It's a Colt!

Back in April, the big girls and I spent two (school!) nights camping out in my minivan at Char-O-Lot Ranch, parked next to the foaling paddock, in anticipation of the arrival of Dream’s foal. We were hoping to be there to witness the birth. And we did! It was so, so special. New life is such a miracle! I’m so glad the girls got to experience it! The big girls have already declared that Miss K will be winning championships riding Fury. If she’s got the dream, he’s certainly got the pedigree and potential to make it happen! And he’s such a lovable little guy, too.

Here’s a video I made for Mama with highlights of his first day--and some cute commentating by Miss M and Miss A.

Where Working is a Pleasure

After 13 years with the same law firm, where I worked my way from new law school grad to partner, I was recently approached by a company that I have been a raving fan of for years about an opportunity to join their in-house legal team as a senior attorney. Although, I loved my firm and was not looking to change jobs, the new company made me an offer I just couldn’t refuse. I made the move a few weeks ago and am loving my new position so far! My commute has reduced from 45 minutes each way to 10 (no more battling malfunction junction to get to downtown Tampa), and I'm only 5 minutes away from the girls' school. More family time is a huge perk! And you know I'm gonna love a job that lets me "interview" possible new flavors of ice cream on a site visit to the dairy plant. I'm looking forward to checking out the bakery facility soon! Of course, there are lots and lots of contracts and leases to fill the time between, but I'm really excited about the position and think it's going to be a great fit for us!

Long Time, No Blog

We’ve had a lot going on these past five months. I took a break from blogging because it was important to D and me that we try to slow down and focus our attention on supporting each other and nurturing our little ones. And frankly, I had no real desire to turn on the computer. We are grateful for all of you who read our last post, knew we were hurting, reached out to us and lifted us up in prayer. Your friendship and support have meant so, so much to us. We've felt your love.

Though we’re still in the trenches with the unfortunate situation, this blog is our family’s scrapbook and I don’t want to leave a bunch of big gaps in the story. So I'm hoping to start writing on the blog again--a few minutes here and there to document our journey. I'll start by tackling the most heartbreaking development.

Someone close to us walked away. There is now a great distance between us--over 1,500 miles. The emotional distance seems even further. After 45 years of marriage, a divorce was hastily filed and quickly finalized. Another marriage has already occurred. The unwanted “stuff”--a lifetime's worth of memorabilia, collections, gifts, heirlooms, photo albums and furnishings--has all been distributed amongst the kids and the grand old house that has been the setting of so many memories and holiday gatherings is now on the market. There have been many nights that we've cried ourselves to sleep, and many others that we've stayed up all night praying.It has been devastating, distracting and difficult for us, especially D. It's been hard on our big girls, too. Miss M doesn't know all of the details of the situation, but she has been praying about it and has shared some very profound things that she claims the Lord has revealed to her. Things that have made our jaws drop because they are so on-point, so full of truth and so applicable to the circumstances to an extent that she doesn’t even grasp. (The girl is anointed, y’all.) We don't understand what has happened to our family. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to make sense of it. But we know God makes beautiful things out of the dust. We believe He can turn brokenness into beauty. We know He is faithful and we're trusting in Him to redeem and be glorified through it all. In the meantime, we are learning a lot about gratitude, a lot about grace, and a lot about forgiveness.

Though we're facing an tragedy we couldn't have imagined even six months ago, I'm still amazed at the life of adventure and joy God's blessed us with. He is good and He is always there--in all that sucks and in all that rocks. And there have been many unexpected turns in the past few months that have just plain rocked. This weekend, I'll try to write about a couple of the memories I think we'll look back upon with smiles.