Four Down and Three to Go

Miss M woke up sick this morning. So, that leaves Lil' Cowboy, Daisy, and Goose. They are all hoping for a miraculous immunity.

We did get home last night. It was just about 11pm when we drove into the driveway. I asked Boo for her house key. We are running short of these (long story) and so her copy ended up at our neighbor's house. My I remind you that it was 11pm! But, after about fifteen minutes of trying to break into our home without setting the alarm off we gave up and called our neighbor. Thankfully she had just gotten in bed. Whew!

We were all very thankful for our own beds. I particularly had a hard time getting to sleep. A lot of lonely tears were cried as I as reminded once again that my closest friend was not there to help us figure out another problem and was not there to enjoy the moment of settling back into our own home. The pain is no longer dull. It hurts more than I can even describe. I just can not imagine how someone does this without the Lord. Because even though this is the deepest hurt I have ever felt I am incredibly grateful for a "friend who is closer than a brother". He knows my deepest longing and my deepest fears. He understands and generously gives peace and hope.

This week is full of preparation for our BIG trip. We are headed to Illinois to stay with our friends the McDonalds. You might know James and Stacy as the owners of Family Reformation magazine. Stacy also wrote Raising Maidens of Virtue and Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God. The church that James is the teaching Elder of is a part of our denomination and they are hosting the general session this year. James and Stacy have become fast friends in a very short amount of time. We have had such a wonderful time getting to know parts of their family and are looking forward to getting to know the rest of them.

We will be there for about a week and then head down to the Creation Museum. After a day exploring we will be heading to Tennessee for some Civil War and other historical sites. We will also visit another church that is a part of our denomination and finally meet, in person, a dear friend I have only talked to online or by phone. That is what a lot of this trip is about. On to Missouri where we will finally get to meet homeskoolmom and her family. They are particularly special to us since Eric and I were instrumental in their adoption of a Liberian sweetie.

We will then head through Kansas into Colorado where we have even more friends and family to see. Lord willing we hope to visit Focus on the Family (we are fans of Adventures in Odyssey) and the Air Force Academy. We will visit with old friends and meet another whom I have only gotten to know online. She has a wonderful side business that I am sure you will love.

After spending a couple of days there we will head on down to New Mexico to visit yet another friend from the yahoo group. They have a wonderful family fiddling group, Desert Skies, that we are so blessed to know.

We should be home sometime in June. We will be traveling with our fifteen passenger van and our thirty-one foot trailer. Eric had taught Goose, Boo, and I how to drive this last fall. We will be traveling with another family of eleven so we will have lots of company and a lot of help if needed.

So, my biggest prayer request for this week is that I have the energy and mental capacity to actually remember everything that needs to be done. This is a big task since Eric carried much of the load when it came to getting things ready for trips. I not only have to rally the troups, disciple children, and pack but also make sure the van and trailer are all in working order. Oh, I need to make sure that all the finances are in order and all the bills are paid in advance since we will not be home till June. If you don't hear from me a lot this week you will know what I am up to.

~Lazyd