Guacamole Anyone?

 Travis and I just got done with my 16 week OB appointment this afternoon.  I'm very happy to report that all is well, we got to hear that strong little heartbeat again.  This week our apple is becoming an avocado..guess who's craving guacamole??  I think a mexican dinner date is in our future! We read in our book that the baby will double in size over the next days.  I think I believe that because my hips have been aching lately and so is my back.  Thankfully my doctor gave me a referral for physical therapy, so now I can call our insurance company and see if they'll cover it.  We are very thankful for a good visit.  Every time I get ready for one of those check-ups, I always feel nervous right before we go.  It's hard not to let my mind wander and imagine the worst.  But, there is nothing to be worried about and that is something we're very grateful for.  

I read a couple of verses today that encouraged me and reminded me of how faithful the Lord has been to me.  It wasn't too long ago that I was feeling abandoned by the Lord, or at least as if He had forgotten me.  We waited a long time for this baby, not as long as some however, and then we had a pregnancy taken away.  I was struggling at this time last year, believing that the Lord was in control, but really doubting His goodness for me.  It wasn't the first time I felt like that and it probably won't be the last.  We've all had things happen that make us question God's goodness and His love for us, individually.  But while I was struggling with how I "felt", I kept going back to what I know and believe to be true.  God's word was and is a life-line to us both in times of plenty and want.  His word told me that He was good, that He saw the big picture, and that He always acts in the best interest of His children.  My feelings never said those things while I was hurting, but  He did.  And now, one year later, I see the benefit of trusting Him still.

"I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Psalm 27:13-14

David wrote those words in a time when he was battling loneliness and going through some kind of trial.  Life wasn't easy and it wasn't what He necessarily wanted it to be.  But he was confident that while he was still living, God would show David his goodness.  He knew it was right to put his trust in the Lord and wait for His timing.  He knew those things because He had walked with the Lord and He knew His character doesn't change.  We are facing such turmoil in our country right now with the economy and the pending election leading the way.  It would be easy to doubt God's goodness and to question His love, but that is when we cling to His word and trust His character.  He saw the big picture a year ago and He knew I would be pregnant with this baby today, just like He sees the big picture and He knows what lies ahead for our country.  I hope that you are able to rest in His goodness today, no matter what the news tells us!

We had a great time at my parents this weekend.  It's always fun to go home and just laugh.  We spent some time with the newlyweds and with my aunt and uncle.  Overall it was a very laid-back visit, which was just what we all needed.  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

I could not pass up all the leaves in my parents yard!  I drug Travis and Ryley out there for a photo shoot, which they both loved :) 

I love this one, but with the sun streaming on us, I couldn't get it any darker.  I like it because I'm mostly hidden!

We won't have too many pictures of just the two of us soon!  I do love that we have 5 years worth of photos from all the places we've been together and all the things we've done.  That is a blessing to have so many years together. 

Potential Christmas card?  I think it might be a little too "light" though.  Usually it depends on whether I can talk Travis into enduring another session!!  It is very, very hard to get a good one with Ryley looking at the camera.  We all lose our patience quickly!  This might work, especially if I have it printed in "sepia" or "antique."

Our photographers, my Mom and her beloved maltese, Tigger.  Now that the "nest is empty" Tigger has taken over!

We look like family I think?  We're just missing an important member, my sister Stacie (whom we all want to move closer to home...hint, hint)

Catching Up With Friends

On Saturday, my Mom and I met our best girlfriends, Joan and Amber and little Ella, for coffee at Starbucks.  It's always fun to go home because not only do I get to see my close friends, but I always seem to run into people I know from growing up.  I'm from a small town (sort of, about 70,000) but I went to a small christian school, same church, etc. so it's very easy to always run into someone when I'm around town.  Anyway, after we had coffee, my Mom and I did a little shopping and ran into one of my favorite guy friends from high school and his girlfriend.  I missed him when he couldn't come to our high school reunion, so it was so much fun to see him and to meet his sweet girlfriend.  And of course, it was great to see Amber, Ella, and Joan!  

Little Miss Ella Grace, looking all cute, just like her mama!  Can't believe how quickly she's growing up!!

What else could be more fun than shredding napkins at Starbucks?  Lots and lots of napkins...

Two Moms in my life.  Joan, my "second mom" and Debby, my real Mom.  Sometimes we laugh because it seems their daughters, Amber and I, were switched at birth!  Joan is an interior designer and my Mom is a nurse.  I graduated with a degree in Interior Design and Amber is a P.A.  Isn't that funny?  You might think we're switched, except that we're both like our own Moms!

My best friend Amber and I.  I don't think I've shared this yet, but she is also pregnant with #2!  She's due about 3 weeks before I am, which is fun for us to go through together!  Amber looks great in this picture, I however look tired.  Very, very tired.  

The Colors of Minnesota

Ryley and I, out for a walk last week. He loves running around in the leaves, hearing them crunch under his feet! When this time of year rolls around, I'm always on Travis to take a family picture because I think Ryley was meant to be photographed in Fall! His red coloring goes perfectly with the leaves and it's hard to see him sometimes because he blends in with all the fall colors!

I love the way that leaves change colors, gradually at first and then all of the sudden all the green is gone and bold reds, oranges, and golds appear. Amazing.

Such a beautiful, lush spot in the woods. I can't believe how incredible the colors are this year! Can you see why Ryley is hard to spot in here? He is almost the color of those leaves!!

A closer look into the woods. I always marvel at the way we try to mimic the characteristics of nature in the way we use design principles. This is a great example of depth, asymmetry, foreground, shadowing, and balance. All those things I learned in my classes were just an attempt to duplicate the beauty and creativity of the Lord.

These are the woods right behind our condo, where Ryley likes to play. They are so gorgeous in the fall, but they're also kind of mysterious when all the leaves are gone and a fresh snow covers all the branches. Yikes! Did I just bring up the beauty of snow?? I really am becoming a native here. Sadly, the possibility of snow is just around the corner! I'm guessing in another week, all of these leaves will be gone. It's been really cold here lately. Ready or not, here comes winter!!

The Apple of Our Eye

Ok, I get the award for "worst blogging as of late!" I know, it's been bad. I've basically been absent for over a week now, and several of you have called me or emailed me to make sure everything is ok. Let me put your minds at ease, yes, everything is great! We've just been busy, I've been tired, and our internet has been down all week. So thus, no updates. I am quite touched however that I've been missed! I'll try to fill you in, if I can remember myself what's been going on??

On the baby front, all is well. As you can guess from the picture above, our little lemon became an apple this week and is now around 4.5 inches long! I am feeling pretty good, but still haven't experienced that "burst of energy" I keep hearing about, so hopefully that's on its way. It is wonderful to have the nausea gone though and to feel like my mornings are no longer a matter of survival! I am eating lots of my favorite foods again and I'm cooking a lot more now. Travis is thrilled about that upgrade I'm sure! I do feel more "normal" these days, although nothing about me seems to be very "normal!"

I do have one complaint that I am seeing my OB about on Monday...I am fairly certain that I have a pinched nerve in my back, and I'm guessing it's my siatic nerve?? I was in a car accident a few years ago that really affected my neck and back and lately, the pain seems to be coming from the same area. I imagine this pregnancy and my changing, swelling body is aggravating that area again. Sometimes it is so bad, my left leg gets numb and I have a shooting pain from my lower left back, in my left hip, and down my left leg. It hurts to walk, to sit, and to lay down. You can imagine how much fun that is! Anyway, I am going to ask her at my 16 week appt. what I can do about it. Obviously I can't take any advil for it, so that's kind of a bummer. I'm really hoping she'll send me to a physical therapist. My Mom told me last night that she had the same thing with my sister. She also confirmed that it wasn't much fun. And ironically, my Dad has been dealing with a pinched siatic nerve for the last 3 weeks too! I guess we really are related huh? Anyway, when I asked my Mom about the pain that would cause in labor, she laughed and told me that she was sure that would be the least of my problems at that point!! Great. That wasn't too comforting.

For some really dumb reason this week, I have been watching those horrible delivery shows on discovery and tlc. You know, the ones that feature high risk women and deliveries where every single thing goes wrong? I have been fighting my mind from letting it go there in fear. I have no idea what convinced me it would be a good idea to watch them, but I did and now I'm trying to erase most of it!! I even sucked Travis into this bad idea and made him watch this new, CRAZY, documentary on Discovery about this underground movement in Europe and the U.S. called "Freebirthing." Let me spare you the shock and agony by telling you not to watch it. It basically follows these "WACKO" women who have given into the idea that it would be wise to deliver their babies at home with NO DOCTOR, NO MIDWIFE, NO DRUGS, and NO ONE ON CALL. It's just them and their "partners" with no back-up plans, should something go wrong. It's nuts. Some of them live a long way away from the nearest hospital and they seem to think that is no big deal. It was totally distubring to watch. I realize that women did this for many years before we had modern medicine, but now we have modern medicine and professionals who are trained to handle emergencies and I personally think it is irresponsible not to use them. Sorry if that's offensive to you, but I just can't imagine taking my baby's life, not to mention my own, into my own hands when we have access to the best medical care in the world. CRAZY. But, that's just my opinion. Travis and I could not stop talking about it!

This weekend we are actually in Iowa, hanging with my parents and my sister Jennie and her husband Dave. We got here last night and will be here until Saturday night. We are about to go out for breakfast, so I'll wrap this up, but I'll take some pictures and try to get some more posts up in the next couple of days. Thanks for missing me, for the record, I missed hearing from you too! Hope you have a great Friday morning!!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

...Rejoice!!  That's right, we have a little lemon in our life now.  According to babycenter.com, at 14 weeks, our baby is the size of a lemon!!  Even though a lemon is small, that is an amazing thing for me to imagine.  A baby the size of a lemon is growing inside me!!  Wow.  Sometimes I find myself tearing up over the miracle of it all...

Ok, anyway, it is a gorgeous day here today.  It's very cool out, think 45-50 right now, but it's sunny and the leaves are falling all over the place.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE Fall??  I am going to take my camera with me today, while I'm out running errands, so I can take some pictures of this unbelievable landscape we have around us.  I find myself in the car, making noises that sound like groans, every time I see an amazing tree!  God gave me a critical eye for color and design and I marvel at the colors He creates!!  I also love to look at a group of trees and see the balance and shape of how they work together.  There is so much asymmetry in nature, that was always a principle we talked about in my interior design classes.  Of course I always made sure to credit the Lord as the great designer behind that balance, not "mother nature."  Anyway, I am very appreciative of this season and I hope to capture some of it in pictures!  

I hope you have a great Fall day today!!  

Just When it Seemed the Fall Retreats Were Over....

Can you guess what we're doing this weekend?? That's right, we're attending yet another retreat.  This one, however, is one of my favorites.  It's our student ministries volunteer retreat, where we get to spend a few days investing in our volunteers and getting to know them better.  We have some training sessions scheduled, but also some times to just hang out and relax together.  I always love going to this one because it's one of the rare times we get to be with other adults!  Although most of our volunteers are "young adults" so we always have a great time!!  Plus, we're staying at a hotel, so there will be some swimming, some playing, and lots of eating out!  My kind of retreat!!  Anyway, we leave in the morning and will be home Sunday afternoon.  

Tonight I had Travis take another picture of me, because I swear things are growing overnight now!!  I literally think I fall asleep at night and wake up with all kinds of new stuff going on...this growing a baby inside you is crazy stuff!!  I love it, but it's become an adventure to discover what new twist each day brings.  The most alarming of them all however, is the rate at which my rear end is growing along with my stomach.  I'm okay with the stomach continuing, but I'l love for the rear end to stop!  It's getting hard to fit into my in-between maternity jeans...I may actually have to make the jump to full on maternity jeans soon...YIKES!!  

This picture is me at almost 14 weeks, and after we got home from eating at a Japanese Steakhouse tonight.  We went out on a date together, but unfortunately ran out of time for my portion of the date.  The "plan" was dinner then a trip to "Babies R Us", which I have been waiting to do for weeks now!!  But our dinner took a ridiculously long time and we didn't have enough time to do both.  My bedtime is much earlier these days.  I have my limits about how late I want to stay out!!  Anyway, we didn't get to go, so that means that we'll have to re-schedule that trip.  One of us was disappointed about that, but I'll let you guess who that was.  We still had a great time out and met some interesting people.  I don't think we'll go back to that particular restaurant however.  We've definitely had better.  

It's been awhile since we had dinner out, just the two of us.  Part of me wants to enjoy this freedom and go out a lot while we can, but the rest of me just loves the thought of dinner at home and an early bedtime!  I'm trying to appease my husband though, who LOVES to go out!  That will be a hard adjustment for us when the baby comes.  We've been spoiled and had 5 years to go out whenever we felt like it.  I'm so thankful for those years and I hope we try hard to protect nights out after the baby.  The good news is that we're in the right profession for baby sitters!  I've had endless girls offer to babysit and many that I would actually consider!  I have a hard time imagining us hiring a babysitter though!  I'm kind of used to being the babysitter, not needing one!! 

Would you like to know where this sweet dog will be spending his weekend?  He'll be attending the retreat with us, "Chillin at the Holiday Inn!"  The hotel that we're staying at is pet friendly and doesn't charge for dogs!  We have our own room, so Ryley gets to come with us and hang out!!  That means nothing to him now, but in the morning when we're packing our stuff up and he starts to get nervous (because he knows what suitcases mean for him) he'll be THRILLED when we ask him if he wants to go for a ride in the car!!  That's all he has to hear and he'll run to the front door waiting for us.  I love that.  So, all of the Armstrongs will be enjoying a night out at the hotel tomorrow and having a great time with our friends.  I love weekends like these!

It's Wednesday and I'm Still Sick

Well, I'd hoped in vain I suppose, that I'd be all better by now.  But sadly, I'm not.  My sore throat has morphed into a deep chest cough and a runny nose.  I have almost no voice and little energy.  On the bright side however, my ears no longer hurt!  Oh well, it is my first bad cold of the season and here's hoping that it's also my last!  I went to the pharmacy yesterday, to ask about what specifically I could take during pregnancy.  They were very helpful and sent me home with some over-the-counter drugs and a handout for future reference.  I am feeling better today, despite my hacking and sneezing.  I have been getting as much sleep as possible, so I think that is making a difference.  I am holding out and trying to kick this on my own before I have to get on an antibiotic.  I know there are safe ones, but I don't like the idea of too much in my system right now that isn't "natural."  Anyway, I just keep taking it easy and hope to feel better soon.  At least the Lord gave us a beautiful sunny day today.  That helps!  

I must confess, Wednesdays are typically my least favorite day.  They are usually so full and Travis usually has his hands tied most of the day.  However, this morning I got to have one of those great days with Travis.  One thing I like about his schedule is that it is very non-traditional and flexible.  Sometimes that's great, other times, if I'm honest, I hate it!!  Typically on Wednesdays, Travis will prep from home and go into the office around lunchtime.  I think he likes being away from the phone and people dropping in to ask questions, so he likes going over his message at home.  I happen to love it, because I get to see him longer and it makes my time with him and my Wednesdays a little better.  We usually have coffee together and sometimes lunch too.  I always love that.  Even if I'm sick!

I have learned that being married to a youth Pastor often means that Wednesdays (or whatever days your group meets), is kind of a hit or miss day for the two of you.  He is often very busy for much of the day.  He is usually distracted with whatever he's teaching on or too busy getting ready for all that a Wednesday night entails.  I have discovered that he doesn't appreciate me calling him a lot on these days, especially when I have nothing to say, and he gets easily stressed out when I try to pin him down for a decision or an opinion on something, especially in the late afternoon hours. It took me a long time to figure this out, longer than it should have, but I have since learned my lesson.  Unless I am in some sort of emergency, most of what I need can wait until Thursday.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to paint the picture that he is unwilling to make time for me, he is always available for me, no matter what day it is!  I am very secure in his love for me and in his priorities.  However, I've learned that one way I can serve him better is to make his most stressful day, Wednesdays, as smooth as possible on my end.  With 100+ students, parents, volunteers and paid staff, he has enough people needing him.  I have learned not to fight for his attention.  Anyway, I digress...

This morning, we got to spend a little time together while he studied and I cleaned.  I have needed to catch up on the mountains of laundry we've had, which I did, and now I'm getting to rest a little before tonight.  I love days like today.  Just being home with both my guys, doing normal stuff, is my kind of day.  I know these days are fleeting, so I'm trying to really soak them up.  However, after the baby comes, I have a feeling I'll love them even more!  I know I'll be tired and have more on my to-do-list, but there is nothing like being at home with the ones you love...I'll take it however I can get it!  For those of you wishing you could spend the mornings at home with your husband too, just keep in mind that mine won't get home tonight until 10:00pm and when he does get home, he'll be exhausted and hungry!  And he won't feel like talking much.  All of those other people will have sucked him dry.  So much for loving the non-traditional schedule!   The grass is always greener, huh???

Sick

I've spent almost all of today and most of yesterday, sick in bed.  I kind of knew something was coming on Friday night, but we were both part of a wedding on Saturday, so I had no time to stop and ward it off.  Unfortunately for me, as the day wore on Saturday, my throat started hurting and I got really tired.  When we got home late Saturday night, I told Travis that I had totally overdone it and I knew it was going to be hard to get out of bed Sunday morning.  I slept for 10 hours that night and somehow made it to Church yesterday morning, but when we got home I immediately crashed.  We both took a nap after lunch and then I never really made it out of bed after that.  I knew that rest was going to be the best thing for me and I wasn't too excited about taking much medicine, so that's literally all I've done now for 24 hours!  I feel somewhat better.  My throat isn't as sore and my ears are not so congested, but I still feel exhausted and achy.  I hate being sick, but it feels even worse knowing my little baby is depending on me.  I've been trying to eat, even though I don't feel like it, and trying to stay hydrated for his/her sake.  Isn't it amazing how these maternal feelings come out in every detail of life?  

It feels so incredible these days to really be aware of the baby.  My stomach is growing and my hand is always on it!!  It's as if there is a magnetic pull from my stomach to my hand.  I love it!  When I wake up I feel that bump, when I get up I put my hand there, when I'm walking I hold it, and lately Travis seems to have his hands on my stomach too.  We were both talking yesterday about how excited we are to feel the baby move in the next few weeks.  We are still reading our book everyday that tells us exactly what's happening.  We read yesterday that the baby is now the size of a medium shrimp, about 3 inches in length.  Of course since we read that I've had a total craving for cold shrimp and cocktail sauce!!   But, all kinds of little details are being knit together right now and we are praising the Lord for every one!  

I hope your weekend was a great one.  We had a good time watching our sweet friends get married and begin their lives together.  They are a wonderful couple who have honored the Lord with their relationship and we are praying for the Lord's richest blessings in their marriage.  They were both small group volunteers for us in junior high, so they hold a special place in our hearts.  Congratulations Michael and Laura!!  Enjoy your honeymoon!!

I took Laura to get her hair done and her make-up done on Saturday morning. We had a great time together, getting excited for her big day! This picture is unfair however, she is looking all gorgeous with her hair and make-up done and I am looking the opposite! Oh well, it was all about the bride! You looked beautiful Laura!


The happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kleven. Congratulations guys!!  We love you both!

Friday Wrap-Up

***Update*** I had Travis take my picture this afternoon so you could see our little "bump".  This is me at the end of 12 weeks.  Kind of exciting and crazy to see myself looking pregnant!!

I cannot believe it is Friday...Where did this week go?  I have apparently been on a blog hiatus, unable to catch up with all of you lately.  We have just had one of those weeks that was so full of "stuff" every day, and although I'm glad it's finally Friday, we have a busy weekend ahead of us, so I'm going into it pretty exhausted!  I really won't get a break until Sunday after church...Lord help me until then!

Also, recently I've been telling people that I feel like I've finally turned a corner with the nausea and that I was just waiting to get some energy back.  Well, that must have been a mistake because this week has been a hard one.  I have not felt great at all, with waves of nausea all day long and yet a bigger appetite than before!  I am hungry CONSTANTLY and more exhausted than ever.  And for some reason, now I am getting headaches to go along with all of that.  But, once again, even though I would love to give all those things up, I am oddly comforted that all is well and the baby is growing.  So, it's totally worth it but hard not to long for a day when I feel "normal" again.  Will that day ever come back??

It amazes me that we are almost at the end of this 12th week.  I am definitely starting to show now, I have just a little bump that is more noticeable than before.  Lately lots of people are feeling my stomach...That is a weird thing!?!?  I know I've probably done that to people, but it's odd to have hands on that part of you...All the junior high girls are just giddy over it though!  I can see them immediately do a scan of my stomach before they look me in the eye and say hi now!  Then most of them squeal and tell me how "cute" it is that they can see my bump and they can hardly stand there without reaching out to touch me!  But they aren't the only ones, 90% of all people who know I'm pregnant do the exact same thing.  They greet my stomach before they greet me in the eyes.  It's so funny.  I don't mind it at all, I love that I finally have something to look at!!  We read this week that the baby is about the size of a lime now, which is amazing to me.  God is so busy creating all those little details and knitting our little one together.  We continue to marvel at the miracle of it all.  This is such a blessing that we have been given!  

Speaking of that, I had one of those moments this week that took me completely by surprise.  For those of you who have read my blog for awhile now, you know that last year, we walked through a very heartbreaking thing when we had a student who was only 14, from a very broken situation, get pregnant.  I wrote about the aftermath of that briefly here , but obviously I was never able to share details out of respect for her privacy.  Our hearts broke during that time, not only for this student who was going to be forever changed, but also for that sweet baby who never asked to be brought into the situation.  We spent most of the pregnancy, frustrated by choices being made and yet compelled to counsel her toward a specific outcome.  She did the best she could, but she was only 14.  No one is ready to be a mother at 14.  We learned TREMENDOUS ministry lessons through that season, things that I never would have seen had we not experienced that.  It was very, very difficult for me to handle that situation without immense bitterness and envy.  We were 2 years into our own journey of trying to have a baby and you can imagine how unfair it seemed to us to watch this story unfold.  God helped me walk through that pregnancy with a guard around my heart and gave me heaps of grace when I needed it the most, during her delivery.  I have never felt so conflicted as I did that day.  Filled with joy and awe at a new little life and yet mourning for what was ahead of this precious little girl.  Well, fast forward to a year and a half later.   Lots of things have unfolded, some predicted, some not.  We have not had the contact with her as we once did.  In the same way the Lord led me through that season, He made it very clear when it was time to walk away and end contact on our part.  

We have often wondered how they are, what's happening, or if victory was possible.  Well, after many, many months, we saw them at Church on Sunday.  It was good.  Both Mom and Baby are doing better, in a more stable situation and getting older.  We still pray for them and obviously hope that the Lord will use the many conversations we had and the prayers many have prayed to protect them and draw them close to Him over the years.  He knows what's best for the situation and each of them.  We trust Him because He loves both of them more than we possibly could.  Anyway, all that to say, I've always thought I NEVER wanted to experience that again.  It was very hard.  Now that I'm pregnant, it seems even more far-fetched.  I can't imagine how she did that.  

Well, on Wednesday night,  I was minding my own business, returning a DVD before Church, when I heard someone call my name.  I looked around to see this particular 20 year old, whom I haven't had much patience for.  Why is it always that way Lord??  She has popped in and out of our life recently, and I've wondered why?  She's mostly confirmed all the red-flags I've always had about her behavior, but I know the Lord keeps bringing her back to teach me something.   Life hasn't been easy for her, she's seen much dysfunction and heartache too.  I know that.  But she's also made a series of very, very poor decisions.  And she knows better.  I think.  Anyway, I expected just a quick conversation and the usual stuff, but this time she stopped me in my tracks.  It took her 10 seconds to immediately blurt out, "I'm 10 1/2 weeks pregnant!"  I can't imagine the look that must have been on my face.  I had no idea what to say.  Somehow I stumbled through a series of questions, trying to keep my distance, and yet she kept pushing, "I need to talk to you guys",  "when can we get together??"  Everything in me wanted to run.  If it's possible, this situation seems to be worse than what we experienced before.  I can't do this again.  That's what I keep thinking.  I can't watch someone bring an innocent life into more dysfunction.  But, the Lord keeps reminding me, this isn't about me.  He is behind the story of every baby, no matter how tragic is seems to us.  He created that life.  He wants to bring healing.  What seems so wrong to us, has been allowed by Him.  Who am I to question that?

So, anyway, here we are again.  It won't be the same as before, we've learned too many valuable lessons from last time, not to be impacted by them.  But her need is very great.  I have no idea what will happen or what we'll be able to do.  I have great compassion for her baby, realizing that hers will be very close in age to mine.  Their entrances will be similar and yet, they will be born into 2 different worlds.  Life is just like that.  I wish I could change the situation and hand that baby off to some of you who are waiting on your own miracle.  Believe me, I know how that feels, I was just there a year and a half ago.  But the Lord is above all, SOVEREIGN.  He has a plan that is greater than ours and he sees a bigger picture that we cannot.  I hope that is an encouragement to you today.  In the good times and the bad times, He always knows better.  

"O Lord, you are my God;  I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

Isaiah 25:1

Blessings to you on this Friday!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead of you.