Updates

I have one question....where does the time go? These past few months has just flown by and looking back I hardly remember what all happened. It has been 2 months since I have last posted! Our life has been busy! The end of October Dustin and I celebrated out 7th anniversary! I can hardly believe it has been 7 years since we said "I Do!" I can't imagine living life with anyone else! Sometimes I look back and think, how did we get where we were are now! If you would have told me 7 years ago that we would have 3 children, 1 on the way, and be houseparents to 5 teenage girls I would have either laughed or cried! Or maybe even both! But I feel at such peace about where God has us! Don't get me wrong, I have my days! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and just want to go back living my simple life with just my honey and kids, but then one of our girls will open up to me or say something that I would have never expected and it reminds me why we do what we do! Things at Gateway have been going pretty good! We are sharing alternates right now, so that makes scheduling a little different and sometimes stressful, but I am confident that God will provide and I shouldn't worry about something that I cannot change. We were excited when our dear assistant called us to tell us that she was getting engaged! And it gets even better, she is engaged to Dustin's brother! So, she will move on from being our assistant to being our sister-in-law! God is so good and works in so many wonderful ways! Now, we will be losing our assistant soon, but somehow I know that we will get by! (again! last year we went without an assistant for 7 months!) Just another teachable moment for us!

On December 2nd, I got a call from my mom to let us know that my Grandpa Koehl had gone to meet Jesus! This was a little unexpected, but it's what he desired and what is better that your loved one getting their eternal reward! We will miss Grandpa, but know that his aches and pains are now gone! He can run and jump without pain! When I stop and think about what he is experiencing right now, I can get chills. To be in the presence of Jesus! How wonderful is that!

The night of Grandpa's funeral, I had my last session of Dale Carnegie. Now this course had been going on for 13 weeks! It was something that I DID NOT want to do, but am so glad that I was encouraged to take the class! I have learned so much and truly feel like I am a better person, wife, mom, and employee for taking the class!

It's the day after Christmas and we are enjoying a little time in Roanoke. It is good to just spend uninterrupted time with my kiddos and Dustin's family! In a few days it will be 2012 and we will start another year! Praying that I can grow more for Jesus and keep the ultimate prize in sight. Praying that the New Year is a blessing for you as well!