"It is well with my soul..."

Have you ever felt like a looming cloud of doom is following you everywhere you go? You know the one I speak of...picture the animated character walking around in the rain without his umbrella. Now...zoom out a bit and you will see that it is actually "a beautiful day in the neighborhood" for everyone else but that person. Yep, this is how I have felt for a bit, BUT, there is light at the end of the tunnel folks and "I have seen it, and it is glorious"--spoken in the voice of Will Ferrel.

I looked at 2013 as a new beginning, a clean slate, a chance to make things better than they were in 2012. January proved to be worse in 31 days than all of 2012. I was sick with pneumonia and barely able to care for my child, my Uncle was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable lung cancer and passed away 6 days after being diagnosed, my son was diagnosed with the flu and was in the ER for a full day for dehydration and asthma attacks....yeah...January was a booger. But you know, the good thing about bad days? You get to wake up the next morning and that day is in the past. It's time to look forward and make today better than the last! This is what I am focusing all of my energy on now. I am not looking into the past and thinking that 2013 sucks because of one month...I am STILL determined to make it my best year ever!

My husband and I have been dreaming of owning a home since before we were married in 2007. There are so many couples out there that feel that just because they are getting married, that they need to have a house to make that marriage valid. That was not the case with us. We do not care about keeping up with the Jones. We care about doing things RIGHT. if you CAN buy a house then you should definitely do so, it's a great investment. We had too much student debt and because of that we chose to live in an apartment and take care of some of that debt. We haven't paid all of that debt off but we also have a sweet little boy that deserves to have more space, a back yard, and to have friends around him to play with! Our house will be ready at some point this summer and we are ecstatic and scared! LOL! We are also very proud of ourselves. We have worked HARD to get to this place in our lives and this time and this specific house is something that we will always treasure!

At my Uncle's funeral , which will always be one of the most beautiful memories I hold dear, we sang "It is well with my Soul". God truly spoke to me and made me realize that I haven't been grateful for the life that He has given me. It's time for me to make things WELL with my soul and to allow myself to be truly blessed and a blessing to others.