A Phone Call or a FaceTime Away...

I am feeling very blessed lately...

I am feeling God's favor and abundance...

My dad had open heart surgery a little over a week ago to remove some blockages that were found. He is doing great...He had a hard time sleeping in the hospital...but now he's home, and he's doing so much better. Much better!! He really is recovering well.

I am so thankful for all of the love and support that has been shown to my family during this time. It was a wonderful feeling knowing we have been (and will continue to be) covered by others' prayers.

It was hard being so far from them, but I know it would have caused more stress for me to be there. It would have been hard with the kids. My dad would have wanted to see us all, but that would have been hard on him. And it would have been CRAZY with us in their house when they got home.

And I'm so thankful for the Apple products we have...we were able to FaceTime my dad using my sister's iPad while he was in the hospital...which was much easier for him to hold and see us on than a small phone or a laptop...

We've been able to FaceTime a lot...which is wonderful...it's so good to SEE and HEAR him laugh! :)

I love my dad. He's a wonderful man of God who has worked hard to give us such a legacy...

My dad has read a chapter of Proverbs in the Bible every day for as long as I can remember. Literally.

Any time I ask for advice from him, there is a Proverbs involved in it.

So it is fitting today to read Proverbs chapter 17...

And verse 6 says, "Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children." 

This is so true of my dad!!

I am blessed with wonderful parents who did their best to shape me in to the woman God created me to be...and then released me to respond to the call of God on my life.

It is hard being so far from Louisiana...but I am thankful to know that I have their love and support across the miles...

And I'm also thankful that they are just a FaceTime away...

Showing My Keurig Some Love

I love my Keurig...just love it. Ok...it's not really mine...it's Lee's. He got it for his birthday...but I have benefitted from it just as much if not more than he has! I love that I don't have to make (or waste) a whole pot of coffee...I can make a cup of coffee whenever I want or need it...

Last year we brought it down to my parents for the annual Latham family Thanksgiving. It was a huge hit!!!

Not everyone in the Latham family drinks coffee - especially not my parents. They don't dare touch the stuff.

But, of the other 50 some odd people there Thanksgiving Day (and weekend) thoroughly enjoy a good cup of coffee. We brought the K-cups (the special coffee cups with a filter that the Keurig uses) we had at our house and a huge box of the sampler (it's like 80 K-cups; 5 of each variety in the box)...and everyone who used it loved it.

Aunt Rhonda was so impressed with it that she bought one for herself and her 2 daughters (possibly her other kids too) for Christmas! And I regularly see pictures of my cousin Sylvia making fun cups of coffee with hers! 

It was a real hit...and we were thrilled to share it with everyone. It's just so neat to me that everyone can have whatever kind of drink desired - whether that be coffee, tea, regular, decaf, hot, cold...anything!

My parents still don't have one...don't want one kind of thing...but that's just pure Latham living in Buras stubbornness... :)

Part of the reason I'm thinking about this is that October is here...and next month brings Thanksgiving...which is my favorite holiday of the year. And normally we spend it in Buras...my hometown...with the crazy Latham family that I love and miss so dearly....

And because I'll be having a baby some time in the next 4-6 weeks...we aren't going to Buras this year. It's just hard to know when I'll pop this kid out...and I don't really want to plan a whole trip around that...it is too expensive and stressful trying to make that happen.

So, this year will just look different...which is a part of life...

We will enjoy Thanksgiving with the community we have here in Colorado. We may even have a visitor come in to celebrate with us!

And we will continue to enjoy our Keurig!!!

I know you may think it's kind of expensive, but once you invest in it, you'll be hooked!!!
And if you already have one, you know what I mean!!

What do you think of the Keurig???

I'm Where I Belong...

soooo much going on right now...

and I feel like I'm split in 2 places at once.

First, my dad's younger brother, Chuck, passed away. Uncle Chuck's wife just passed away within the past year or so...and it's just getting harder and harder on my dad. He's lost 2 of his younger siblings now. It makes my heart hurt. I love my dad's family so much. Although I may not have seen them as often as we'd like, there's nothing like a room full of Lathams to make you laugh. They are quite a bunch...it's hard to say goodbye to another one of those special family members.

Then Hurricane Issac is hitting my hometown of Buras. My parents decided to stay. We've weathered storms before. Some have turned into a hurricane right before hitting landfall...just a lot of wind and rain. Not too much flooding. But, I know that they are already without electricity...and it just gets scary knowing that they are down there. They aren't alone...my dad's older brother, Uncle Max, built a fortress of a house...and it's not quite complete yet, but it's a safe place really, really high in the air if they need to go there.

So, all that is happening back in Louisiana. My family that I love is there with wind and rain and hurting hearts...and here I am in sunny Colorado.

And as much as I am praying for them (and feeling helpless)...I have things to do here. I have 2 rambunctious kids to take care of...plus a church that is getting ready to start...and I have some responsibilities to make sure happen for that. We didn't move 1400 miles from home just to sit back and watch one person do all of the work.

I don't feel overwhelmed with the work I've been assigned or have taken on, but I have to make sure that it happens.

And even in the midst of it all, I still get reminded of things from home.

Today, as Amy & I were finishing up an early morning of Connection Church office supply and nursery shopping, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. (It was an early morning for both of us...)
As an older gentleman and his wife were leaving the restaurant, he called out to the owner, "Keep the faith..." It took everything in me not to bust out crying...that's a phrase I've heard my dad say over and over and over for years...probably since I was a child.

I miss my family. I am sad that I'm not available to help them in this craziness.

But I know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Lee & I are thriving in this new adventure. We are excited about all that God is doing in us and through us. Not every day is easy, and there are times when I get really sad about being so far from Louisiana. But I know that this is where I belong.

None of my feelings or emotions are catching God off guard. He can handle it all. I just have to trust Him...which I can do because I know I'm where I belong.