Hello.

I have been thinking about the ol' family blog lately...and realizing that it's been largely silent for months now.  I guess that grief has been a quiet and personal journey for me.  Maybe I am also aware of that fact that no one reads my blog now that my mom is in Heaven!  {grin - although, I think my friends Sarah and Jodi read from time to time}  Then I remembered that this blog is for me, to record the seasons of my family life, to have a permanent memory available when my own fails me.  So, I am back at it.  I am going to do my best to blog weekly, even if it's about the ridiculous or mundane, I will blog.  I just need to get back in the habit...so, I will begin slowly and stretch those "bloggy" muscles at least once a week.

While the blog has been silent, our house has certainly not!  Most days, it's a loud and lovely flurry of activity around here.  Our boys are growing...in stature and in faith.  They consume more food than I ever thought humanly possible for someone their size.  Brad is plugging along in his PhD program - set to finish his classroom portion this May.  Oh happy day!  {grin}  Then, he will move on to the comprehensive exams...sounds like torture to me.  He spends his days with Dr. Witherington and I spend my days with Dr. Suess...and then we spend out evenings together.  Ahh...it's a good life.  I am super proud of Brad's hard work as a student and equally proud of his work as an instructor.  He works diligently to teach and serve his students.  It's a ministry for sure, and Brad has been faithful in it.

I will be making a mad dash to Indiana tomorrow to spend the day going through some of my parent's things.  I am praying that it will be comforting to be surrounded by memories of them.  However, I am also fully expecting it to be an incredibly emotional day, as well.  I miss them both.  It's overwhelming at times.  It's really strange, in fact.  I am an adult (a middle-aged adult even!  ACK!) and haven't depended on my parents to provide for me physically or financially in many years...but, their deaths have left me feeling "orphaned" in some way.  It sounds odd, I know.  Their deaths have changed the landcape of my extended family and the way we do life together.  We are figuring it out as we go along...and God continues to prove Himself faithful.  What a gift. 

So, I will do my best to remember that this blog is for me and my family...to record our memories and God's goodness as we journey along.  However, if you happen to read - leave a comment so that I know I am not alone.