SO I promise I have good reason for neglecting my readers!  Last time I wrote was Thursday and Friday I spent the whole day and some preparing my home for guests.  Josh's parents stayed for the weekend so there was work to be done!  Got a lot accomplished and made delicious food for the weekend.

The hair dying went OK and though it is an extreme change, I am adjusting!  I like it!

I have been fighting a cold for over a week and I am starting to feel back to normal.  For colds I opt to do no medicine but use simple home remedies such as extra sleep, extra vitamin C, saline drops for your nose and vapors!  We have saved thousands of dollars in medical expenses between the 5 of us by never going to the doctor for a cold.  Just fight it out!  Now of course, if a fever is persistent for several days then there is good reason to see the doc-but other than that I say-let your immune system do it's job!

I had a spell of homesickness (i know, it's not a real word) on Monday.  Not sure why some days are better than the others but Monday everything made me weep and by evening after holding in emotions all day it all came out.  Sometimes it just has to.  The kids were so worried about me, poor things they never see me upset like that.  But I was OK with admitting and explaining to them that I was just sad.  I told them how I missed our house and I missed my old job.  I miss my neighbors, my friends and my goodness I miss my family.  It's been several weeks since we have been home and I am in need of a good afternoon to sit and drink coffee with my mom!  It's OK to be sad sometimes and I think it is important to teach this to our kids.  It's a good teachable reminder that even though we might not be content at the moment we need to trust God and remember he wanted us here.  I truly believe that.  I am thankful that I could call my mom and cry to her.  I am thankful that Josh is patient and understands why I was feeling the way I was.  After I had cried all I could, I drank some wine and we went for a late night snack.  All was well again and I woke up Tuesday morning and took Josh's advice to not hope things would get better but to make them better.  We had an awesome, productive day on Tuesday and now I have come out of my gloom and have felt inspired to write again.

Today, the coffee is good, the air is refreshing and the kids are perfect.  Sunday I was in need of direction and was led to the Bible.  I have an awesome Bible that is for moms with lots of devotionals geared towards training up our babies and having patience and everything that goes along with motherhood.  I came across scripture that talked about letting our kids be kids.  It was such a good read, I wanna share!  Basically, the world is full of negatives and when are kids are old enough to go out on their own they will be faced with people who try to ridicule and break them down.  They will have people telling them no and people shooting down their ideas.  While our kids are young and under our roof, we need to let them be.  Let them be goofy, loud, obnoxious, wrong, make messes and everything else.  I needed to hear this at that moment!  I agree with this whole heartedly but there are those moments when the screams and roar of laughter is just too loud or the mess in their room is just too much but then articles like the one that was in my Bible put everything into perspective.  Trying to just "let it be" more often as the kids are the sweetest most harmless thing and they deserve nothing but pure comfort and joy.  A calm mom=calm children.

Joshua is due to go to the doctor for several things and finding a doctor for a special needs child is overwhelming.  Please pray for us as we venture to find new medical care and a new hospital.  Joshua has developed a pressure sore from wearing his scoliosis brace everyday.  It's on his lower back.  We have had to stop wearing the brace to allow this to heal.  It seems to be doing OK but if it is not healed by the weekend I will call Monday to have it looked at.  Poor buddy-doesn't deserve this but we are making the most of it! I can't let him sense how much I worry about him.  Kids are smart so when he has a boo-boo rather than being dramatic and freaking out, it's so important for me to stay calm and let him know that it's OK and mommy can fix it! I am so glad he is here and we can't change the fact that he was born special so we are embracing his awesomeness. I just love him to death.  He is perfect.  Prayers for him would be much appreciated!

We have AWANA tonight and we are all excited!  Our day out of the house!  The kids both earned an AWANA t-shirt and book for memorizing John 3:16.  They are pumped!  We have been reviewing scripture today and Joshua too, is working hard today to remember his verse and it is the cutest thing ever.  He will earn a vest and a book once he does!  Fingers crossed, lol!

That's all for now!

Have a splendid Fall day and in the midst of our crazy, overbooked schedules don't forget to take the time to stop and smell his roses.