Returning to normal life....

Last week was a blur. I can't even remember which books I read. I spent the entire week decompressing from the wedding. Yes...it is FINALLY over and I'm extremely happy to say that I am now Mrs.Chase. I love it. The wedding itself was beautiful and it went off without a hitch. As the story normally goes, it was over so quickly. The same can be said for Thanksgiving, you spend all day cooking and it's eaten in less than 30 minutes. Or about Christmas....all those months shopping and baking and decorating and then BOOM, the kids tear through the gifts in under 15 minutes and you're left to wonder "Is that it?!?!?" The weekend was a VERY long one but it seemed compressed into a very short amount of time. I'm still tired thinking of it and I'm very glad that we planned our honeymoon to take place months after the fact. I would have been useless the first few days.

We haven't gotten our pictures back yet but I will add one poorly lit on that we do have to this little note. I hope that everyone is doing well. God bless!

4 more days

It's amazing what a little quiet will do for my peace of mind. It's only four more days until the wedding but I haven't stressed at all this week. Maybe it's because my kids are out of town, visiting my parents, so I have less to worry about. Jimmy & I are getting things done at a good rate and I'm not freaking out that Friday will arrive with a ton left to do. As usual, when my kids are gone, I make too many plans with friends and that's put a little bit of a pinch on my evenings. For instance, tonight I'm going for drinks with my favorite coworker, then I need to get my manicure & pedicure AND my good friend, Heather is supposed to be coming over to visit. Did I mention I also need to do laundry and clean tonight? :-)

This week work seems to be more of an interruption of real life...there is so much I need to get done outside of work. Thankfully the week has gone by relatively quickly. Tomorrow they are throwing me a shower/luncheon here which will be very nice. Jimmy is off work tomorrow night so we will finish up the shopping and probably go out to dinner for our anniversary (it's been three years tomorrow). Friday will be filled with small stuff..finishing up cleaning, picking up the flowers and making them all up, etc. Someone just asked me this morning if I'm nervous and I'm not. Not at all, I'm just excited. I'm ready to be married.

More books..

I finished Change Baby by June Spence and I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't so horrible that I couldn't finish it but it wasn't worth the read either.

From Change Baby I moved on to another supernatural fiction novel.....Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge. It's the first in a new series and it was pretty darn good. The heroine is a homicide dectective that just happens to be a werewolf as well. I like her character and I will definitely keep an eye out on the rest of the series.

After that, I started Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn. So far it's a hilarious read that has kept me laughing out loud (my fiancee thought I had lost it last night!) and I can't wait to finish it. It's not a book I would buy to read again but I'd definitely recommend it as a good read to women who like chick lit.

I've been slacking on the books....

I've read a few since I last posted a blog on books but I haven't mentioned a word. Slacker.

First was The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison...book #6 in the Rachel Morgan series. It was as good as I expected. This is one of my favorite supernatural fiction series. I have to admit to an addiction to series....they keep on going so that story lines that I've fallen in love with just don't end. This is probably why I also avoid short stories like the plague. They just aren't enough for me.

Next was Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. It was a good read....a creepy look into Munchausen Syndrome and the different ways it can affect children beyond actually killing them. I wouldn't read it again but it kept me up, the pictures it made in my mind replaying over and over again.

After that was Waking Brigid by Francis Clark. This was an unplanned read...a book I liked the look of but had never heard of. The cover intrigued me and the description pushed me into picking it up. It was about an Irish nun in post-Civil War Savannah and about a satanic cult summoning a demon to kill people. I liked the book, but I wouldn't buy it or read it again.

After that was Biting the Bullet by Jennifer Rardin...the third book in the Jaz Parks series. I loved it! Again, the same rule applies to this series about a Sensitive CIA operative whose boss is a centuries old vampire. I hope Rardin keeps them coming because I"m addicted.

Finally...I just started Change Baby by June Spence last night. As much as I love my supernatural fiction, I need a break on occasion to read something a little deeper than vampires, demons and werewolves. This book is about a woman who was the youngest child (by several years...so called a "change baby" since she was born when her mother was 49) in a rather dysfunctional family but the dysfunction was so hidden that she never realized it until she had to come back home to take care of her ailing mother after a house fire. So far, it's good...the prose is well written and engaging...but so far it hasn't turned into a book that I just can't put down. More on this later.......

The kiddos

Isn't he just a little man? They grow up WAY too fast. He's so amazing...every day I look at him and see something new. What a blessing it is to be a parent.

My youngest...my baby girl. Doesn't she look angelic? Trust me, looks can be deceiving. :) She's a doll...but she's very creative and good at getting into trouble.

Bringing it all into perspective

As the wedding creeps slowly closer and my stress level ratchets higher, I've been given a serious dose of perspective. Last night, unable to sleep, I lay in bed with thoughts weighing heavily on my heart and mind. Some were random...a memory of a couple of high school acquaintances who had a child with many health problems (and I vowed to look for their blog when I got up in the morning), and some were quite pointed...the way that I've been too busy lately for friends, or the way that when I do have free time, I just turn into a hermit (I vowed to email them all this morning and apologize for my Bridezilla-type behavior). I prayed long and hard for God to give me clarity and peace of mind. Lately it has been escaping me and I know it's because I'm so focused on the wordly things.

So, first thing this morning, I emailed my girlfriends and apologized for being a poor excuse of a friend. Feeling good about that...like I was on the right path, I then went in search of the blog of those old high school acquaintances. I was saddened to read that they had lost their son nearly a year ago. They are an amazing family that God has most certainly blessed with peace and comfort. It reminded me that life is fleeting and that I need...no, we all need, to enjoy our loved ones and every minute of our time here on this earth but that we also need to focus on what is coming ahead. Heaven is very real, and God's mercy has assured us of our spot there if we but accept Him into our lives and ask Him for forgiveness of the sins we continually commit. In light of that...my wedding is small potatoes and while it's very important to Jimmy & I, the most important part is that we use it to glorify God in our lives.

Grace & Peace to all.