Alone Time

I get a lot of time away from my family, much more than I'd like in reality. Too much time involved in other things, or having dinner with friends (though I definitely don't do that too much, just when added on top of everything else!) or working late on a project. But those times away from my family aren't really alone time, I'm rushing somewhere, thinking about where to be next or the next day.

But tonight I have true alone time... sitting in a hotel room with nothing that has to get done, dinner delivered from a nice place, and I am trying to enjoy the time and use it re-energize for going back to the office and responsibilities and family tomorrow. But really, all I want is for them to be here with me, enjoying the hotel bed and pillows and be able to snuggle.

Lately my real prayer has been that a way opens for me to have more family time, especially as we prepare to welcome a new member to the family. I don't yet know how, but I believe God will provide opportunities if I listen and am open to them.

Welcome Fall!

I love fall! The smells, the tastes, the weather.... okay, so the weather isn't really 'fall-like' in FL, but the heat does become bearable and we can start dreaming of cool weather coming soon!

I love football, and my birthday (in a few days!), and all things pumpkin. We're also excited about the start of tball season, where Drew is playing 2nd base and Michael is the head coach for the first time. It's also the start of the KidStuf season, school is in full swing and we're preparing for Baby Ben to arrive in a few months.

Lots of daily irritations, but all in all, it's a great time we're in and I'm trying to remind myself of that daily!

Long Time No Write

Wow, I realized I hadn't written for a while, but didn't realize quite how long it had been! January.... what has happened in our lives since January? We went on an AMAZING family vacation to the Bahamas and the day we returned home had a very unexpected surprise- a positive pregnancy test! The week couldn't have been any better!

Now I'm 26 weeks along and doing well. We're preparing for the arrival of Ben Maddox around December 18 and enjoying the start of fall.

I wanted to write something short to kick start my return to the blog, so more to come....

$800

$800 isn't that significant of an amount. It isn't enough to change a life, whether having it or lack of having it. But it's pretty significant to our family. Austin was thought to have had about $1000 on him when he disappeared, keeping hope alive for some that he could live off of that for a while somewhere.

But last week we got a letter. It was from the payroll company that issued Austin's paychecks saying the last check (for roughly $800) had never been cashed, and soon the money would be lost. We've never found the check, he must have had it on him. But why if you're 'running away' would you not cash that $800 check? Sure, someone could argue that he lost it, but that's doubtful- he had only had it 2 days or so. I don't think he planned on needing any money where he was going.

So.... another blow that took a few minutes to get used to.