Time Marches On

The more time goes by, the happier I find myself here in Arizona. I am reminded daily of how fortunate I am to have ended up here in this amazing part of the country. I have been so richly blessed with an amazing group of friends...special, special ladies who hold such a near and dear place in my heart. I feel like I belong with them...that I am a part of a group. My phone rings again and I have lots of opportunities for coffee dates and play dates and lunches and camping trips and ladies weekends away. I just love it here and I love the people God has placed in my life. My friend Mary dropped by tonight. I had picked up her mail for her while she was out of town...she had forgotten to stop it and called from her trip and asked if I would mind. She just lives a minute up the road from me, so it was absolutely no problem. Not a big deal at all. I was thrilled to do it for them. She came by this evening to pick it up and brought me the most beautiful little candle. A thank you for picking up our mail gesture. I couldn't believe it. My heart was just gushing. It was just so sweet of her to think of me on her trip and to pick out something just for me....well, I will treasure it always. Grabbing her mail was no big deal at all...And she certainly did not need to do that. But it touched my heart deeply and as I sit here hours later, I still have a big smile on my face. Mary has quickly become one of my very most favorite people in this great state. We just seem to click. She is a very, very real person. She laughs easily and cries openly and hugs quickly. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met and faces life's challenges with such grace. It has been an honor to know her and I am thankful each day that God placed her in my life. Knowing her has just been a blessing and a treat.

We are all great here in the desert right now. The upcoming weekend holds a typically packed schedule with both boys having ball games in the morning....two different places of course. We haven't made it to church in a month as we have been out of town and doing various things. But I think we are going to plan to attend this weekend and get some things done in the yard as well. The weather has cooled down significantly and it is quite nice to spend time outside again. The kids go back to school on Monday and I head off to get the car in for it's first scheduled maintenance check up. Hooray! Busy, busy! Mom and Dad come to visit in two weeks. The kids are very excited. They get in on Halloween night. Will be here for a week. Oh....Max made the honor roll at school...all that worry! Ben had amazingly good grades as well. I just hope they can keep it up. Seems like they expect so much from these little guys this year. Must they grow up SO fast? Sometimes I just want them to stay little and sweet just a while longer. Instead they are growing so fast and learning so much and being handed so much responsibility. It is hard to believe the changes I see before me almost daily. Children are such a treasure. And they just don't stay little for long! Life is very good for us here in the desert!