Shouldn't a posting on a Friday afternoon have a joke in it?

There are a lot of people in my life, both past and present that I care about and think of often. Unfortunately, most adults and probably all moms understand that this does not always mean that we do as well as we’d like at keeping in touch! It seems that we get so caught up in the responsibilities of kids, work, church, home, etc., that we can’t seem to extend our attention to the many other important people in our lives. This is one of the reasons why I have really enjoyed our entry into the blogosphere. I love to go to your blog sites and see your photos and read about the thoughts and happenings in your lives. A blog entry certainly does not take the place of person to person contact, but it is nice to have a quick way to share a lot of information with a lot of people in a short amount of time! I really dig this blogging stuff!
So, with all that in mind, I will take the opportunity to pass along a few words…

First of all, HUGE congratulations to our friends and family who have either had babies this week, or announced upcoming babies! 4 babies in 5 days (all boys!) and a few announcements mixed in as well – what a week! I am truly happy for all of you….I am also truly happy that I can come hold your babies, share the love, and then come home to 3 kids who are all potty trained! (As well as boys can be potty trained – do they EVER start hitting the bowl consistently?)

Next, to those of you who have wondered why I seemed to drop off the face of the earth, I am soooo sorry. I have left some of you hanging… breaking plans, missing functions, being fairly unavailable, and I am terribly sorry. I know that no one is mad at me – you are all much better friends than that, but I feel badly nonetheless. There is a reason – I have been quite sick lately. I will spare you all the details, but it has been a rough few weeks for me. I know that we all have trials, and I guess this was/ is one for me. I also know that there is always much to be learned from our tribulations, and I am trying to looking for those things now! All I can say is that I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. There is a quote that I have been thinking about a lot lately, so I will share it. I find that it resonates in my mind quite often!

“(Sometimes) the Lord…responds…to prayer by withholding an answer when the prayer is offered. Why would He do that?
He is our perfect Father. He loves us beyond our capacity to understand. He knows what is best for us. He sees the end from the beginning. He wants us to act to gain needed experience:
When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence.
When He answers no, it is to prevent error.
When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with his teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act.” - Richard G. Scott

On a lighter note, I finally took down the Christmas decorations...