Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "

I have found the last few months to be beyond trying. It saddens me when basic trust is broken and deceit seems to be the norm. I can't say as I have been afraid but discouraged most definitely, more in the ability for some to choose to destroy.

I received a phone call for a political survey which as surveys go wasn't a bad one. One of the questions had to do with Iraq and how I felt about us being there. Well, my son is back not entirely whole as of yet but he is back. I am a firm believer that if women ran the countries we would have less war, no one wants to lose a child. I also think fundamental that trying to help Iraq break free from the likes of Hussein is a good thing. It is not and will not ever be easy and quick to rid ourselves of someone who is deceitful, manipulative, and selfish. I do wish that we had done it differently and had different expectations put in front of the American people.

Oh wait was I talking about the problems with America, something or someone closer to home or both? That is scary.

I couldn't believe I had not posted anything about our vacation in early August. So here is a couple of pics. I really had a wonderful time with my grandson, children and sister's family. I hope to continue doing something like this every year at least with my sister. It's funny how we catch up even though we have seen each other all year and spoke on the phone, there is nothing like uniterrupted conversation to realize how much you have missed.

I think the favorite part of being around Gage was at night when we journaled his day. It started with a McDonald's happy meal, Pirates of the Caribbean theme included a small "map treasure maker." He started it by drawing pics of his day. So we continued through the whole week.

Gage and Andrew