Still here...

I know I haven't been posting much lately - not for lack of stuff to write about, but because my days have been rather full.

- Our son has early dismissal starting this past Thursday and running through Wednesday for teacher conferences. Already had ours, and I'm happy to report that he's doing well. Apparently he's not perfect, though (hee hee)
- I'm trying to be more intentional about calling/spending time with friends. This is particularly true for those from church - we often chat for just a couple minutes before or after service, but haven't had a real conversation for months.
- I went out to an informal crop on Friday night so had a few hours all to myself to play with paper. Bliss!
- We went to our township's holiday parade yesterday. It started off at our son's school, so we bundled up, made the five minute trek, then admired the marching bands, lost count of fire trucks, waved to Santa, and gathered candy off the ground (incidentally, about half of it was obvious Halloween leftovers, which totally cracked me up)
- We're all fighting off colds. I was feeling pretty decent until about 7 PM last night. I camped out on the sofa with a couple blankets and watched No Reservations (OK, but not as funny as I'd thought it would be). Still feeling pretty lousy this morning, so that's why I'm here typing rather than at church.
- Still doing WW - the pounds aren't exactly melting away, but I am noticing a difference in the way my clothes fit. Hallelujah!
- Still chipping away at all the "stuff" in the house. The sense of urgency has definitely increased as it now looks like we'll be putting our house on the market come spring. More on that later.
- On a more somber note, I had emailed a casual scrapper friend of mine and was wondering why she hadn't gotten back to me... I just learned that she had a stroke. Thankfully she seems to be recovering quickly, and has already been transferred from the hospital to a rehab facility. Still, it's definitely a reminder that we never know what the future may hold.

Finally, a verse that I refer to daily, but is taking on even more meaning now. These ten words pretty much cover it all:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

I love that it starts off by reminding us to take joy in the everlasting hope we have in Christ Jesus - it has absolutely nothing to do with circumstances. It doesn't matter what the balance in the bank account is, or who's been voted into office, or how well our spouses are treating us, or anything else. I'm so thankful for My Rock, My Redeemer. And it doesn't matter what we're going through, either - we are to hold fast and endure. And lastly, we can always turn to our closest friend, pouring out our heart and knowing He's never too busy to listen. Wow.