There is a God who loves me...

who wraps me in His arms...
that is the place where I'm changed
and that's where I belong

take me to that place, Lord
to that secret place where
I can be with You
You can make me like You

wrap me in Your arms
wrap me in Your arms

And he's changing me. From glory to glory.

I realized this week that the kids and I have been back in the states for nearly 7 years even.

7 is a number of completion. A moving into new things.

I believe God is moving us to a new place, a new level of maturity, a new thing.

It is good. God is good!

-

Friday night was our first night to stay at our new home. As I crawled into bed, I looked at the wall opposite my bed and was startled. One of the kids had hung up a cross stitched picture I did for my Daddy before he passed away. It is a beautiful piece and has a short little poem about Dads. I'll have to write it down to put it here.

Also, my friend, Amanda, called. She said she had something she wanted to drop off at the house. The beautiful shelf that I had asked her to hold on Monday, then called earlier in the day to tell her to take off hold because I couldn't afford, she brought to me. She said she felt she was supposed to bless us. Blessed I am. She and I unloaded it and put it in the hallway. It's lovely.

After CR, the kids and I went to Walmart to buy food. There was only a turkey and a lasagna in the refrigerator/freezer.

And how did we inaugrate our new home? I picked up the bag holding the gallon of kosher dill pickles and promptly the bottom fell out of the bag. The jar shattered all over the kitchen/dining room floor. I didn't think I would ever get all the pickle juice and glass up.

Yesterday was the first day that we have spent at home for over 24 hours without leaving in over a year and a half. All day in the same place. Breezy and Chaz were not fighting. It was peaceful.

My sister and her two sons came to visit as well. We had fajitas for a late lunch and cheeseball and crackers for a snack.

We also had our first overnight guest. Chaz was so psyched. One of his best friends stayed with us and it was also one of the few times he got to spend the night somewhere other than home.

Today, we'll go home and cook that lasagna for lunch (Breezy will have chicken nuggets).

New Year Fun!

For New Year's Day, I did something I've never done before.... Got stuck in the mud. Up to the front axle of my van. In my sister's driveway!

It was a first for her as well. She says she's lived there for 14 years and no one has ever been stuck before. *sigh*

She had to have the neighbor bring his truck over and pull the van out using the rear bumper. It seems my van has nothing to hook a chain onto in the front. I'm grateful that her neighbor had a truck that was big enough to pull the van out!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Standard black-eyed peas for "luck" with pork chops, rice, and corn bread. Yummy! Some cheese dip with chips. What more do you need to eat? Oh yeah, dessert. Tasty chocolate cake with chocolate icing and more chocolate for topping!

Sis and I played 13 games of 313. She stomped me 9 games. I don't think I've ever lost so bad at cards in my life.

Today we popped by the new house and I did a few dishes.

A trip by the Navy Exchange to exchange Breezy's shoes for the right size. After we left she discovered that she has two left shoes. I get to take that pair back. I must remind her that she needs to try on both shoes to ensure that this doesn't happen. Oh well.

I've managed to get an email out with our new mailing address. Updated our addy at the bank, Paypal, amazon, and ebay. Ordered an updated driver's license. oh yeah, my military pay thingie also. I need to contact everyone else to finish that up. The post office would be a good place to have started.

Drove by the old place. The former landlord, it appears, plans to rent it out again!!!! DMV says they can't do anything about it.

Anyway, guess I need to start figuring out what to feed the kids before they are starving.

Tomorrow's agenda? Unpacking!