Peaceful

It's 11:56 pm Wednesday night.

I'm the only one up.

Even the dogs are asleep! (all 3 of them)

The house is completely silent...

...except for the thunderstorm.

It's amazing where we can find peace.

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post!

The last time I posted anything was on Christmas Eve, letting everyone know we made it to Colorado for Christmas.

We had a great time! We went swimming and played games and watched a different scary movie every night.

There were 18 of us in one 4 bedroom house (3 of the bedrooms were already occupied by residents) so every night was a giant slumber party in the family room.

This was the first time we were all in the same place at the same time in for-ev-er. So we had to get family pictures.

All too soon we had to go home.

On the way home from the airport we picked up our new puppy. She was 9 weeks old when we got her and she is so much fun!

She's our third Australian Cattle Dog and it's amazing how smart she is.

We got home and reality set in.

Sometimes reality can kick you in the butt.

The last two months have really been a struggle for our family.

I'm not going to go into details, but I will say that I went into survival mode. Anything not completey necessary for our survival (ie. food, work) was let go.

I've since realized (again) that in order to get my family through challenges I have to take care of myself. And this blog is one way I do that.

I love the blogging community. There are so many amazing people out there!

One thing I know is, life is hard. One thing the blogging world brings home is that, life is hard for everyone. We all have our struggles, no matter where we are.

What a blessing this technology is that we can bear each other's burdens and mourn with those that mourn and celebrate from across the globe.

Have a fabulous Monday!