Good morning!

Good morning,

I took a Tylenol PM last night and slept really well so I am awake with a new attitude. I just can't be grumpy when God has blessed so much, so I am hopeful that I can stay positive today.

I appreciate all of your comments so much. Thanks Delores for always understanding. You are so good at everything you do and I so appreciate your support and love.

I have to thank Jerry Hart again for keeping our lawn mowed (no small task). What a thoughtful and caring thing for him to do. Thanks Jerry!

We continue to get cards. Awesome! Thanks to all of you who keep sending them. Sometimes we think those don't mean much, but when you're in a situation such as this and far from home, it means a lot.

I also must apologize to Jayda, Aysia and Adyson because we are not going to be home for trick or treat. Adyson had asked her mom if Uncle John was going to be home for trick or treat and she said she didn't think so. Addy said, "But Mom, we always go to Uncle John and Aunt Cathy's last, and Aunt Cathy cooks supper." So there will have to be a delayed trick or treat supper one evening for them. Michele, be sure and take lots of pictures.

I also hope my brother, Robin (his wife) and my niece Hannah had a great time at the Miley Cyrus concert last night. If any of you know my brother at all, you will know that he was so excited about a Miley Cyrus concert. But, what a great thing for all of them to do together. Time goes too quickly and we often miss some of those special moments, so kudos to you Mike!

Denita, I love you and I appreciate all you do for so many people. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily, as is your family. You have always been so good to us and you will always be my sister.

Michele, thank you for this great idea of blogging. It is very therapeutic and a wonderful outlet. I love you and your family so much and I pray things are going well for you. I'm glad to hear your kids are feeling better. Give them all big hugs and kisses for Uncle John and me. We have to plan a beach vacation this year!

And to my Rend Lake family I have to say thank you for all that each and every one of you have done for us. (Jeannie, the bread was wonderful.) I am thankful for a great benefit package so that I have sick days to take off, for a Vice President who was my friend before she was any of my bosses, for my current boss, Buster, who is a wonderful, understanding friend who cares about us, for a fabulous Liberal Arts Division to be a part of, and for all of my friends at Rend Lake College. I miss all of you so much and I hope you are doing well. I know in Liberal Arts there's probably no one skipping down the hall singing the "Sound of Music," (stop Buster if he tries) but hey, we have to be serious sometimes (not!). I appreciate each of you so much.

To my Sunday School class: I hope to be back with you all soon. I love each and every one of you so much and appreciate your love and support in return. My prayers are with you and I know you are in excellent hands. And I thank Phil for doing such a great job in my absence. Maybe I'll come back as a participant rather than a teacher. I still enjoy and look forward to Charlotte's devotions. It seems they come when I need them most. Thank you all for continuing to pray for us. We certainly know those prayers are coming, just look at God's wonderful miracles.

And to our church family I just want to say a big thank you for all that you have done and given to us. You have been a constant in our lives, and your faith and hope have been inspirational to us. I thank God daily for a praying, believing church. We appreciate and love all of you so much. It would have been much more difficult to go through this without all of you. A special thanks to B.J., Denise, Jason (twice) and Tim for making the trip. You all hold special places in our hearts for your sacrifice.

And now to our family. John's brothers and sisters, their families, and my brother and his family have been so supportive. We may not even see each other often, but when we need them, they all come arunnin'. What a great thing to know and have! We appreciate each and everyone of you and are so thankful for all of your prayers.

And I couldn't have gotten through any of this without Cejae, Adam, Bucky and Melody. Cejae and I are not very strong on the emotional line, but, hopefully, we have good hearts (I'm crying as I write this). She has been such a blessing through all of this and she loves her Daddy so much. Adam is so good to take care of things from the homefront and I appreciate that so much. I am living with Bucky and Melody and they have made themselves right at home in my new home (ha). They prepare meals, give me my own bedroom and let me come and go as I need to. What a blessing! We have such great kids (in-laws included) and I really don't know what I would do without them. We praise God for this wonderful blessing and we so love you all. We do this funny thing now--Cejae started it--when Bucky did something to annoy her she would say, "Dad doesn't like that." And now, even if John is nowhere in sight or we are somewhere else, when anyone does anything that annoys the other, we say, "Dad doesn't like that." Even Melody has used it a time or two. It is so nice to be with a family that you love and have fun with. Laughter is a great thing.

My plan this morning was to be thankful and praise God, because then there isn't room or a reason for negativity. Praise God for his many blessings and wonderful miracles. He is still on the throne!

Love you all,

Cathy