Rough Week

It's been a rough week.

Huge project due last Monday, but I wanted Monday off to study, so I worked on Sunday afternoon.
My husband went out of town for work for the week.

Monday was good - cookie baking and studying. Relaxed yet productive day.

Tuesday we had a management meeting at work - the three owners and me - and the decision was made to downsize. I had to help decide which 7 employees were going to be let go out of our firm of 30. Agony.
I didn't sleep well.

Wednesday I got all the termination papers ready. Since I was at work, I interacted with everyone all day, knowing that on Friday 7 would be gone. It was simply overwhelmingly sad. Began some projects due on Monday the 2nd.
I didn't sleep well.

Thursday I stayed home to study again. My exam covered an unbelievable amount of material - which makes sense at the graduate level. The material is so fabulous, and I know that God had my exam scheduled for the same week as the lay off so that I would be immersed in His Word.
The exam went well. I was so incredibly worked up though. The emotional heaviness mixed with the pressure of studying was very intense.
I didn't sleep well.

Friday was horrid. A group of three. Tears. Disbelief. One person, one-on-one. More tears. (theirs, not mine - I was determined to stay professionally apart) And then another in the afternoon. (He had been out all morning) An all staff meeting to settle everyone's nerves. Stunned disbelief. Our office is like a family.
The pressure began to mount for the two projects due Monday, but my mind was mush. Then the phone rang at work - my dad - his brother, my dear uncle Herb, had died. More tears. My dad's.

I drove home in silence. No one was home. 45 minutes later I was still on the couch, still in my coat, petting the dog and crying in the dark. The whole week of pressure poured out.

My husband got home about 7:30. We went for pizza, debriefed a bit, and I went to bed. I still didn't sleep well.

Today, amazingly, I awoke refreshed. Bible Study this morning, followed by worship music - practicing to lead worship with my guitar next week. Then to work. Worked 5hours in order to get Monday's projects done - so I can head back to Iowa for the funeral.

My brother is flying in from Alabama, and we'll drive together tomorrow, just the two of us. My brother from Minneapolis will meet us there, where he and I will sing at the funeral. My aunt has lost her son, her sister and her husband in the period of 3 months. Unbelievable.

And so...the blog is a bit quiet. I'll be back. But for now I am processing.

God is on His Throne. He is in control. I rest in Him.

Changes

So, what do you think of the new blog look? Some of the older posts might be hard to read...I'm scrolling back as I have time... to change colors to be more readable.

I'm working on the Scrabble tiles...since they had a white background they looked funny here...but I'm working on it.

Thanks Diane - my blog coach!

Let it Snow

It might be my fault.

I have been so guilt ridden that I thought I should just come out with it: I prayed for snow.

Here's what I'm seeing out my living room window today. Sipping coffee in my spot on the couch is really wondrous most mornings - God provides the artwork...

A few months ago when I was poking about at TJMaxx I came upon a set of aluminum snow shoes. And I thought...wow...that was actually on my list: rent snowshoes for my hub and I for Christmas day. At 69.99 I thought it might be ok to buy them.

Of course he would likely get tired snowshoe-ing with me on his back, so next I had to find a second pair. While TJMaxx is one of my very favorite stores because there is no apparent rhyme or reason to what is in stock, it's not a great store in which to find a second one of anything. When you call ahead, you basically have to hope that the clerk is willing to dig through a lot of stuff to see if what you're looking for is there. It's not like they have a snow shoe section. (they were under the hat rack, if you're wondering)

A second pair was located. An hour drive, but it was worth it.

And then I prayed for snow.

God and I musta been on a super close wave length that day, cuz we're breaking records here in Milwaukee. I thought we had a lot last year, but this is totally ridiculous. We will indeed have a very white Christmas, and we will indeed have the opportunity to try out and become experts at snowshowing.

So, fellow Milwaukeeans, I'm sorry...I think it's my fault.

But it really is beautiful from our kitchen patio door. Tomorrow we'll hop right out this door and head to the woods - on snow shoes!

Blogging

Our oldest daughter Emily, age 19, is reading the advent blog daily, along with her roommate and her boyfriend. This SO THRILLS MY HEART that that blog is priority these days. I'll try to post here too now and then, but likely I won't be back here consistently until after Christmas.