I want to thank EVERYone who wrote back to us this past week! What an amazing encouragement to hear from so many different people and their different experiences and challenges with regards to starting a-new and also share their insight into parenting. I can not put into words how each of you have touched our lives and our hearts this past week.

With prayer and support from such great friends, I am feeling hopeful and re-energized about our call to Long Beach. Even though we are a bit lonely here and feel a bit of a void with the lack of close-by friends, we know that it will eventually happen. We have many friends who are about an hour's drive away, but we are looking forward to making new friends who we can do everyday life with.

We visited 2 new churches this past weekend and are looking forward to returning to one of them. We know 2 people who attend that church and that is exciting! One of the pastors reviewed a scripture today that fits perfectly to what I'm experiencing right now.....a regularly quoted scripture from Luke: DO NOT WORRY - 12:22-25: Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about you body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

I can't spend time worrying about what could be or will be when I don't have any clue about what lies ahead for us - as far as kids and new friendships. I spend too much time in the worry mode and not nearly enough time in the prayer mode, sitting at God's feet and trying to be attentive to His direction. I need to take each day as it comes and pray for the rest! Plan as I can....but try not to worry about the what-ifs so much. Hard to do for me, but something I am willing to stay attentive to and work at each day.