Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... The weather around here has been a little off the wall. We were expected to get a major snow storm this last Friday. The city practically shut down to brace for the storm. Schools were cancelled, city offices were closed, and all social, civic, and sporting events were posponed--and guess what... All that happened was rain (a light rain all day). Isn't that always the case? I think that is how most of us tend to live our everyday lives. Someone once told me that FEAR stood for: False Evindence Appearing Real. We tend to worry so much about things we think are going to happen that we make it much worse in our minds than what the outcome usually is. Now don't get me wrong preparation is not a bad thing, I think the city made a statement that they were using "an overabundance of caution" to make sure their citizens stayed safe--caution is good, but faith is much greater. So as someone who comes from a long line of stressed out souls~I am working on it, or I should say God is working on me. After all the hype--two days later without much notice we did finally get some snow. The girls were so excited that we had to let them run outside in their pj's and jackets to at least say they made a snow ball. We decided to take a day and go skiing. It was wonderful up at the ski resort! Buck and I made a "date" of it.

Sometimes Blessings don’t look like blessings to us! Back in December I had been praying about our finances, our future and the kids. We have been pretty tight on money for a while. I had tossed the idea around about getting a job, but a flood of emotions and doubts kept creeping into my mind. So after praying one night about our financial situation—I got a call from my previous employer… asking if I knew anyone looking for a job—Now this could NOT be God’s way of answering prayer… I mean this was a “real” job back in the corporate world… So, I told them no and that I would call if I heard of anyone. Long story short, I took a long shot and called back and asked if they would work with someone looking part time. To my amazement they said yes… I interviewed, set up my guidelines and they offered me the job. The nagging doubt crept in again, and I said no. God wouldn’t want me to put Isaiah in day care would he? He wouldn’t want me not in full time ministry, would he? I dismissed the offer as me manipulating the situation. Several weeks past and the financial crunch was taking a toll. Again, I got on my knee’s one night and prayed: “God if you can hear me why aren’t you fixing our financial situation??” The VERY next day I got another call from my old employer. They asked why I didn’t take the job. They reoffered the position again (a little more salary this time) and it hit me—ARE YOU GOING TO IGNORE THE BLESSING THAT GOD IS TRYING TO GIVE YOU??? It didn’t look like the blessing I expected, it wasn’t packaged the way I thought God’s blessings would be packaged, but sometimes things that don’t look right in the natural are God’s way of asking “Do you trust me?” So needless to say I started work this week. I will only be working part time, but it will be an adjustment for the family. Pray that we stay in the GOD ZONE at all times. Also, think about a prayer that you have been waiting for God to answer… Look around he may be trying to answer it

Whew! The holidays flew by so fast! The day after Christmas we drove to San Antonio to visit Buck's family. We had a wonderful time. We visited the family homestead in Cuero, Texas. This is where Buck's parents are relocating. The land has been in the family for over 140 years! Although I am a city girl, there is something about living on land that your ancestors once lived that is kinda cool. We spent New Years with some friends on the River Walk. We had a wonderful (but small -- no wonder the French are not fat!) French dinner, and then rode through downtown San Antonio on a horse and carriage and watched fireworks...