Long time, no blog

Wow... where does the time go?! So much has happened over the past couple of weeks, I hardly know where to start. So... be prepared for a lengthy post and thank you for your patience.

I started feeling sick two weeks ago yesterday. I really started to feel better this past Monday (10/6) but even today (10/11) I'm still not at 100%. This thing is really hanging on! I went to my doctor last Wednesday on her first day back from vacation, just to see what I had. As you know from my last post, I was imagining the worst. My doc said I have a nasty virus. Thankfully it's not something like pneumonia, but on the downside, I can't treat this with any antibiotics so I remained miserable for quite a while. Even worse, I sounded ridiculously like a horse or frog. It was terrible. My voice still has a bit of a squeak to it, and a little bit of the cough remains... lingering... oh so frustrating! But I'm well on my way now to a full recovery.

My big thing in life: I hate disappointing people. I hate even the thought that maybe I'm disappointing them and they're too polite to tell me otherwise. I missed 5 days of work while sick and I missed the opportunity to do a lot of service at my church for a pastor's conference (I still did a lot, but not nearly as much as I wanted to, see a little more below). I work with a terrific team of people, so things moved along pretty well without me, but I still wish my getting sick came at a different time. I guess though, in really thinking about it, it's never really convenient to get sick. God reminds us when we need to slow down, rely on his strength, spend more time with him, and get some extra rest from our daily lives. He knows best, and whether or not I think it's convenient doesn't matter. God has the best in store for me... always... and most of all to bring more honor & glory to him.

On the upside, I did have a good time away two weekends ago, despite feeling so crummy.

One of the main reasons we went was for my old high school friend, Melissa's, bridal shower. I hadn't seen her since my wedding day 8 years ago!! Wow, it was great to see her.

Melissa & another h.s. friend Kristy

Melissa & I

Melissa and fiance' Andy

Being silly with their Mr & Mrs towels

My best friend Tracie's 13-month old Eve (short for Evangeline)
Tim with cutie Eve
Tracie, Logan (4), and Eve (1). Ben (hubby) was very sick most of the weekend and wasn't around much (and likely wouldn't want his pic taken)
Tim & I with our borrowed child :)
Mom and her wonderfully obedient dog, Bear, I just love her...

Bear staying and waiting for her nice piece of ham lunchmeat
Mom & I :)
Tracie & I :)
I have no explanation...

The weekend after that trip home [with a week in-between of feeling oh so sick] was the amazing Straight Up Conference at our church. I love this conference sooooo much!! I am there to serve the pastors and other ministry leaders attending, and I always come away as the one feeling ministered to and soooo abundantly blessed. This year, despite how sick I was, was much more special to me than any other one in the past (although they've all been great). In some ways it was special to me because it was in our newer building in the area we live in (so it was only 12 min away, instead of the usual 30-40) and closer to my heart. I think this building can hold the large group of attendees much better than the other, but I know there's a lot that goes into that. Anyway, I really liked it! It was also special because two of our big authors at work were speakers at this year's conference. I got some amazing pictures and will share a few of them here shortly.

This past week has been a roller coaster with my health, but as I've gotten better, it has been really nice to be back into my routine. God has been so good and has been reminding me of so many blessings in my life despite the difficulties. And I just simply love this season, even though my allergies hate it! I love the temperatures, the beauty of the trees, and the stillness/quiet that comes with it. I just don't look forward to the season after it!

I have so much else I want to say but I think I'll also hold off on that so I can at least get this post up and you can know I'm alive and finally feeling better. Thanks for caring and for your prayers!