My little Trick or Treaters...

I'm warning you now, this post will be picture heavy, but... with very little "journaling".

All 4 of my little Goblins... (this was the best pic I could get of all 4 of them.  The Princess would NOT look at the camera for anything, that's why B has a disgusted look on his face, he was ready to go get some candy!)



Our little Dora the Explorer...


Bonez...


C-Man...(he ended up staying home from school today because he was sick. He still wasn't 100% tonight & you could tell. I felt bad for him, but when we stopped by our house, he knew that he was done so he stayed back with Daddy. Poor guy!)


Bubby walking his teacher's llamas...


This was for the school "Harvest Festival"...



Bubs & the Princess right before we went out...


B with his loot... (he went out with his friends so he ended up with more tan anyone, boy was he happy!)
Okay, for whatever reason, blogger won't load this pic, I'll try again later.

Bubby with his stash...


C-Man with all of his, minus what he (& the Princess lol) had already eaten...


I think this is my fav pic of the night, I absolutely LOVE it of Bonez!

6 Random things...

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (Char tagged me).
2. Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading).
3. List 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.!

Ok. Now that we have THAT out of the way...
The Randomness:

1. I am a HUGE Laker fan, my whole family is, (well, the 6 of us), my MIL, my dad & also my brother. Bonez' old bedroom was the COOLEST room ever &it was ALL Laker.

2. I actually went to school to be a speech therapist. I never did finish, but I still find it fascinating.

3. I have been "obsessed" with doing hair since I was little. My mom ran a daycare & I used to sit for hours & "play" with one girls' hair (luckily she was patient & loved cartoons). When I worked at a preschool, my BFF & I used to do all the girl's hair the same on big field trip days.

4. I can't imagine sports not being such a HUGE part of my life. I played growing up, as did my siblings, my dad is a huge sports nut, my mom was the best cheerleader ever (for us kids). My boys are extremely athletic, total natural athletes & as busy as we are, I can't imagine it being any other way.

5. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints & am proud of it! I can't imagine where I would be with out the Gospel in my life. It's what makes me who & what I am. Something I hold very close to my heart.

6. My dad has known my hubby longer than he has known me! My dad lived with Prince Charming's family when PC was around 7-8. My now FIL was the Best Man at my parent's wedding!

Ok, I tag...

1. Melissa
2. Goldfish
3. Mimi
4. Kathy
5. Shirlene
6. Amanda

Long awaited post...

Ok Brandi, I hope this makes you feel better, I know it does me (cause now you'll stop naggin me) LOL

There is so much to say about this weekend. I had the time of my life (yeah, I know I already said that, but it really is true). I met some of the best ladies ever. Holy cow, I honestly have never laughed so hard & so long before, this was a much needed "break", just what I needed.

The weekend didn't start out exactly like I had planned (big surprise there huh) but ended way better than I ever expected, so in the end, it was all worth it! The Princess & I headed out of town late Wed afternoon & made it to my parent's early evening (I didn't even get lost LOL... they just moved & I had never been to the new place before).

We left for the airport giving me enough time to figure out where the heck I needed to go. You need to know that I had only ever flown twice before & trust me, it's been a while. I was more nervous about the whole airport thing than I was about going & meeting people & had never met. So, my dad drives to the airport, stops at the curb, pops the trunk, gets my luggage out (1 piece) as I got the other out, I shut the trunk & off he went. I was standing there in the freakin street scared to death & my dad just left me, & he took my baby!!! As I was standing there, deer in the headlights, some Hottie comes up & says "curbside check in".... me: "umm, sure... " I had NO idea what the heck he was talking about, but okay... next thing I know, he has my luggage & he's helping the next person in line. I quickly filled out luggage tags & he attached them & sent me on my way. Great, except for the fact that I now was totally at a loss as to what & where to go. I didn't want to look like a complete idiot, so I walked into the airport & found an old guy in a security uniform. Luckily he took pity on me & pointed me in the right direction. I made my way to security. Again, I'm completely clueless as to what I need to do, so I'm just watching to see what everyone else does. Take off shoes, okay... have boarding pass in hand, okay... pic up bin... so, I figured I would just continue to "fake it", just watch, I mean, heck, it's worked so far right?! WRONG! Next thing I know, they're opening a new line & I'm being told to "come this way" YIKES! I don't know what goes in the bin, okay, well, I figured everything I was holding was a good bet, BUT, do I need to open my purse & backpack, or just keep them closed? Obviously I did something correct because I didn't hear any bells & whistles (or even flashing lights) going off. I grab my stuff & slip on my shoes & find the sign pointing the way to my gate. I'm thinking this is pretty cool, I was actually starting to feel giddy. I was through the "hard part" & I still had about 2 hours to go until my plane left! No prob, I'll grab something to eat, & enjoy my "me" time & read 1 of the 3 books I brought. Again, I'm on top of the world, things couldn't be better (although the bagel I bought could have been). Well, until... I'm sitting down at my gate doing more people watching than reading, (it's okay, I would have plenty of time to read on the plane). I'm 1/2 reading, 1/2 listening the the conversation behind me. These 2 old ladies are talking about where they are going... they're talking about the stops the flight will be taking & the whole time, I'm thinking, ummm, you're forgetting one... MINE! Next thing I know, they're getting ready to board the plane. Yay, man how the time has flown! Except, it's not MY flight #, now I'm totally confused. I go up (think deer in the headlights look again) & grab the boarding guy as he's walking to the plane & shove my boarding pass at him & manage to squeak out... is this the next flight?" He answered "yes" & went on his way.  Okay, I'm back to being on top of the world again... (but still can't believe my dad just left me at the curb!)

The flight was pretty uneventful, we took off, we flew, we arrived. End of story.  Oh, & I got a package of pretzels, the freakin smallest package of pretzels I've ever seen, but that was okay, i knew what was on the "other side" of my plane ride! LOL

I get off the plane & literally just followed the mass of people (hoping & assuming they knew where they were going & it would be the same place I needed to go). So I call my hubby & let him know that I landed & that all is well. (Ok, to be honest, I was starting to freak out, I was in a totally foreign (lol) place, & was supposed to meet someone I didn't even know). I wanted/needed to hear his voice. (It worked, he even had me laughing, so all was well.) At this point, I was standing at the baggage claim area, but had NO idea if I was at the right place. Dummy me asked some worker lady & the only thing she said to me was... "it'll be posted". Ummm, okay, like posted on SS posted, what the heck?! Anyway, at about this point, I "found" Manda (well, I was hoping it was her). After big hugs (remember, we had never actually met until right then). We waited & found my luggage & headed out to her van.

Our very first stop...


Have I told you how much I LOVE this place (& how much Manda HATES it?!) She was playing nice hostess so that's where I got to eat lunch!!! Yep, it was YUMMY, even better than I remembered too! Little did I know that she had her reasons for "letting" me eat there! HOLY COW, we had a TON of errands to run to get ready for the retreat!!! I swear, I think I walked more that day than I have my entire life! Okay, maybe not, but it sure felt like it! We shopped, & shopped, & shopped some more. The conversation flowed & laughs were plenty. We instantly hit it off. At some point, late that night, we finished the retreat t shirts & crawled into bed. SOMEONE got a good night sleep... but we won't mention names. LOL SOMEONE else had to sleep with RATS!!! Yep, you read that right, *I* had to sleep with rats... anyone that knows me well knows that that is just as bad as putting me in a place full of spiders! UGH, TOTALLY freaked me out!!! Have you ever slept with rats before? They are LOUD!!! ALL NIGHT LONG they are LOUD. I honestly sat straight up in bed 3 different times because I was FREAKED out, I thought someone was breaking into the room!!! I thought about going & crawling in bed with her, but I was afraid to move!!!  (you know I love you Manda) LOL

Ok, before we went to bed, I decided that I wanted some grungeboard, so we looked up the COOLEST LSS (local scrapbook store) & I hit the jackpot, they had some!!! We decided that we would quickly get ready in the morning & head out there before the "girls" met us to head on up the hill. OMGosh, can I tell you it's a darn good thing I don't live anywhere near that place! We were in there for 1 hour & I didn't even get to see everything! I was in HEAVEN!!! Oh, & the name of the store...
Isn't that the coolest name? I love it!

Okay, after spending plenty of $, we took our "loot" back to Manda's house to get the car packed. The other girls showed up, & we headed off for the retreat. YAY!!!

We weren't even 15 minutes from her house when she got a phone call from her MIL (who was watching her kiddos) saying "Riley had a little spill..." anyway, we made it about 1/2 way before she decided she just couldn't do it anymore, she had to be with her baby. We pulled over, got things switched over into the other 2 cars & sent them on their way. Manda & I headed back down the "hill" to meet MIL & the kids at the ER. You can read all about it on her blog..."http://lilbittylife.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-for-riley.html"

After a looong 2 hours in the ER, (Riley is a GREAT patient btw & is now doing fine). We stopped at In & Out again (that was my "payment" for being her ER photographer) & started for the lodge... again!

Now, the fun could really begin, we got the "bad" stuff out of the way! Everyone else started arriving & boy did the fun begin!!!

I was pretty hesitant at that point, & didn't really talk a whole lot, just tried to stay busy (or at least look like I was) until my So Cal friends pulled up. I had been SO excited about meeting D & S for so long that I literally ran out the door the minute I saw them pull up. It was so nice to finally be able to "meet" my friends that I had become so close to online.

Yada yada yada... when everyone finally arrived, we headed to the "living" room & played a white elephant get to know you game. We laughed, & had a lot of fun stealing from each other! I think everyone was happy with their final "gifts" & it really set the mood for the rest of the weekend. What a fun group we had! I finally crawled into bed around 3. Oh yeah, I got to sleep on a top bunk, it was so funny, I felt like I was away at summer camp, I think there were 4 of us that had crawled into bed at the same time & it was all I could do not to start giggling. Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, there were 13-14 people sleeping in that room & to get there, you had to walk through another bedroom that had 4 people sound alseep... in the PITCH BLACK room! HILARIOUS, let me tell ya!

Bright & early the next morning, Karen & I (both on top bunks right next to each other) started chatting... I don't care WHAT D says, I was NOT talking to myself!!! Holy cow, she is such a sweetheart, I didn't get a chance to talk to her the day before, so this was fun & yay, I made a new friend! LOL

Okay, blah blah blah, we ate, we scrapped (a little), we laughed, we ate, we scrapped, we laughed... you get the idea.

I only stayed up until 2:30 that night. LOL Anyway, that was definitely the BEST night, too many funny things, I'm not going to list all the "inside jokes" & stories, but let me tell you, I jumped off the bed so fast (twice) & ran to the bathroom because I thought I was going to lose my dinner I was laughing so hard! OMGosh, these girls were funny!!!


We stuck around Sunday cleaning up & got out of there around 4 & headed back down the hill to Manda's MIL's house to get her kids. Once again, we got In & Out. Yeah, I think Manda's my new BFF!!!

I flew out the next morning (after doing her DD's hair). I made it to Portland without any issues & met my dad outside the baggage area. I couldn't wait to see the Princess! Man I missed her!! I finally made it back to Bend at 5:10, walked in the door, went potty, grabbed a sweatshirt, grabbed Bubby & out the door we went to soccer. Yeah, my weekend was O.V.E.R, back to reality for me! LOL

I had the best time ever & am so glad I went. I made so many new friends & loved meeting my other "friends", what a wonderful group of women!

Okay, this is now a novel, so Brandi, I hope you're happy! LOL

Oh yeah, here are some of the pics...

Our view out the front...


My hot tub buddy Heather...


The scraproom (I didn't spend much time in here, but I did manage to get 22 pages done)


There was lots of this going on, just small groups making new friends & memories...


I LOVED this road, it would have been so cool to have a pic of Vicki driving her hot little sports car down it. This was looking out the back of the lodge...


And there was LOTS of this going on all weekend long... (the laughter, not necessarily the basketball)

I know, I know...

You're sick of being patient, waiting for me to post about the retreat... sorry!!! It's been an insane week & an emotional one as well. Not only did my good friend move out of state, we found out Sat night that C-Man's good friend's dad was killed in a car accident this week. Yeah, not exactly a fun week around here.

Anyway, I promise to post about the retreat later today, so come back & visit. I only have a minute right now, Prince Charming needs to work, & well, this is the computer he needs. I wanted to show my latest "creations" though. I made these last night & had so much fun that I'm hoping to get some more done today.




Ok, I'm being "hurried", so I'm outta here...

I HATE goodbyes!

One of my very best friends is leaving tomorrow morning. Her family is moving to Utah. Even though I am so happy for her, I know this is the right thing for them, I'm sitting here in tears. UGH, I HATE saying goodbye! We spent a few hours together, telling stories & laughing, I held it together even through our long hug goodbye. It wasn't until I was in the car that I lost it. Now I can't stop crying. I should be putting my kids to bed, but I can't pull myself together long enough to do it. I'm even missing a Laker game. This is bad!!! *I* don't miss Laker games!

Sorry, I was really planning on updating about my retreat, but sorry, I just don't have it in my right now. Maybe tomorrow...

I'm baaaccckkk!

I had the time of my life! (insert tune wedgie here) It was such a neat experience, I met some incredible women, had tons of laughs, a few tears, tons of great food, & did I mention laughs?! Oh, & I even got some scrappin done!!!

I don't have time to get into anything else right now, I'm walking out the door, (again), but promise to post some pics & fill in some details within the next day or two.

What's that noise?!

"I don't know if you know this, but... we're kind of a big deal"! That would J & M talking about their "band"! They are TOO funny. My garage has officially be turned into a "band room". This thing cracks me up! They decided it would be fun to play at our ward's talent show last year, they were the HIT of the show... seriously! Yeah, they actually do have some talent! Well, 1 thing led to another & well, last wknd they played at the "Youth Conference" dance here in town. There were a ton of "kids" there! From what I understand (I didn't stay for the entire thing) they were a HUGE hit! Infact, they may have even gotten a "paying" gig out of it. These guys do this more for fun than anything, but hey, if you can make $, why not?! Guess I'll have to put up with the "noise" even more, but that's okay, they do sound good & I enjoy it, so it's all good! (Oh, well, except the time 2 weeks ago when the neighbors called the police on them... oops!) LOL

Anyway, here are some pics from the dance...

John, he's one of the lead singers & the bass player...


John, Dave & Kendall...


My Hubby...




Dave & Christopher...



They are taking a week or 2 off, then they'll be back to it! I can't wait, but until then, I'll enjoy the silence!

Outside my Window...

Outside my Window. . . . .is my neighbor's roof, blue sky & pretty fall leaves on the tree tops.

I am thinking. . . .I NEED to be packing instead of "playing".

I am thankful for. . .the retreat I get to go to! YAY

From the kitchen. . . are dishes in the sink...

I am wearing. . .. my favorite holey capris & a white t

I am reading. . .S is for Silence, but I'll be starting Fearless 14 in 2 days!!!

I am hoping. . . everything goes smoothly so I can get away & enjoy myself.

I am creating. . .tags for my goodie bag gift

I am hearing. . .silence, gotta love that! If I listen really carefully though, I'll hear "DIego" on downstairs.

Around the house. . .AHG, I still have so much to do, another load of laundry & the kitchen are the biggest "chores" left.

One of my favorite things. . knowing that I get to go meet some of my bestest friends in a few days!!!

A Few Plans for the Rest of the week. . I leave tomorrow for the retreat, my only plans (once I leave) are to HAVE FUN!

***I actually wrote this out the day before I left, but wanted something to post while I was gone.***

Who are you?!

So I have the Feedjit Feed on the sidebar of my blog which is great to see where everyone is coming from and going to, but I still don't know who all of you are! Today I have a challenge for you.

Do you read here? Who are you? Please add a comment to this post and let me know who you are!

Not sure how to add a comment? At the end of this posting you will see "___ comments" which will tell you how many other people have commented on this post (and it better not stay on zero for very long!). Click on those words and it will bring up a new screen where you can read the comments. You will also have an option to leave your own comment in the box to the right. Add your name through one of the bubble options and then click "publish your comment".

I can't wait to "meet" each of you!

One Word...

One word
*Use the 1st letter of your last name to answer each of the following with ONE word... *they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial

1. What is your last name?......................Chastain

2. 4 letter word..............................................Cups

3. Vehicle: ...................................................Chevy

4. City / Neighborhood: ..............................Canby

5. Boy Name: ...............................................Conlan

6. Girl Name: ...............................................Chayli

7. Occupation:................................................Cop

8. Something you wear:..............................Clothes

9. Food: .........................................................Cookies

10. Found in a bathroom:...........................Cleaner

11. Reason for Being Late........................Call

12. Something you shout...........................CON!

13. Animal:....................................................Cheetah

14. Body part:................................................Chest

YIKES!!!

I'm literally down to the wire at this point. I still have tons to do to get ready for my retreat. I leave tomorrow afternoon & even though I've done a lot, I still have more to do. I got the Princess all packed up & ready to go, now it's my turn! I got about 120 pics printed, but that's about as far as I have gotten. I honestly have no idea where to even start with my scrapping packing.

I was really having a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to do with Princess, Hubby can't afford to take off 3 full days to "watch" her, my dad offered to keep her. Anyway, that's finally what I decided to do, (it helped that my mom is taking off work, that way I KNOW her hair will get done lol). Anyway, Princess is SO excited to go to "Nammy's house", last night, she was going around singing "Nammy's house, Nammy's house" over & over again, it was SO cute!!! She is going to have so much fun. They have some fun things planned, I just have to hope my mom remembers to take pics for me!

Ok, I'm totally procrastinating at this point, but I really do need to go organize my supplies & do some last minute things around the house.

I have some entries that will be posted while I'm gone, so don't forget to check back.

I'll be back next week with hopefully lots of fun pictures & stories to go along with them. Enjoy!

No school + boys =...

Creativity? Fort? How 'bout just... MESS?! LOL

Yep, this is what I saw when I looked downstairs! I guess this is what happens when the boys are grounded from the ps3 & it's too cold to go outside to play.



Oh well, it's at least entertaining them & ya know what, they're all getting along! PRICELESS in my book!!! I may even be REALLY nice & let them keep it up all day & sleep in it tonight. Not promising anything though! LOL

Wonder what the rest of the day & tomorrow will bring... (not sure I want to know!)

My Prince Charming...

I was hoping to post this yesterday, but life got in the way, sorry. I have something pretty big coming up next week, I am so filled with a range of emotions, I can't even begin to explain it all.

 What is coming up you want to know? I'm going away to my first scrapbook retreat. I will be leaving here Wed afternoon & driving (with the Princess) to my parent's house. My dad will take me to the airport Thursday morning & he & mom will keep the Princess for me until I get back in town on Monday. Yeah, I'm sure some of you are thinking "yeah, so big deal, I do stuff like this all the time". Well, for me, this is a first. I have never left my kids before & gone to do something just for me. I have never been away from all of my kids, EVER. Yeah, I'm excited, but also extremely nervous. Yes, I know they'll be fine, infact, things will probably run smoother & at least, on the homefront, I won't even be missed for those few short days. I KNOW the Princess will have a BLAST with my mom & dad, I even know that *I* will have a ball spending time with my friends. Knowing this doesn't make it any easier though.

Anyway, I was talking to a good friend of mine about this upcoming trip & trying to explain some of my feelings to her. She laughed & said something to the extent of "Oh, you just wait, you'll so enjoy your freedom, you'll want to go all the time". I kind of laughed it off, but ya know, that has really stuck with me. As much as I'm looking forward to this, this won't be something I will do often, in fact, in reality, this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I'm okay with that. This is such a huge sacrifice for my family (even extended) for me to even be able to go. I can't even put into words how grateful I am for Prince Charming to make this possible. Why has her comment stuck with me? Well, for a number of reasons, 1, I LOVE staying home with my kids, I love going to all of their sports activities (I'll be missing C-Man's last tackle football game & it's killing me), yeah, life is extremely hectic right now, but ya know something, it's MY life & I LOVE it. I wouldn't want it any other way. Another reason it's stuck with me is because financially, this isn't something we can afford to do, Hubby is having to cut back on his hours (& work is SUPER busy right now) so he can play taxi driver for the boys.

A lot of things have had to be worked out so that I can go. The "funny" thing is, when I first read about this retreat on the board, I so wanted to go, but didn't say anything, I didn't want hubby to feel bad having to play the bad guy by telling me we couldn't afford it. My friend Desi talked me into bringing it up to him. I finally did, kind of as a joke, guess what, he asked more details & told me to "go for it". HOLY COW, I was SHOCKED!!! Desi just laughed at me, but was so excited. When gas prices went sky high, I thought for sure I would have to back out & forfeit my deposit. Nope, another friend found me an incredible deal on airfare. (Thanks Amanda). This was really looking like my dream could become a reality. Here it is, less than 1 week to go & things are falling into place. I'm really going to meet all of my friends that have become such a huge part of my life even though we've never even "met".

Ok, back to my Prince Charming... I just want him to know how much I love & appreciate him & his support. He is so supportive of me & my "hobbies", (it probably helps that that is a total 2 way street). I swear, I don't know anyone who has more hobbies than he does. Okay, well, possibly his buddy J, but that's okay! LOL I know that his hobbies are what makes him "him" & give him his much deserved break, it makes him happy (& therefor, ME happy) when he gets his "break". M is such a great dad, I'm not sure who is looking forward to me being gone more, me, or the boys knowing they get daddy all to themselves! At this point, I'm just rambling, so I'll end with some of my fav pics of my Prince.

Thanks honey, for this great opportunity & for just being you, I love you!

More confetti...

Ok, I forgot to add something when I did my "6 quirks".  I tend to be pretty compulsive (yeah, hard to believe huh lol).  Doesn't seem to matter what it is, but when I get "hooked" I seriously become addicted.  Clothes for the boys, (esp if I find a deal) I have to get one in every color, every size, shoes for the Princess, same thing, I swear, she has more shoes than I do now.  Scrappin, I do the same with that, it's like I put everything else aside & ONLY concentrate on that 1 thing. 

 My newest seems to be the confetti bows I made on Saturday.  I literally dreamt about them & then got up bright & early (ok, it was 8) & made 5 more.  I am having so much fun with these.  I am finding myself standing & looking in her closet & trying to figure out what she should wear, according to what bow I want her to wear.  Yeah, I know, bad!

Anyway, I can't do anymore until I go get more clips so maybe I'll move on to something else for a little while.  In the mean time, I thought I would share a pic of the 5 I made yesterday & then a pic of her wearing 2 today.

My newest creations...


Yes, I know it's still early to be wearing Halloween clothes, but these are so cute, I couldn't resist...

Oh, & for those that know me well, yes, that's a Laker bow for her!!! Can't wait for basketball season, she'll get TONS of use out of that one!

I had SO much fun today...

I've been wanting to do a "project" for a while now, but hadn't gotten around to it. Well, after MANY trips to the store, I decided I had everything & since the soccer game was cancelled for today, I had the time. I loaded up the bar with my "supplies" & went to town. OMGosh, I had so much fun being "creative".

So... what did I do you want to know? (I'm gonna tell ya even if you don't want to know & don't care) I made "korker" bows, or, as my boys call them, "confetti". The Princess was so darn excited when I got them all done, she had to try every single one in her hair & then show them off. I'm tellin ya, this girl is a hoot! Anyway, without further ado, here they are...



I ended up making 7 of them, but I have plans on making lots more. Once I got the hang of it, they were pretty easy. The possibilities are endless, ahhh, so many colors, so little time!

Oh, because you can't really tell, the 2 with orange are actually Halloween bows.  I used different "seasonal" ribbon I had found.  The 3 pastel ones are all totally different IRL, but look alike in the pic.  This was all ribbon from my scrappin stash.  Hey, at least it's getting used, right?!

I'm sad...

I found out officially today, that one of my really good friends will be moving to another state. I am SO bummed! Her hubby can't find work here, he has sent out more resumes & made more phone calls than we can even count, but there is just nothing here. I so understand where they are at, it was us in that position not too long ago, but I'm still sad. I have only known her for a little over 1 year, but we hit it off quickly & have become extremely good friends. I'm so going to miss hanging out with her, working with her, her sense of humor, & her "attitude"! She is so "tell it like it is", which is SO opposite of me, but you know, that's one of the things I admire most about her. Man, I'm gonna have to get long distance on my phone, that's all there is to it! I'm not sure what I'm going to do if we can't have our phone chats, She's really been a rock for me this past year.

Anyway, I knew this was coming, but it still felt like a punch to the stomach when she gave me the dates. I'm not even going to be here to "see them off", I'll be at the retreat. That's probably a good thing, but still..

Sorry to be such a downer, but I'm really bummed right now. I'll try to have my next post be a more positive one. Thanks for "listening"! If you wouldn't mind, I would really appreciate (as would they) prayers for them as they get ready to take on this new & scary adventure.