Knowing

I learned something all over again today! Yep, I occasionally have to relearn something...here you go, you ready for it?  Its so basic you are gonna want to hit me in the forehead in that old fashioned DUH hit thingy....

THERE IS NO FIXING BAD PICTURES!!!! MAKE SURE YOU GOT GOOD ONES!!!!

okay, two lessons....

Here goes the deal. Our amazing son in law, Bryce, graduated from the program for deputy's over at the police academy in Salem.  I can't remember the name of the program but it was a bunch of P's S's and T's!  John and I went over, taking Kaylee and Lucy with us and attended the ceremony.  It was pretty cool actually! I am snapping pics, thinking I am getting some good ones...NOT!  I am so mad!!! I am gonna post them on here anyway because he deserves recognition for this momentous occasion.

 

Blurry or not, here they are.  Bryce and another guy sang the National Anthem and did a spectacular job of it I might add!  I wish these pics were at least clear but, alas, they aren't.  Good Job Bryce!

These last few days have been ones of revelation for John and I.  We have both been realizing so much, how very very blessed we are in this life.  Sometimes we become very keenly aware of the Lords favor upon us. We know that, as we get older, we will begin to lose those in our lives who mean so much to us. We have been very blessed in not really having to experience as much loss as some. Our kids are all healthy and doing well, they haven't done anything to land them in prison or in the hospital and they are happy and enjoying their lives. Bryce has a job, Kaylee is a healthy, happy mommy, Matt and Lindsay are getting married and coming home (YAY doesn't even cover it), we have a beautiful granddaughter we adore, Ryan is getting straight A's in school and doing well in his job (he even gets to go see Brianna pretty soon in Cali), Aaron is growing up and moving on and learning to be "on his own" (I haven't talked with Eric to confirm this, haha), John is doing well and enjoying his life with me (THANK YOU LORD) and I am feeling better than I have in a very long time. I just can't even begin to tell you how blessed I feel.  I look around me at the things that seem to roll along through our lives and I am thinking that I am one very fortunate woman.  But I must say, I think that loving the Lord, even through those times that have been so very hard in our lives, has been the buffer.  Has it made things easier, not really, but knowing that there is a Savior who is closer to me than any other, knowing that there is One who loves me, our kids, my hubby and my extended family much more than I ever could, has made it so much simpler. By simpler I mean, less complicated. Understanding can be left at the feet of Jesus because He knows and I don't have to.  Meaning is gleaned from knowing that I am loved, knowing that He knows me and my needs and He cares about all of it.  I know that were it not for those things, I would have self combusted a long time ago. To say that I am so not the person I once was, is an understatement and to say that I am a better version of me and am still becoming...that too is a gross understatement.  I love that about the Lord.  We walk, we learn, we move, we cooperate, we obey, we submit, we cry out, we forgive, we release, we lay down, we die, we live, we inherit, we get adopted, we get the keys to a Kingdom, we do not get what we deserve and we don't get what we do deserve....yes, the list is endless.

I love the Lord, because He heard my voice and my supplication. He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon His name as long as I live.....Psalm 116:1