Mary Sunshine????

No, not really!!

Yes, I try to avoid the yucky part of life in my blog entries because there's plenty of that all around us.  Every day the newspaper, television, freeways, grocery stores and internet are full of discouraging stories, mean acts and dangerous truths so if I can concentrate on the positives about my life it's better for all of us.  I don't mean to portray a life that isn't real.  We have issues.  We have faults.  We have trials.  Do you really care to read about my garbage when you have your own junk to deal with?  I didn't think so.

However, just to make Lindsey fell alittle better about herself I have a few things to say...

The past 4 months have had moments of joy, pleasure and excitement but they have also held some of the toughest times that Chris and I have encountered in our fourteen years of marriage. 
*I finally decided to face some of the junk in my past; it brought up more junk and then I had to decide what to do with that information.
*Our good friends moved out of state.
*Fall is always busy but this year Chris coached high school softball as well as Reagan's competitve softball team.  We had very little time for family.
*We learned that some close friends had no use for us.
*Chris' father has been in the hospital five times.
*Amelia lived only a few hours
*I moved my aunt to town only to take over her financial and health decisions.
*We have a middle schooler.  YIKES! I'm stuggling with my parenting
* My last 2 scrapbook weekends have been cancelled.
*One friend is getting a divorce
*Family...
*We have children in 3 different schools.
*My house is a mess most of the time.

I could probably come up with several other stressors if I stopped to think about it for a minute or two.  This is a list of "yuck" but I can offset each bullet point with a silver lining.  My positive view point is not because I am Mary Sunshine but because God gives me hope.  Never has He put more on my plate than what I can handle.  Growth comes through trials.  Precious metals are refined by fire.  I pray that my struggles will help me focus on God and not on myself...some days are easier than others.