It has been quite a while since I have posted...a lot has happened.  I will try to break it down into a few different posts based on events so bear with me.

On November 21, 2011, my sister's husband, John Robert Payne, went to be with the Lord after a two year battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I helped my sister with the memorial and in the process of the planning and the outpouring of friends, family and co-workers I am in awe of what an amazing man John was.  He was so good to my sister and their twin boys.  He was a man of integrity that went out of his way to take others under his wing.  He will be dearly missed. But as the Bible says, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord."  And so in His passing, I am jealous that he gets to dance with Jesus!

Marines, Marines, Marines

We are now in the process of enlisting my son in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He cut his hair, took out his earrings and shaved his chin beard.  Can you believe it?!?!

In the midst of all this me and Taylor served with the Patriot's Ministry at a memorial for the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton.  Seventeen fallen Marines who died in Afghanistan from April to September were honored.

We served lunch at a reception for about 600 Marines and the families of the fallen.  It was a great experience to serve, and better yet to serve side by side with my son.

U.S. Marine Corps

So many things have happened in the past couple of weeks and I wish I was better about blogging more frequently....so there might be several posts in a row to update all on what is happening at my house.

On Wednesday, October 26 I was making dinner when my son told me that he had finally figured out what he wanted to do for college. (He is a high school senior and has been seemingly dragging his feet...at the expense of my frustration).  My eyes lit up as I asked him what he had decided on.  He proceeded to hand me a U.S. Marine Corps Brochure.  My first response?  I started to cry...not because I don't support him but for a mom, when you hear your son say that, your instant thought is "He is going to go to war and die".  After my initial shock and after telling dad.  We had some good family talks over the next few days.  He has been thinking about this for over a year...I am so proud of my son and his desire to serve this country.  Freedom is not free and I understand that even more now that my son is willing to give it all for us.

Taylor's Food Adventures

Taylor wanted to see what it was like to eat a raw egg.  The lead up was way worse than the actual egg... with mom laughing the whole time!

Basketball...being played somewhere

So I finally got to see my nephews, Connor (#16) and Cooper (#14), play basketball.  They are nine year old twins.  It was so much fun to watch them play.  They play in a Christian league so the game was in the auditorium of a Baptist church.  It was a nice time for mine and my sister's family to connect. I had neglected to be as connected to my sister and her family recently....I felt guilty for my neglect of my relationship with my sister, especially since she has been going through some extremely difficult times lately.  This simple gesture meant more to her than I imagined.  Since then we have gone to breakfast together...pumpkin pancakes!! and talked several times.  I had not realized how much I missed my sister...and we live maybe 10 miles apart...

May I never forget the people in my life again.  I pray that I will always hold them close and cherish them.  I pray that you cherish your family and friends and tell them often how much they mean to you.  Better yet, show them!

I'm blogging like a mad woman lately...
     So I am sitting here, working on my study called "He Speaks To Me" by Priscilla Shirer on my lunch.  I see people outside and grumble that I am going to get interrupted...AGAIN.  I tell the Lord all I want is some uninterrupted time to spend with Him.  I am totally aggravated by the interruptions.  The person never knocks so the interruption never really happens. Back to my study...
     I have now reached the part in my study titled "Your Interruption: God's Intervention".  Can you see where this one's going?  The chapter says, "I find distractions particularly irritating when I am focused on getting an item crossed off my to-do list. More and more the Lord is showing me what I consider interruptions are often divine distractions designed to reveal His plans for me."   So the question is for me today, "Am I missing God's intervention as He seeks to divert us to His will?"  I am humbled, but in a good way.  I feel close to God knowing that He loves me enough to work on these little human moments I have as He molds me to be more like Christ.  How do you deal with Divine Distractions to your day?

On October 7, 1989 I married the man of my dreams....and he still is.  We just celebrated 22 years of marriage.  I can't believe it has been that long.  Ed was and is truly a gift from God.  He is a man of integrity who loves the Lord, loves me and loves our kids...in that order.  He works hard to provide for us and even does laundry!! Most of all he makes me laugh and to quote Elizabeth Bennett, "I dearly love to laugh".  Thank You Edward for 22 years of laughter.  Life is easier with you by my side.  And it doesn't hurt that your still hot after 22 years!