SUMMER LOVE

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the summer months! There is no place I would rather be on this earth then at the beach with my family & friends! I love everything about being there - watching our 3 boys play in the surf, the warm sun, the sand, the smell of the ocean, the seagulls flying overhead, reading trashy magazines (guilty pleasure) the pelicans dive bombing for fish, the sound of the surf and of course the smell of suntan lotion! I am completely recharged when I am there and hate ever leaving! I feel closer to God when I am at the beach - go figure! I also love having the kids home from school - away from being so scheduled every moment of our day. I will miss our summer together and will look forward to the next one!

Auntie Robin and cousin Alex came for a visit this summer and we also visited them at their home in Nashville! What a great week we had on the lake! My Dad visited, Gary's parents have been here a few times and now my Mom is coming on Saturday. I only wish she were coming under different circumstances. My Aunt Susan is helping my Mom while she is here by coming to my parents home and taking care of my dear sweet Nanee! My Nanee is one amazing woman and she is a shining example of who I strive to be every day! Love you Nanee!!

We really have a great "biological" family. No one in our "biological" family lives close to us but everyone is reaching out and praying for us and wanting to come along side of us to assist us during this leg of our journey. Praise God for our family!

I hope and pray everyone who reads this is as fortunate and as blessed as we are to have so many people in their lives that love them, support them and pray for them! I mean it when I tell you that it is truly overwhelming to see what we have seen over the past two weeks.

Many of you have become a part of our "friends" family - both BIG and SMALL. We "do life" with our friends every day. You are the people who surround our family and who interact with our kids. Our friends (from every aspect of our lives) have touched us in so many ways. Even those of you who we know but have not spent a lot of time with are included in this family category. We spend so much of our lives being social and surrounded by our friends that everyone who has any kind of an influence in our lives makes a huge difference to us!

The position we are in right now is a position I hope none of you ever have to be in. Watching Gary struggle with his health and knowing he feels more than terrible about not being able to provide for us is a harsh reality that we face right now. However, if you ever find yourself in this position I will tell you that our unwavering faith and our unwaivering support system is what gets us through each day and I get on my knees and praise God everyday for the people He has brought to us in our lives.

I hope this trial makes me a better person - kinder, more compassionate, more loving and understanding, less judgemental and a stronger woman! I want to grow stronger in my faith, be a better wife, a greater Mom and a better friend! God will and is bringing out the best in people and he will bring so much good during this time in our lives!

We hope you know that no amount of thank yous could ever convey to you how thankful we really are!

Love and Smiles,
L&G