Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

To everyone for your well wishes and most of all for your thoughtful prayers for our family. We have had some really hard times hit us. Our finances, our emotions, and our possesions have felt the brunt of some awful furry. The details are not important, I just want you all to know that without your prayers and support we would not have been able to make it through. I am still not sure that we are on the other side of the fence, so to speak, but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. How's that for a mouthful of metaphors?

Heath has been unable to get a second job. No one is hiring for the hours that he is not already working his prominent job. After some long hours of heartfelt prayers and asking God to prosper Heath's current job, we decided to just wait on HIM. This month Heath has done more business at the bank and is meeting his goals. On occasion he has even done beyond his daily/weekly goals. This means that we will see profits in late September.

I will not be able to attend college this fall as I had planned, but I am not giving up and I will continue to pursue my options with every new semester. Please continue to pray that I will be able to find the study time to place into the required classes. This has not been an easy decision but I feel that it is best for our family for now.

Our boys will be starting the 1st and 3rd grades this fall and are both excited about the upcoming school year. Please pray for our finances as we pay for public school, school clothes, and school supplies this month. Prayers would also be good for them to have the best teachers and for them to continue making close friendships.

Alyssa is now going through the terrible twos. While there are many times that she is an absolute Angel and we love being around her, there are other times when she gets stubborn and determined to have things her way or no way. Several days in a row last week tested my patience. I love her more than I could ever love any little girl in the whole world and I am doing everything I know to do to help her through this phase in her life. Please pray that it will pass quickly and that we will both be able to grow and mature.

My sister Angie has now moved to our house. We have given her the second floor of our house. The adjustment is going well so far. We told the children (although I don't think Alyssa understands) that upstairs is now "Angie's house." We told them that they have to knock if they would like to visit her and made it a really big deal the first night that she was in our house. I wasn't sure how well it had sunk in until the next morning. Josiah came upstairs from the basement and told me "Mom, the basement is now mine and Karston's house. If you want to come visit you have to knock on the door." I indulged and agreed to knock. So now I have to knock and wait for permission to do go downstairs to do the laundry. That's ok. I don't really like doing the laundry anyway (ha ha.)

I have found time at night to come to this Caribou Coffee shop with Heath or with my Sissy and get to some free Wi Fi, so I will now be occasionally able to check back here. We ae also wworking on getting reconnected soon and then I will be back to the daily routine. Again thanks to everyone for your prayers, support and emails. When everything around us crumbles to the ground we are grateful to still have each other and it is so helpful to know that our friends and family will be beside us with arms open wide.