Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone...

Those are some lyrics to an old Cinderella song from the 80's. Those words couldn't be more relevant in my life than right now. I (we) really miss Kevin. I don't usually take the time to realize how much he helps me around the house and with the kids, etc. Things just run like a well-oiled machine (with a few mishaps now and then). This week, it's all on me. And, it's kinda scary being the go-to person for every little thing concerning the kids and everything else. I worry that they are watching too much TV, playing too many video games, drinking too much Dr. Pepper - little things that we normally would commiserate over, but now I'm on my own to monitor everything. I am also Homeland Security for 8 days. On a typical night, if I hear a noise during the night, I don't go check it out. I wake Kevin up to ask him if he heard it, which obviously he didn't or he would be awake too. He would then go check it out. See where I'm going with this? For once, it really IS all about me!

We have only been apart for this long (8 days) one other time. I went to Hawaii in July of 2006 with my Daddy and my sister to see my brother and his wife after they had their first child. The difference between that trip and this one is that communication was not limited and sporadic. If I could talk to him every day for as long as I wanted, things would be much easier. With him being on another continent, internet is intermittent and phone calls are really few, far between and SHORT! That being said, it's probably better for his mission trip that I can't keep him on the phone for long periods of time. I want him to experience as much of God as he possibly can with this opportunity, and it sounds like he is. Like I said earlier, he is terribly missed, not just because of the things he does for our family and the decisions that we normally collaborate on, but because he is my best friend and the best dad a kid could ever be lucky enough to call his own. I married so well!!!

Speaking of Dads, my sisters and I took our Dad to eat at TaMolly's (his fav) for Father's Day. He really enjoyed it and the time together with my family was great. I am so blessed to have a Dad like him. He is always there for us and helps us in any way he possibly can. He has a heart as big as Texas and we love him dearly.

We had to do kid's church this morning without Kevin. God has blessed us with the best of friends who share our views and love us as much as we love them. Kenny had a great lesson. Jennifer came up with a fun Father's Day craft and I spent some time cleaning The Junction because the mission team had been in a hurry on Thursday night when they were eating and loading the trailer and didn't have time to clean up. I actually enjoyed that task because it made me feel like I was doing something to help them, no matter how insignificant. I told Jennifer tonight (after reflecting on how truly wonderful she and Kenny are and how blessed we are to have such good friends, who are more like family) something I've heard before that I absolutely loved. "In my Father's house are many mansions. I hope mine is next to yours." (and I really mean it)

Lastly, I was bored earlier (imagine that) and found some old word find books, which I love to do. I opened one of the books to find a puzzle that I hadn't completed yet and found something very interesting written on the first puzzle. I would deny it if it hadn't been my handwriting. I had done the puzzle and then written "Kevin sucks!". Wonder what that was all about??? But, my how feelings change. It just reminded me of the ups and downs in marriage, life, and our walk with God. If we didn't hit the lows, would we ever appreciate the highs? (Romans 5:3-4)Kevin, if you are reading this, you don't suck now.

Inspiration...Finally

I have not posted since ???. I guess I've had writer's block, but I finally found an inspiring reason to post something. I just finished reading Same Kind of Different As Me. This is an awesome true story about God and relationships. I really can't go into too much more detail than that without ruining it in my feeble attempt to describe it. It is such a powerful story. I recommend it to anyone who loves to read, and even those who don't. I can confidently say it is probably the best book I've ever read. I even hate to post this right above my last post (months ago) beaming about the Twilight series. Those books are good, but this book is in a different league. It's real and relevant and important and all kinds of adjectives like that. Okay, enough. Just read it, please!!!