Well, as usual it's been forever since I have written. A lot has happened since then! So, here we go...
We have all celebrated birthdays since my last post - Brianna is now a 12 year old turd. She's doing well in school - A's and B's :) I'm very proud of her for that! But, she's also in that pre-teen state of trying to test her limits as far as she can. I know that this is all part of life - but geez! Sometimes I wonder what happened to that sweet little girl that used to live with us! LOL! All kidding aside though - she really is a good kid. I had one of those "wow, she's really grown" moments a while back... When I first moved up here, Brianna was 10. When she got in trouble, I remember having to bend down a little bit to get to her eye level. Well, since she's almost as tall as I am, I don't have to bend anymore! LOL - she's growing up, and it seems like it happened overnight. Robert is now 10... and 100% boy. He's doing pretty good in school - mostly A's and B's. Math is kind of difficult for him, so he does his best. Both kids have now taken their TAKS tests - I'm glad they don't have to worry about it anymore this year. I pray that they passed :) Brianna's playing softball again this year, and has her first game on Saturday... let the fun begin! Robert decided not to play... according to him "baseball's boring. I like football" So, football in the fall it is. School for me is good. I'm ready for the summer break to get here :) Fifth grade has been fun... but I'm ready to chill at the house, and try to get some things done around here.
The youth group is still doing well. We recently took them to Acquire the Fire in Dallas - it was awesome! We've started having youth services on Wednesday nights, and that is a good thing too. Now, we're starting our fund raising for Discovery Camp in July. Jonathan graduates from High School this year, and is going into the Marines in February. I am VERY proud of him!! John and I are so blessed to have the kids that we do :) Summer is starting an outreach foundation and has asked all of the youth group to help her - which is totally awesome too :) We have such a great group of kids!
We've added to the animal menagerie... We now have 3 cats: Dash, Kloey, Possum, 2 dogs: Zoey and Teddy (about to be back down to one though - found a very willing home for Teddy the Pomeranian that appeared over Christmas), 1 mini-bunny: FooFoo, 3 grown hens, 1 rooster, 5 bitties and a duck. That's a heck of a lot since we started with a dog and 2 cats LOL! The third cat, Possum was feral when we moved here, but I started feeding her and befriending her, and now she is all mine :) She's also very pregnant - so we'll be having kittens here pretty soon. I'm excited that the kids will get to see kittens, but sad because I know John's not gonna let me keep any of them. I just have to laugh at her though - she's so hormonal! She fusses and spits at Dash and Kloey anytime they walk by her. It's pretty funny!
In February, I had to say good bye to a very dear friend. Nick LeGrand, who I met while Drew Bear was in the hospital the last time, passed away at the age of 15. I went to the funeral - in Dubuque Iowa. It was so good to see his mom Kelly, but heartbreaking at the same time. I just hate that she has to know the pain that I know. It's just against the natural chain of life to bury a child. But, I am glad I went.
In March, I went to my very first Compassionate Friends meeting, and I am so glad I did! It was in Hearne, so it was a little bit of a drive, but I tell ya - it was so worth it. I met some incredible people and I am looking forward to the next meeting in May. I missed the one this month - it was after Acquire the Fire, and I had maybe gotten 10 hours of sleep for the whole weekend and I was honestly just plain exhausted. I wouldn't have been able to drive that far and make it back home without falling asleep. But I'm excited about the next meeting :) It was neat to be in a room full of people who had experienced the same pain as I have.
March 24th marked the 2 year anniversary of Drew's Angel day. It was a little rough, but honestly, I am so covered in peace that it really wasn't that bad. I still miss him, and wish he was here with me, but I also still know that he is in Heaven, and that I will see him again. And I know that when God calls me Home, I'll have a red-headed angel running to meet me!
Well, I think that may catch things up. Not too sure that I've remembered everything - which, if I know myself - I'm sure I've forgotten something! But, it's almost 10:30 and I need to get to bed.
