A New Reality

Obviously I did not make it back to this blog as quickly as I had originally hoped. This week began a new reality..Randy (Daddy) went to work at Freedom Tire and Wheel. He leaves for work in the morning at 7:25 A and we do not see him again until between 6:30 and 7P every night. Wow! This is a huge adjustment.

Randy and I have had the incredible blessing of daily being together for 11 of our 12 years of marriage, and we have LOVED this kind of life. Sure there have been many days that Randy had meetings out in the village or days of teaching at our house with church leaders, but he has been accessible and usually we had either the morning or the evening together...not so with the new job. I am so thankful that Randy is excited about his new job and senses a purpose in being there ....at moments when I truly have a second to have a focused thought, this encourages me!

This week the scripture that would describe the condition of my heart is Psalm 61:2. "From the ends of the earth, my heart cries out to you. I cry as my heart grows faint; lead me to a rock that is higher than I." I have been overwhelmed. I miss my husband. I love him so much and I am truly thankful for what he is doing right now to provide for our family. He started work in what has been the hottest week in Texas so far. He is physically working harder than he has ever had to do and has an amazing attitude.

Parenting this week has been hard. I am in the midst of learning how to parent 4 small children on my own during the day and how to live life in America at the same time. This is just part of the transition of returning to America. I am where I want to be. I am not longing to return to Benin. I am missing the family time and the way that our family was able to function together. Even so, I know we will push through this and figure it out one day at a time.

Last week in Littlefield we had a wonderful time. When we returned home I quickly realized that I had lost my Bible or at least misplaced it ...this was a big deal. I looked through everything and spoke with all of our family that had been there and no one had seen it. I was literally sick at heart and was mentioning it a lot around my family. One night Tori said, " Mom I just don't understand what is so precious about this particular word of God." She really thought I should just go out and by another one. I did consider this but my heart was aching for my Bible! My Bible has been through a lot with me, in some ways it is like my journal, marked with special dates and worn pages that make it easy to find comforting words in time of need. I AM IN NEED! Today I received a great word from my mother in-law that when she arrived at church this morning, someone handed her my Bible. She is putting it in the mail tomorrow!!! I am overjoyed!!!

Last night after church, my parents offered to take Tori, Timothy, and Jonathan to their ranch in Baird! This gave Randy and I some very special time with Lael this weekend because this weekend marks 2 years since Lael came to our family! We have been so blessed by this absolutely precious baby girl! She has been a daughter of peace! I was teasing her tonight about how peacefully she came to our family and now she is becoming so sweet and sassy! This girl is FULL of personality! We are crazy about her and know that the Lord's plans for her are great!