Slowly but surely....

...I'm trying to get back into what life used to be.

After staying quiet and to myself after the tragedy that Joel and I experienced almost a month ago, I've decided to take a step out of my very comfortable shell. Last weekend I went away with Joel to see our best college friends. We went up Josh's cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice time to relax, catch up with friends, and a time to forget about what was facing me back at home. While Joel and I went four wheeling through the acres and acres of open land and trails in the woods, we stopped on the highest part of the property and looked out at God's beauty.

Our Shadows... :-)

Then again, I went out of my shell and ventured to FET. Yes, of all places...FET. (For those of you who are not army, it's basically a church meeting Friday night with other army churches in the area and we meet in NYC.) It was Greater New York Youth Night. I think it was the best youth night I've ever been to. Way to go Stoops and Hickmans! I wasn't planning on going but last minute I decided to go with the Vaughan's. It was so much fun to spend time with Lorinda! Plus I got to spend time with her three awesome kids! While I was there I was able to hang out with people that I don't normally get to spend time with. It was so much fun. Thanks Mhairi and Amber for making my venture even more worth while. Amber and Aunt Vicki told me about an Aldo outlet just down the block from where we were. I got gorgeous shoes for only $15. I can wear them to work and for casual times...BONUS!!!

All in all, I've been told that I really haven't addressed our tragedy in my blog, and honestly I'm not sure that I'm ready to really tell my story in blog form. I think it would be a pretty long blog, maybe eventually I will, I hope to sometime. I could always give little updates now and then.

I do want to say that Joel and I are grateful for the overwhelming response from our family, friends, and church. God bless The Salvation Army. They have really taken care of us in so many ways. We are blessed to be where we are during this difficult time. Everyone's help and prayers will never be forgotten.

We thank God for our family and friends everyday. Thank God we are OK. We still have each other, which is far more important than any material thing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to see what God has in store for us.

Selected Lyrics by Natalie Grant

HELD
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we’d be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow.
The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow

If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

ANOTHER DAY
Another Day
Another Chance To Love The Ones I Love
To Find My Way
To Laugh, To Dance
Watch The Sun Come Up
Another Day I Get To Live
As If Every Breath Could Be The Last I Take
I Get Another Day

I’ve Got A Hand That I Can Hold
Someone Who Knows My Soul
A Safe Place To Lay My Head At Night
So Why Do I Forget
How Much I’ve Been Blessed In Life
Forget What Means The Most To Me

As I’m Waking Up I Feel My Beating Heart
So Grateful That I've Come This Far
And Thank God

…I Get Another Day.