he is just lost - unable to come home.

I keep having dreams that Joe is just lost or locked up somewhere, not able to come home, and I am trying to find him.  Well, last night I found him - what a relief!  He was in jail in Chippewa Falls.  I don't know what he was there for, but I was so unbelievably excited to see him.  He was in a class with one of the teachers I taught with in Rochester.  I wanted to just run in and see him, but they made me wait out in the hallway because they were nervous he would be so excited and disrupt the entire room if he saw me.  So, I waited in the hallway and he came out and we hugged and kissed and it was so amazing.  I went back and visited him a couple more times, each time was just as special.  The last time I went, I helped him escape.  We needed to be together, so he had to get out of there.  I don't know what happened then, that is about when DJoe woke up...

I'm not sure the reality of what has happened will sink in until Joe's headstone is complete and in place.  I still feel like he is just gone, and will be returning.  I'm not sure my heart and head have totally comprehended that this actually happened.  Some days I think I have realized and accepted, but then some days I definitely do not.  It is hard to believe that it has been six months already - I still miss him SO much.

Here is a picture of us from July 21, 2006 - the night we became "official"... 

And here is another old picture I found, from Feb 24, 2007, of my handsome husband being goofy with my glasses on - I thought he looked amazing in them, so he basically just put them on (& spiked his hair) for me :)

The man I will love forever and always, no matter what.

This past Sunday I was the large group teacher for the elementary Sunday School (KidzZone) at church!  The lesson was on Philippians 4:4-19, which are amazing verses and includ my most favorite (4:6-7:  "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.").  The goal of the morning was to teach the precious little ones that God offers contentment, and one part of getting that contentment is to be soaked with the Holy Spirit - let God be a part of every part of our lives... The fun activity of the morning then, was for the kids to get a little sponge, representing themselves, and pour water on it, representing the Holy Spirit, showing them being soaked (and overflowing) with the Holy Spirit!  It went well.  I found another verse regarding this concept:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

With all that has happened in my life, I need to trust in God - what else can I do?  A friend recently told me that he was stood up by someone and he is 'losing faith in his friends' - this happens all the time - we can't hold that much faith in our friends - in anything Earthly for that matter - the only thing worthy of our faith is God.  Now this doesn't mean I don't adore my family and friends, but we are all human, we all let each other down once in a while.  There are many days that I overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit... I do get excited about life and excited about what God has planned for my future; however, there are definitely times when I need to stop, look, and listen - if you will - and let my big and mighty God of hope fill me with the joy and peace... He is there, wanting to do it for me, but it isn't always easy to let him in and feel what he offers - but I do know it is what is best for me and my daughter.

She is two months old already, I can't believe it... Here are some pictures to look at her growth!

 More professional pictures to come too - Andrea was over last night for a little photo shoot!