Calendar

(I have the hardest time coming up with titles. Today I chose an inanimate object that I happened to have in my line of vision.)

Yesterday was the beginning of fall. It was over 90 degrees in Winchester yesterday. I was sitting in the living room looking out the front window, though, and I could see leaves slowly drifting to the ground. I love the way they fall. Back and forth. It looked like fall yesterday. It made me a little sad that fall is already here. As part of our Life Group study, we've talked about how much time we waste on stupid things when we could be spending that time with the people that matter to us. And we waste plenty of time. It's time that we'll never be able to get back. Every minute is pushing us closer and closer to our end. So why do we waste it like it's an indispensable resource?

I love being in the ministry. I love where we are. I love our church. I love the new friends that we have. We have some really, really good friends here. But I hate being away from my family. All this time we spend away from them is moments we can never get back. That makes me sad. I know we are where God wants us. I know He has made Kraig and I strong people that can handle being away from our family so much. But it's still hard when I think about it like that. It's so hard to have your entire relationship basically over the phone. Time and money prevents us all from travelling to see each other as often as we would like. That's life. October will be a good month, though.

The first weekend of October, Kraig's parents have asked to visit. The second weekend of the month (Thursday-Sunday) my sister and my beautiful nieces will be coming to stay with me. The third weekend of October, my Mom and Dad are coming out for the weekend. I'm excited. My parents helped us move in, but they were here with us for less than 24 hours before they had to head home. This time, they'll be able to really see our home all put together, to see our town, and to visit our church. My sister has not been here at all yet, so it'll be all new to her. I can't wait!

I talked to a good friend from our previous church yesterday. We have not really had the chance to have a decent conversation in like four months, so it was wonderful to catch up with her. She has a little girl that's just a few weeks older than Kate, and we got to enjoy being pregnant at the same time. It was great to have someone going through it "with" you. There were things we could talk about and share that I wouldn't dream of talking about with anyone else. And now that we're both mommies, we're so busy! Talking to her, though, made me miss her so much. It made me miss all of my close friends from when we lived there. We desperately needed out of the situation we were in there, but you can't help but feel like you're abandoning your friends when you leave. It's hard!

I feel blessed that I have such a wonderful family and such great friends that I miss them that much. I know plenty of people who don't have the kind of relationships I have, and I feel truly sad for them. I'm just praying that I can be the kind of daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, niece, granddaughter and friend that makes people miss me the way I miss them!