Saying thank you isn't enough

I'm finally back!

Image courtesy of sundesigns, rgbstock.com

It was a difficult few weeks, but I'm happy to say that everything turned out much, much better than I could have expected. I don't have enough words for how grateful I am for your comments, thoughts, e-mails, and prayers. It meant so much to know that others cared and were thinking of me, and I know it was that—and faith—that made the situation easier to get through. Thank you so much.

I'm happy to be back on my blog, and I'm looking forward to posting again—it's been a while! However, for a couple of reasons, I'm going to be easing my way back to daily blogging. As some of you probably know, my son will be starting kindergarten in the fall. He'll be attending all day, every day, which of course is something this mom isn't really ready to think about, much less deal with! (I'll probably cry for days.) I had wanted to spend the summer doing fun things with him and his little sister, but several situations and events prevented me from doing as much with them as I would have liked. There's a little over a month left until school starts, so my plan is to spend more time doing things with the kids, which will, sadly, leave me with a little less time for blogging.

I'm also participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this month. I'm using it to jump-start my memoir project, which I've put on the back burner for far too long. I'll spend part of the month transcribing interview notes and conducting more interviews (and then transcribing those as well). Once I see what I have to work with, I hope to get a good start on putting it all together. This project has been pretty daunting, but I'm hoping that Camp NaNo will help give me the momentum I need.

So although I may not post every day this month—(or maybe I will; who knows what the weeks will hold?)—I still plan on posting several times a week. I love blogging—it's one of my favorite outlets—and I love connecting with other people through their blogs. I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you!

Regardless of what happens with my posting this month, I'll be back full force once life settles down a little in the fall. Thank you for being patient with me and for everything you did these past several weeks. I appreciate it all more than I can say.

(And it definitely feels good to be writing again!)

My Christmas Eve dilemma

Today's 100 words:

When I became a mother, I think that my brain's reasoning portion was removed, and I lost all my ability to make even small decisions. Case in point: tonight's 1.5-hour-long Christmas Eve service begins at 11 p.m., and I've been debating whether we should go. It seems like such a late night for the kids, and when I think of all I still have to do after they go to bed, I feel exhausted. Still, I want my kids to understand our Christian faith and the true meaning of Christmas. I'm sad the service isn't earlier.

"Reach out and touch faith"

I made salmon loaf for dinner tonight. As I was removing the skin and bones from the canned salmon, I noticed the round bones of the backbone--really noticed them. I saw their absolute perfection--how they're all flawlessly round, nearly identical in size--and to me, at that moment--and as strange as it may seem to someone else--those little bones were just one more proof of the existence of God.