates on how they were doing. Unfortunately, we kind of lost touch in the last year or so.

Anyhow, my sister was recently able to talk to her through myspace and then later found out that this friend had a blogspot. I logged onto her blogspot today and was just completely taken back by the long journey they have been on since the car accident.

I spent my lunch hour reading entry after entry of what my friend and her family have gone through and my heart is just deeply saddened today. I have prayed for them several times this afternoon. I can't seem to stop thinking about them since reading so much of her blogsite.

One particular entry that she posted on June 9th cannot seem to leave my mind. I have read it multiple times and cry each time I read it. I am in awe of the faith she has, but I am in more awe of how honest and transparent she has chosen to be with us.

Read it below....


Gone and Present
This probably has too much information and you probably shouldn't read it....but as I write, I'm talking about it with God, and it all has to come out for my sanity!! Besides, I'm not private, so who cares if you read it..........but don't get all riled up and come after me with sticks and stones......these are just my feelings, taken to God and I'm entitled to them........and He will heal them as long as I take them to Him......

I'm in a place where nothing seems right anymore. I am so tired....tired of the surgeries, the hospital stays, the doctor visits, the laundry, the house work, caring for everyone, keeping a happy face, trying to be a good parent, trying to keep it all together....I'm just SO tired.I want my husband back....the man who just two years ago could run, jump, and play while leading the kids at children's church, the man who could take care of everything and keep everything straight, the man who made me laugh everyday.

Gone is the running, jumping, and playing....he's no longer capable of these things and probably never will be again....the other driver made sure of that!Gone is the laughter, although it rears its beautiful head from time to time, it is usually replaced with sharp words, impatience, pain, and exhaustion.Gone is the man who laughed at my imperfection.....he is too tired, to uncomfortable to laugh at it anymore, so he nit picks it and reprimands me for it instead.....and then feels guilty for treating me that way!Gone for now is the ability to be close.......which he needs.........which I'm terrified of now........which only adds to his impatience.......which I'm trying to rectify but am afraid of the physical repercussions it could cause him. Is it really worth it for a few minutes of "closeness" if it causes more damage?! A woman's answer to this is so much different than a man's!Gone is my trust in most friends. "Friends" I've talked to about things that are upsetting me.....things that could cause problems with others if discussed outside of that conversation between two.....things I have discussed because, if I don't, I might explode because my cup is so full......things that were discussed because I was asked about it and then my response was with my feelings, how I see the situation.........and yet still my "friends" felt comfortable sharing these things with another and causing disharmony....when all I needed was someone to listen, to understand my pain, to grieve with me.Gone is the shared church between my family and friends......I stand by helplessly and watch as one by one they go, while I watch with tears in my eyes.......even my son. And I wonder, does anyone else care? Are we all so caught up in our rules, in being the one who is right, that we cannot reach out to those who are hurting? Those who need a break from how things have been.....those whose pain does not allow them to be the perfect person everyone is trying to force them to be?! Those who see the changes that need to be made and yet their voices have been pushed out, pushed away, to the point that they see no option but to leave.....for their own peace for their own sanity? Am I the only one who understands them? The only one who is not worried about being the one who is right but is more concerned about the people and what they need? Is it God's intention for us to stand by idle, lifting ourselves up, while others around us are dropping like flies? Would He be happy with what he sees from us right now? Is all of this turmoil not causing Him more pain than it is causing even me?Gone is my ability to put on a happy face, to hold in the anger, the pain, the grief, the sadness, the hurt.....the emotions that I have so diligently tried to keep "in check".Gone is my ability to allow others to help me....I don't know why, but I'm struggling with it!_______________________________Present is my belief that God sees my pain.Present is my belief that God can and will handle it all.
Present is my belief that God will never leave me nor forsake me.Present is my belief that God has plans for my family and for me.Present is my belief that God will restore the laughter in our home....that He, and He alone will remove the stress that has been causing so much pain in each of our family members.Present is my belief that God can bring that closeness between Paul and I again....we only need to have patience.Present is my belief that God has put in place for me friends that I can trust with those things I need to talk about....friends who honestly care for me.Present is my belief that God can heal our hurting church. That He will refresh us and bring back our caring hearts. That He is reminding us now that our service is to reach others for Him and to remain in fellowship with each other and encourage each other.Present is my belief that God has a plan for my son.....that He is with my son no matter what church he attends. That He has a hold of my son's heart and is guiding him.Present is my happiness as long as my children go to church somewhere, even if it is not the place I had chosen and had hoped for them to attend.Present is my belief that God will eventually place my son where HE wants him to be.....no matter what anyone else thinks (including me).Present is my belief that God will take care of those who have already left our church.....that He will guide them to a new church home....that they will be ministered to and loved.Present is my belief that God will guard all of those feelings I am no longer able to contain. That He can keep them safe for me and guard my tongue and actions during this time that I am not able to keep it all "in check".Present is my desire to see Jesus return soon.Present is my hope in the Lord!Present is my trust that the Lord will renew my strength....that I will no longer be weary!Isaiah 40:31But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

We can all learn something from her entry posted on June 9th. I know I have!

After reading her entry, I felt guilty of the life that I am living. We all have our share of problems. But, I couldn't imagine going through what all she's gone (and is still going) through.

Though my heart feels heavy and very sad after reading her blogsite today, it has also encouraged me in so many ways as well. To be honest, I didn't feel that I needed any encouragement, but her entries will really get you thinking about things you hadn't before.

This is my first posting..and I didn't realize that I had so much to say.