Dig down deep....

Have you ever had those days, those moments where you have to rely on other people, places, moments, music to help you get through the hurdle that is placed in front of you? To dig down deep in order to maintain that face that allows those around you not to inquire too far? In essence, fake it 'till you make it? Taking one step at a time, making things as simple as necessary to pass each moment, one breath followed by the next..... Now don't misread what I am saying. Merely stating that life is not all grand and wonderful and sometimes you just need to realize that things are out of your control. At that point of realization is the point in which we must fall to our knees and cry unto heaven for the direction that we so desperately seek. The cavat - how long do you wait for the answers? Simple really - let me put it this way.... At the moment you kneel down and pray unto heaven for help, you must release and realize that you just asked for those things to be place in the hands of Heavenly Father. He, and only He, will take these burdens from you. Allow Him to do so - and as you stand back up - remember - you just gave them to your Father, He will not forget to help you. The answer may not come at that very second, but He never promised it would be. He did promise that our burdens would be lifted. We must take the little moments of serenity that are needed whenever they come - at noon, 5pm, 8am, even 3am - these moments have been created (even though we may curse the lack of sleep that is evading our lives). Our Father will never leave us alone. There may be no one on earth aware of your struggles or your sleepless nights, but your Father is pacing the floors and gazing at the stars with you. His arms are around you - even when you feel so desperately alone. Life will continue - the sun rises every morning.

I am so thankful for the many blessings that surround me in my life. I have so many wonderful friends that help me in their very own special ways. Some are more visible than others - and I am always looking for ways in which I can find to show them my love and appreciation for all they do for me. Especially for all the help and assistance I receive with my beautiful son. How can I ever repay the many lives that have given their assistance since before he was even born! I may struggle with various aspects, but I am eternally grateful for my many blessings.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. My burdens have been lifted by all of you who have answered our Father's plea to come unto my aid - especially when I have been stubborn to not ask myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for being worthly and able to listen to the small promptings. You have blessed my life.

NOW - what would a post on this blog be without some pictures!!!!

Shandy, in all of her outstanding abilities.... here are some sneaks of his 9 month pictures!!!






And here is one that Hollie was able to capture for me!!!

The battles of single parenthood.....

To start off the Fall Season - I've had the joy of dealing with a few sleepless nights with a cranky baby (yeah, I said LJ was cranky - hard to believe!). And after the 2nd night in a row - I called the doctor and he asked me to bring him in. Turns out the little guy was fighting with a sinus infection AND and ear infection. No wonder he was cranky! But needless to say, thanks to a kind and understanding doctor - he gave me a prescription for some night time cough medicine for LJ and we were both able to get a nights sleep! Yeah!!!

Now on to an update for the past coupls of weeks....

This picture shows you the reason why you NEVER leave your cell phone where high school volleyball players can get to it... This is Alex and Melissa, there were on my Freshman team last year at Mountain View High School.



And thanks to Grandma, LJ is now trying even more to be like Grandpa and sporting the BSU pride! Isn't he just a little ham for the camera~



Halloween is here folks!!! Well - at least it's around the corner! Here we have a little beenie to help keep Mister's head nice and warm - and you can't read it, but it says My 1st Boo! And his shirt has a little ghost on it... either way - LJ is stinking CUTE!!!




I love the surprise look on his face!!



Over the past weekend, we were able to go up to Cambridge and spend the weekend with Grandma, Grandpa, and Tera, Dan, and the kids. After church, we were all locked out of the house since Grandpa locked the doors and was still at choir practice.... Anyway - while waiting, the puppies (6 weeks old - mini-dauschound - sp?) decided to crawl up and get warm with LJ in his carseat.... Isn't it just adorable!







Check out this smirk!!!



Ahhhhh - puppy kisses....



Of course the little guy is excited about shopping.... he was enjoying himself as I was putting different hats on him trying to find one that covers his big noggin! Can you see his hair sticking up?



Even though I'm done coaching the Freshman team for this season, I still help out with the Varsity team when I can. LJ came with me over to the game at Meridian High School - and I sat in the parking lot for a little while to let him get more of his cat nap before heading into the gym... Isn't he just a handsome little man!



"My future's so bright that I have to wear shades!"



On a late night shopping excursion with Grandpa, LJ didn't quite make it through Lowe's without crashing... But he got to ride on the big cart along with the garage shelves!!! Makes LJ look a little small.... but we all know different!

My amazing little sister!

Ok - so some of you have met my little sister, Shera. I just wanted to share a part of her amazing talents.

This is a little recording she did of the song she wrote and sang for her husband for their anniversary earlier this year!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRYV-9JKqnM



Isn't she just AMAZING!!! I can't believe how blessed I have been to have such a wonderful family. My sister's are by far the most wonderful gals that I know and they are so strong! Thank you all for your extraordinary examples. I love you!!!


Even though this day started some major heartache in my life - it was great to have my family surrounding me. And look how beautiful they are!!!



What's even better - is there are now 4 more babies since this photo - not even 2 years ago!