The Prodical Daughter has returned!!!

Well, I can't believe that it has been nearly two years since I have written in my blog. How does time pass by so quickly?? Well, I know the answer to that - I am too busy!! Busy doing what you ask, well - in the spirit of not boring you to death with everything that has happened since my previous post, suffice it to say MANY, MANY things have taken place. But to try to bring you up to speed since May of '07, several changes have taken place in the Christy and Corey household. Lauren is now 8 and in grade 2, Levon started school in September and Elizabeth is now 3. WOW, impressive, isn't it?? I like to think so - I am now out of the diaper and pull-up stage, and full throttle into volunteering at school, driving to piano lessons and when the occasion arises birthday parties and the like.

As you may, or may not know my Dad is now on his way to India on a mission trip to teach Pastors. I am so proud of the fact that he finally was able to go on this journey and that I have been able to take part in making it happen. Not in as great a way as I would like, but when called upon to bake for a bake sale, I am definitely your girl!! He was able to meet the financial obligation for the trip and so he is now on his way. Please keep Dad in your prayers for safety and that the trip will be fun as well as successful! I am going to miss him, but as I live more than an hour away form him anyway - I guess I will just have to deal with the fact that I won't be able to just pick up the phone and ask him how to "fix such and such" or " what should I do about this...." LOL!! Maybe I will have to call "little" bro in his absence!! I comfort myself in the fact that I will soon be travelling myself to the UK on the 23rd of March and while it may not be as adventurous as INDIA, I will for the first time, be travelling outside North America.

I bet that I have now piqued your interest a little bit more - YES, I am travelling to England to visit with a friend and her family for 12 days after the Kids March Break. I am leaving March 23rd and will hopefully be returning on April 3rd. The plane ticket has been purchased, the Passport application has been filed and now just have to wait for it to arrive and the time to pass before I get on that aircraft. My love for travel began when I was a kid travelling with my family in the summers. As my father is a Baptist Minister (YEAH, he really is - and no he is not a priest, and my mother is NOT a nun....duhhhh!!! LOL) he took his vacations to coincide with summer vacations. So, we travelled around North America and saw the sights and I gained a bug for travel. I have an affinity for new places, new people and learning through seeing. I was fortunate that my parents thought was important too, well Dad did, I think my mother found it all to be quite stressful - but once the initial shock was passed had as great a time as we did!! How many kids get to actually see the things that they learn about in geography class in person?? We we did - the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands of North Dakota, the giant redwoods of California, the Grand Ole Oprey, and my mothers favorite - Graceland!! I have touched the Pacific Ocean, been in touching distance of a Bison and actually experienced walking on a glacier. How could life be any better than that???
Corey and I have been able to start the travel bug in our children as well. We have been fortunate with his job that we can travel for business as well as pleasure and on family vacations. I must say that I really am not sure in retrospect what my parents were thinking when they decided to travel with us kids, because I remember fighting with my siblings almost as much as I remember the sights - and being put out on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for it too - right DAD??? LOL!! Two years ago Corey and I had the opportunity to go to Vancouver for business - it was the first time I had been there since I was 17 (the last trip we took together as a family). Seeing the city though the eyes of an adult, and remembering the things I saw as a kid sure are two different things - which brings me to the point of my newest blog post.......YES, I do have a point to my ramblings!!

I hit the lowest of my lows nearly a year ago and the road to healing has not been an easy one for me. I had to admit that I was sick and that I needed medical help. I have battled with depression most of my post-teen years and having children seemed to amplify it with post-partum depression. I very nearly had to be hospitalized because I thought life had lost its meaning. By this, I mean that I had allowed my need to be in control to overtake my responsibility to my family and those around me that I love. God is so very generous in His grace - but sometimes it takes a VERY hard blow for people like me - "control freaks" to let Him be in control and for us to trust. I had known that it wouldn't be very long that I wouldn't be able to pretend that I had all my bricks in order before they would all fall down around me and I would be in a mess. Little did I realize just how hard I would hit, when I finally did hit rock bottom. Suffice it to say with the support of my wonderful husband, loving sister who drove me to the doctor and understanding family that I am on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, the road to recovery is often bumpy!! Actually, my potholes were about 10 feet deep, and again, I had to pass the reins of control back to my loving heavenly Father. I have discovered that I will probably have to take medication on a long-term basis, but I have come to terms with this...no one likes to think that their happiness comes from a bottle, but as a loving friend pointed out, "it isn't happiness, only the tool that God gives us to help Him help [you]."
Another positive thing that I have to praise and thank God for is a new Spiritual Mother. Some of us are blessed with only one, but I have been blessed with many in my short life (I am only 33, hahahaha). She is a loving mentor, and brutally honest when necessary, and I adore her for it. It is nice, because my own mother lives too far away to run to her when I need to vent or just share a cup of coffee to get away from every day life.....more about this next time.
Please keep me in your prayers, I covet them right now as I bounce back from a hitch in my recovery. Ohhh, by the way, in Christy World, I am still always right!! hahahaha!! Keep you posted, God bless!!