Hello there!
The blog looks a little different doesn't it?! I got tired of that gold/yellow floral pattern and decided it was time for a change. :) If you have ever been in my house, you probably know that my couch pillows fluctuate often, so this blog will probably follow suit and get a makeover every few months.  It's so fun to change out the old with something new!  Anyways, I hope this post finds everyone doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  It has just been gorgeous down here and I have been dying to share it with you.  I know I said I would post some pictures of the trees and hills, but I haven't quite gotten around to taking any pictures yet.  Actually I tried to get one tonight, but ended up nearly rolling down a huge hill and getting my foot caught in some netting...it was random and I think the boys must think I'm nuts...probably the construction crew working down the street too! And I didn't even get one good shot? Oh well!  Matt is out of town, so I think I will postpone my hiking until after he gets back.  :)
The reason why I am posting tonight is because I just want to share something that is on my heart.  I'm feeling so very thankful.  Thankful for my family and thankful for my health.  Most of all I am thankful to God and I just wanted to take this time to praise Him and share with you what has been going on in our lives for the past few weeks.  About a week after we moved in I was randomly scratching the top of my thigh and I suddenly felt a lump.  I looked down and wondered if it was some sort of bite, but it didn't have a head on it or any puncture and it was clearly not on top of the skin.  It was underneath and very hard, almost like a rock.  I waited a week to see if it would change, but it didn't so I went to the urgent care.  The doctor wanted to do an ultrasound, but we were in between insurance so he ended up just giving me an antibiotic.  After a week of being on the antibiotic there was no change.  I decided to wait a few more weeks to see if it would go down on it's own. It didn't and was still fixed and hard.  All the while I was getting very fearful.  This thing just wouldn't go away and so last week I decided to go to a regular doctor down here.  After he felt it he looked at me and told me it would probably have to be biopsied.  He said he wanted blood work done immediately and told me there was a possibility it could be a cancerous lymphoma or leukemia.  After hearing this the room started to spin as I sat there and I'm sure all the color had drained out of my face.  I felt shock that this could be happening.  He then paused and said, "You know what?  Let's just try one more week of a different antibiotic and then we'll move on to the more serious steps."  Well, after just  two days on the new antibiotic the lump started to shrink and today I went back to the doctor and found out all of my tests came back normal and everything looked fine.  It was such a relief! When the boys came home right I away I told them, "We're going to Chuck E Cheese!" :) Yes, I was so thrilled and thankful that Chuck E Cheese sounded like Disney World to me...it just felt so good to be with my family and enjoy them!
I was served a major dose of humble pie this month and even though I would not want to go through that again I can say it was worth it to get my mind focused back onto what is really important. I have been so caught up in the move and our new house and all the details with that, I just lost that urgency of why we are really here.  I mean, why are we really here?  I can tell you that in the time I've been talking to God over the last several weeks I was not praying about a house or thinking about any of those things that had dominated my thoughts before this happened.  I was thinking only about two things...my family of course, but more than anything my relationship with God.  I was in the grip of fear and all these things I have been counting on, planning on, dreaming about...they just felt so trivial and far off.  They could not help me in this hour of my life where I was facing uncertainty.  I had been holding on to all these things with all my might, but I didn't realize I was holding on to the wind.  Facing this reality check of my own  mortality, the substance of these other things faded away and there was nothing to hold on to anymore.  This life is temporary and I guess what I'm trying to say is that God is not.  He is eternal and forever.  When those cold blows of reality hit us, He does not fade like a mirage.  He gets stronger and more clear than anything we have ever seen with our eyes or dreamed about or planned for.  And throughout these past few weeks that is exactly what has happened in my life.  First, this realization of the emptiness of everything I spend so much time chasing after.  Then the in your face, red lights flashing in my soul of my need for God...my need for His presence and to know that no matter what happens, I can be assured of life with Him forever through Jesus and His death on the cross.  And finally, through  understanding His love for me I was filled with His peace and strength.  Even though I did have many moments of fear, overall my usual hypochondriac self was unexplainably calm and I even thought to myself several times, "what is wrong with me?" :) I am natural born worrier times 10 (to the 100th power)!! But that is what God does for us when we give our lives to Him...He is able to accomplish the things we could not do on our own.  He has been working on me and letting me know that He wants to do this everyday, not just in a crisis.  He is so loyal and so faithful in all things and I want to write it and say it outloud because I know He has been with me through all of this. 
Anyway, I hope this might encourage you too, with whatever you might be going through right now.   
Love,


P.S. Here is a video to one of my favorite  songs...so encouraging!