Well it's been ages since I posted on here, but I think I will try to make a better habit of it... again.

Life has been good. Funny that I haven't posted since October TWO YEARS ago. We have a whole other human being added to our family since then. And we've moved to Missouri. And husband is no longer a resident (thank GOD!). And I've begun homeschooling David after one year in public school Kindergarten. SO, basically I'm starting this all over with a new title.

I was inspired to write here today by the many Christian women whose blogs I read. In particular, there are a couple things they do on their blogs, that I think would add to my family life and prayer life.

Right now I am in an "easy" phase of life. No major crises, not expecting babies, husband with an ordinary schedule. Many of those around me are not. I feel like I'm praying for so many of my friends right now, and by that I am saddened. I wish for these friends, that which I have in abundance right now: PEACE, LOVE and JOY!

In particular, one especially close girlfriend has just had a year and a half of thinking that things cannot possibly get worse, and then they do. Yesterday, after giving birth to her fourth child, a beautiful, healthy baby girl, my friend had a pulmonary embolism. I worried that I had not received word that the baby had been born, and knew as soon as I heard her voice that something was wrong. I thought maybe she'd had a surgical birth. I wish it had been only that.

She had a vaginal birth, they put her baby on her chest then she coded. As in HER HEART STOPPED BEATING. The doctors were able to resuscitate her, but she will be in the hospital for a while. I'm crying as I write this because this woman is amazing. Her life has had so many struggles recently. One of the most beautiful things about this though, is that when she called me from the ICU today to tell me what had happened, she told me that the last thing that happened to her before she coded was that they gave her her baby as soon as she was born. That's never happened with her previous children. All three were whisked away for one reason or another. Through all the craziness of a prolonged labor and near death experience, she can still marvel that she was able to hold her precious baby as soon as she was born. I can't think of a more beautiful example of a person finding a bright spot in a bleak event.

So, I can pray for her life to get easier and to heal, and I will. However, I will also pray that when she does have difficult events in life to deal with, that she talks about them the same way she did today. Relating the awful truth, but focusing on the shining moments that happen, no matter how brief.