Today we must say goodbye to a dear friend. Though with us for just 2 years, he became an integral part of our family.

Some of you know that Ray ordered new appliances for me. Last year, we were able to buy a new refrigerator, and this year we bought new washer/dryer, microwave (the kind that sits on the wall above the stove), dishwasher, and oven.

Today, the last of my new appliances arrived...my stove.

That I may come near to my husband, draw me nearer to Thee than to him.

That I may know my husband, make me to know Thee more than him.

That I may love my husband with the perfect love of a perfectly whole heart, cause me to love Thee more than him and most of all.

That nothing may be between me and my husband, be Thou between us, every moment.

That we may be constantly together, draw us into separate loneliness with Thyself.

And when we meet breast to breast, O God, let it be upon Thine own.

Temple Gairdner

Moms don't get sick. It's just not allowed. Mom doesn't have time to be taken care of because she is too busy taking care of everyone else. She wipes noses, administers tylenol, dries tears, puts on bandaids, takes temperatures, changes clothes, kisses foreheads, and makes soup. Even when she is sick, her primary goal is to take care of her husband and children who need her.

The last couple of days have been rough for my family. We had a significant loss in the family, and everyone is grieving. I had planned on doing some early spring cleaning this week, and when I'm upset I often want to do hard cleaning. So, the spring cleaning has commenced.

I've been thinking a lot lately about friends. How does a true friend behave? Unfortunately, I think that I have a different view of friendship than many of the people I have chosen as friends. My mom says that I got that from her, which I think is a good thing. I want to be the best friend that I can be to the people God puts in my life.

Traditions:

My favorite family holiday tradition is a toss up. I really love fondue. Each Christmas Eve, the adults gather and eat way too much fried food. It's the best meal of the year. My favorite holiday tradition that involves the children, however, would probably have to be opening stockings. I have such precious memories of opening stockings as a kid. The gifts in there were obviously small, and usually just a million (individually wrapped) packs of gum or chapstick. But seeing that stocking stuffed to the gills on Christmas morning was just magical. Now, the fun is in recreating that for MY kids. One year, we wrapped a million matchbox cars individually. It was wonderful because the boys were truly surprised each time they opened one, even though they all looked the same.

We've been invaded by nearly 4 dozen mice. Click through to see pictures...