Breathe in, breathe out...

So what's the latest from the D house?!

Some fabulous things:

• We're finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel in regard to the house. The new paint looks wonderful (and I'm vowing to keep things "fresher" in our new place). Realtor will be coming early next week.
• We've been looking at places in South TX off and on for awhile now, but spent some time this week really researching and speaking to the realtor. Have narrowed down the search considerably, and we're getting excited about the possibilities. One place is on 4 acres and has its own fishing pier... how cool would that be?!?
• I've lost 10 lbs in the past 6 weeks!!
• Had a "craft sell-off" and was able to get rid of a good amount of my ridiculously large stash.

Some frustrating things:

• There are still 2 rooms that we've barely touched. And soooo much clutter still piled up. I have tossed, passed along, and donated countless garbage bags... so where does all this stuff keep coming from?
• We've all been sick. Both kids have ear infections, and I actually ended up taking our daughter to the ER on Saturday night when she was crying hysterically that her tummy hurt. (We still don't know exactly what was wrong, but the doctors were at least able to eliminate a lot of things, and thankfully she seems to be fine now). Hubby and I have been dealing with sinus issues and lack of sleep.
• Son is continuing to struggle with his behavior at school, and has a hard time staying on task when he's not interested. He gets particularly frustrated when sounding out words (just can't string all the sounds together) - we had a rather interesting discussion on Thursday night when he announced that he didn't need to know how to read ;)
• Daughter dropped our camera Friday, lens down. Thankfully this was our small "tuck in the pocket and go" rather than my beloved SLR, but it was still incredibly frustrating. Hubby spent several hours on it, seeing if it could be salvaged, but the gear mechanism had been stripped out and it ended up in the trash.
• Haven't even touched tax stuff yet (which is generally done by the end of Feb.)
• It looks like hubby will soon be headed to Europe for a 2 wk business trip.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind...

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:2-6, 12-14, 17

(A good reminder can be found here, as well)