Mountains and Valleys

Isn't he cute- and so is the elephant he made!
And this is how Allie went to dance on Saturday morning after our big snowstorm on Friday! Yep, those are snowboots!

And this is Allie (after being diagnosed with strep) and her cheer-ya-up gang!

Jacob's not looking too slick there either! He didn't end up with strep, but he does have a NASTY virus- throwing up yesterday and now constant diarrhea that has a lovely eau de sewer scent!

Old mother hubbard, went to her cupboard... well, you know the rest! That's just how I felt the other day when I walked into our pantry and the shelf at the back was completely empty! I've never seen it like that before! That's normally where you would find our bread, bagels, tortilla shells, etc.! What kind of mother am I???

Here's a close-up! It's getting harder & harder to keep food in this house. I feel like I'm feeding an army sometimes- oh yeah, I am!!!

My friend Kay sent me an email a couple of days ago that had "vocabulary-of-the-day." The word was liquidity and the definition went something like this: liquidity- looking at your 401k and wetting your pants! It was funny that she sent it when she did, because Zack had just checked on our 401K and discovered it has now lost over 80K in just the last couple of months! We also just received a statement from the county tax assessor informing us that our house value has dropped 120K since it was built in 2007.

The lesson this past weekend at church was about having JOY always, in every situation. Our pastor talked about periods in our lives that are our mountains (the high points- good times) and those times that are our valleys (the low points). Our family, along with so many others, is definitely in a valley right now, but I try to stay focused on the good- there's so much to be thankful for! Here are some of my mountains:

*my children

*my husband

*my parents

*my sister

*my niece

*my friends

*my health and the health of my loved ones

*my home

*the fact that Zack has a job!

*Glenn Beck

*Sean Hannity

*Rush Limbaugh

There are still a lot of good, moral people out there, and although I believe it's probably going to get worse before it gets better, I am holding on to the HOPE and the JOY that I have through my relationship with God. If EVER there was a time to be on your knees, it is now! So, take stock of what you truly have- those things that are much more valuable than your 401K- and be thankful for your mountains. Don't be stressed- go play with your kiddo and remember what life is really about! I wish everyone true joy today:)