Time is flying by . . .

I know- it has been WAY too long since I last wrote. Sorry!

I am constantly reminded of how good and faithful God is to us—in the little things and the big things. For those of you who don't know, Mark did finish his dissertation and he passed his Oral Defense- so he "we" will graduate in May! As I have looked back over the last two years in particular (in regard to his dissertation), I see the Lord's great and mighty hands all over it. It would have been much easier to just quit the whole thing. In fact, I believe that Satan has tried many times to interfere with this goal in our life. But the Lord has instructed us to persevere through trials—so we never quite. I know I am biased, but I also believe that the Lord is going to do great things for His Kingdom through Mark—not because he will receive a piece of paper that says "Ph.D." but because of the opportunities it will allow Mark to encounter and do "for God's Glory" in the years to come. Ministry is about investing in the lives of people, something (as a couple) we are feeling the Lord "tug" at our hearts more strongly than ever before. There are so many people with broken & lost hearts—hearts that want to do what is right, but they have no one investing in them and showing them how. It wouldn't take much time—one less T.V. show a week, or skip mopping the kitchen floor or dusting the house (looks the same the next day anyway)! Ahh . . .the battle of the mundane and the spiritual- something that won't go away until the Lord returns. So, if you decide to stop by my house sometime it may just be a big fat royal mess because I decided to "let it go" and invest in the life of another.

Time is flying. Kayla is turning 12 in a couple of weeks. . . and I just turned 37!! YIKES! We enjoyed a week in Colorado as a family last week, but I forgot my camera. We did stop in Trinidad to buy a small digital camera (becuase Mark lost Kayla's in Washington, DC - so we owed her one). But once we made it to Horn Creek we remembered that we didn't buy a memory card and the nearest Wal-Mart to HC is an hour away- UGH! So I don't have any photos to show you. We did make lots of good memories—the Suburban got stuck in the snow because we had 4 wheel drive and it can do everything, right?? The kids all rock-wall climbed the hardest (or one of the hardest) walls, we went inner tubing, played volleyball (& wallyball), Joseph bowled a 215 . . . after 3 hours of bowling (hey- he was PROUD), we went sledding, made a snow turtle, made lots of new friends (one family we met lives in Garland- funny- you drive 1000 miles to meet a family who lives 15 minutes from you), & we ended our week taking the Lord's supper together. So we made memories that will last a lifetime. That's what a "family" is . . . lots of love given to each other while making & building on years of memories that help mold you as a person and your perspective on life.

I do have a few dissertation photos- we had a big "Yarbrough" bash!

Hopefully it won't be another two months before I write again- but it might be- I'm a busy mama!