Tomorrow morning, after our church service, my girl and I will embark on a multi-state adventure!  We’ll be traveling to New Orleans on the first leg of our trip, stopping over with family and then continuing on to Decatur, Alabama Monday morning.  My guy will be holding down the fort, managing all our critters and doing “bachelor” things while we’re gone:  he’s well stocked in frozen pizzas, burritos, and chicken pot pies.  Hey – he made the grocery list, not me!

I’ve never been to Alabama before and I’m excited to see something new, to check another “never been there” place off my list.  The best part will be visiting with friends we’ve missed for quite sometime.  Alabama is now their home, and while it is definitely where they belong, we can’t help but wish it shared a state line with Texas so they weren’t so far away.

One of Jami’s dearest friends is getting married later this week and she is one of the bridesmaids.  It’s one of those emotional moments in life:  I’m so happy that McCauley has found her Philip and they are beginning married life together.  But I’m also a little misty-eyed, a little sad (in a bittersweet way) because it’s just one more sign that all these precious kids I’ve known for so long are growing up.  I can’t begin to explain how this caught me off guard.  When I stand next to McCauley, she towers over my short self, and if I’m honest, Jami has a good three or four inches on me, too.  So it’s not a secret that they’ve grown up if one just opens her eyes and looks.

I’m proud of who they are becoming.  Even though their paths to this point in life have been a little less than smooth, a little more crooked than straight, the bumps and curves are shaping them into strong, confident young adults seeking God and His plans for each of their lives.  Sometimes it’s difficult to not know how things are going to turn out at the end of the story, but I guess that’s where He’s shaping me, teaching me to trust Him and to trust them to listen to His voice.