Over the River and Through the Woods.....

At least over the river, the Arkansas that is, to our new home in Jenks. It is really quite hard to believe, but our house sold in about a month and we bought a new one! Anyone wanting to help move, come on over! We will try to move the last weekend of January (weather permitting) and be in our new house sometime in February. It is all so exciting for us and we can hardly wait to get moved and learn about our "new" town. If you email me, I will send you all of the new info (address, phone number, etc) so we can keep in touch with everyone! And once we get settled in, you will all have to come and see us!

D-DAY!!

I never actually thought that this day (yesterday) would arrive. But I am now an officially "divorced" woman. It was a bitter sweet day. I was sad as an ending had come to fifteen years of marriage. Something I thought that I would personally never see. As I left the courthouse, I felt like crying, that somehow I had failed. But, I know better. I was also happy that all of the craziness could be put behind me and that I could finally feel like I was moving forward with my life instead of sitting in limbo. It was a day to grow up and learn who I am (at the age of almost 37). Where I will go from here, I am not entirely sure. The only thing that I am still certain of is that my kids are the most important thing in the world to me. They are what it is all about right now and trying to make sure that they are healthy and happy. Right now, that is where my focus is. Making sure that they have what they need and helping them put their lives back together as well. It has been a long, hard journey, but we are embarking on a new (and hopefully better one) today. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and sent us words of encouragement over the past year. We were blessed to have wonderful friends and family.

Life As I Know It......
A year ago, someone could have told me that I would begin a life as a single mom and I would have laughed at that thought. The statistics that four or five out of every ten are divorced were something that I found crazy, I wondered how that could happen. And then, last spring, I found myself in a boat headed that very direction. It has been a very long and painful journey for the kids and I, but I have to believe that we will be better people because of it. Although the divorce is not final, and really and truly I have been a single mom for years in most senses of that statement, it seems that we are embarking on new and hopefully improved lives. I will continue to home school the children for the remainder of the school year and hope that we will enjoy our time together before they head back to school in the fall of next year. Not something that any of us are looking forward to, but yet part of the journey that we must complete due to decisions beyond my control. At that point, I guess I will begin looking for a job teaching (something I have not done in a public school since before Ashley was born)! I also have thoughts of returning to school, but we will have to see where we end up. We also have the house up for sale and with luck and a lot of prayers, it will sell quickly and we can close that chapter in our lives as well and move to a new home that the kids and I actually get to choose! It is really quite exciting and something that we are all looking forward to! I have to say, as this long journey of marriage comes to an end and the journey of a single mom begins that I am a little apprehensive, some excited and mostly thankful for my family and friends who have helped me cope with all that I have been through already and will continue to be there for me as I learn to be on my own for the first time in years and the first time to be on my own with kids. The prospect is scary, but I know that we can do it and we will do it well. Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers and concerns for all of us, they have truly been a blessing!