life is good.

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This post is dedicated to my lone stalker who noticed that it's been a really really really long time since I last posted. (EEEK!) I thought I'd be posting the whole time I was in Australia (and I didn't) and then I thought I'd catch up as soon as I got home (and I didn't). So I guess now is as good a time as any...
This is my bag.  My Angel will not let me call it a purse.  SHE calls it a back pack.  A good friend gave it to me a couple of years ago during a really hard time to remind me to see the good.  I've used it ever since.  I can't bring myself to use a real purse (not even for My Angel) because I love the daily reminder to make life good.

So anyway, life is good.  Really good.  Now that things are slowing down,  I look back over the adventures that the last several months have brought and I recognize the blessings that have been showered down on our family.   I had the time of my life, seriously, in Australia with my family.  I was pretty sure already that they were the coolest family ever, and I was still blown away by their awesomeness.  I laughed harder and more often than I remember laughing in a really long time.  I'm afraid there is even some blackmail video footage to prove it...   I ate kangaroo, (I know, eeeew!) I saw kangaroo in the wild, and saw even more deceased on the side of the road.  AND. I got to drive.  You know they drive backwards over there.  Well not really backwards, but on the wrong side, which is the right side.  My dear, sweet cousins took me out one afternoon on the back roads where there are no roundabouts.  13 roundabouts later we reached our destination and we only almost died once. I miss them all WAY too much and can't wait to go back to visit again.

My Angel is finally feeling mostly better from all of her hospital time over the last 6 months. She is now back in school almost all day just in time for summer break.  She is pretty much her sassy self again.  We're so glad to have her back.

Our Princess had her 16th birthday a couple of weekends ago.  I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough to have a 16 year old.  I finally let her drive me a couple of miles home from her school the other day.  I think it'll be a while before I'm ready to try that again.

Count Studley came home from work 3 days before I left for Australia and said "We're going to put our house up for sale."  Our Princess said "YYEEESSSSSSS!" My Angel burst into tears and flew out of the room and I stood there, looked at him blankly and said, "huh?"  Two days after I got home he had a realtor sitting in our living room and in the last 3 weeks I have organized and cleaned my entire house as well as painting 3 rooms (in the middle of Our Princess's birthday party).  But we're so in love with our house now that its all REALLY clean and organized that we're both wondering what in the world we're doing.  So if it doesn't sell in the next few months, which it won't, we won't be going anywhere.

This last week we were able to foster a brand-new four week old little baby girl.  She was precious.  Like so precious that I did absolutely nothing all week except hold her and tell her that I adore her.  (I did also feed her and bathe her and change her diapers for those of you who are wondering, you know who you are...) She left tonight and we all had a little sob party for a while before the girls went to bed.  I'm not sure I can have a hard enough heart to do foster care.  I'm thinking we may have to reconsider because for every ounce of joy we experience while they are with us, we feel an equal measure of pain and heartache when they go.  And I don't know about you, but I don't normally just go around asking for pain and heartache.

From Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

There once was a man whose lifelong dream was to board a cruise ship and sail the Mediterranean Sea. He dreamed of walking the streets of Rome, Athens, and Istanbul. He saved every penny until he had enough for his passage. Since money was tight, he brought an extra suitcase filled with cans of beans, boxes of crackers, and bags of powdered lemonade, and that is what he lived on every day.

He would have loved to take part in the many activities offered on the ship—working out in the gym, playing miniature golf, and swimming in the pool. He envied those who went to movies, shows, and cultural presentations. And, oh, how he yearned for only a taste of the amazing food he saw on the ship—every meal appeared to be a feast! But the man wanted to spend so very little money that he didn’t participate in any of these. He was able to see the cities he had longed to visit, but for the most part of the journey, he stayed in his cabin and ate only his humble food.

On the last day of the cruise, a crew member asked him which of the farewell parties he would be attending. It was then that the man learned that not only the farewell party but almost everything on board the cruise ship—the food, the entertainment, all the activities—had been included in the price of his ticket. Too late the man realized that he had been living far beneath his privileges.

Seriously. Life is good.

Keep Smiling!