I'm back! It has been awhile since I have written. We have had a terrible flu and computer time was just not a priority! I thought we were done but another child got sick last night. So now who knows what my week will hold! But I know who holds my week in His hands! As a friend reminded me, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" (That even means cleaning up after sick kids!) Everyone was well this weekend until last night so we did have a busy but fun weekend. There is a new huge park in Ottumwa so we graced the park with our presence 2 times! Really what I mean is we broke in the new equipment! I can't believe all the things they can add to play equipment! I used to have a slide and a swing to play when I was a child. Maybe a jungle gym if we were really lucky! There are 6 slides, rock climbing walls, a maze, and many other things they enjoyed so much! I had the fun task of switching out clothes. From summer to winter. I have tried to find a good way to this and there just is not! The easiest way for me is to get out all the "new clothes" and fold them neatly, put all the "old clothes" in the empty rubbermaids and then put all the folded clothes back where the old clothes were. It is soooooo time consuming! The older kids do there own however they want and that does help, but I still have 7 kids clothes to keep up with! I have to do it on the weekends because we always have over 20 rubbermaids of clothes that need carried up and down out of storage! The key to that is to keep organized! We number our storage rubbermaids so I know where everything is. Our attic holds the ones we will need soon and we put the others in the basement storage. And don't ever go shopping BEFORE the process begins! I have been known to go buy a few things thinking they need something like jeans only to find out I forgot about all the hand-me-downs I got the year before! I am soooo thankful for hand-me downs! There are very few times I have ever needed to buy clothes. What a blessing! As I was in the process of all this, I began to think about my heart and has God seen me change with the changes that have come into my life? Do I prepare for the cold and snow more for my physical body or do I make sure I take time daily to be with Him so when the "storms" come into my life I am ready? I know I will go through many things that will be hard and I will struggle, but if I am keeping in tune with my heavenly Father, He will always take care of me. Just like I have bought clothes before I have checked what I have in storage, I must not get ahead of God with my trials and try to figure out MY way, when He has a plan waiting for me that will be far better than anything I could come up with! So when you are doing the lovely job of going from one season to next with your clothes, check and make sure your faith in God does not change with the seasons of life! Continue to spend time with Him and allow His plan to unfold in your life! He is all you need!