So, if you didn't get a Christmas card from us this year, don't feel left out...no one did! If I had sent one, it would have looked like this:


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I finally got a picture of the kids together! They are with my aunt and uncle's dogs, just so you know I haven't gone completely insane and gotten 2 dogs.
Quickest update EVER--you may be asking how I have time to update the blog, including header and background...the answer is because 3/4 of my kids are at school today! Yes, Jake and Landon are no longer homeschooling. They are now going to our church's wonderful Charlotte Mason-guided school. I miss them but sanity sometimes rules. More later!

I only have time for a short post but I thought I would say that we are doing pretty well over here, all things considered. I can only credit that to praying friends and a gracious God! I just finished reading this book for a second time:
Two-Part Invention by Madeleine L'Engle. It is the story of her life with her husband and focuses on his dying from cancer. I love this quote:
"I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when the good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly."