When did I get to be this old?

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:5-8

First, let me say that the above is a gorgeous verse that is a wonderful reminder of God's place in our lives--our shelter and refuge and salvation. However, it's going to be difficult for me to write anything terribly deep since Hannah and Ashley (her sleepover pal last night) are singing and dancing to Hannah Montana pretty loudly in the next room. (Okay, here's my confession for the day: I love and adore Hannah Montana. Seriously, it's like my favorite show.) So today's blog will likely be a little lighter than most.

We got sooooo much done yesterday! We had two large boxes of stuff left to go through, and we went through them, getting rid of most stuff. We are really getting close to having the action packers (our crate/tote/storage) packed and ready to send to Richmond. We vacuum packed the stockings and other Christmas linens, my mom bubble-wrapped my ornaments, and we found out the family leaving the apartment in Moscow is leaving their Christmas tree for us! Yea!!!

At about 9:30 last night, I decided to get my cross-stitch stuff organized and ready to go. I had what I thought was a great idea: I'd make my own kits, putting patterns, material, and thread together in ziploc bags so that I could easily have projects to do there. (I am a cross-stitch fanatic...it's something I really enjoy a lot.) Well, I had thread everywhere, so at about 10 I decided to go ahead and reorganize my thread by numbers in order to make it easier to find. At 11:40, I finally finished. Yep. I spent two hours organizing embroidery thread. Somewhere about 11, I realized that I was pretty dumb to start a big project so late, and then it became a running joke, as Marc or Sarah Beth would come in periodically to check on me and find me with pieces of thread all over. If you know me, you know that I HAD to finish. I cannot leave something undone over night without going nuts! (It's a talent I'd like to develop.)

The most fun thing I did last night was to look at the wedding video from my niece's wedding in May. Amy and Jason have been together forever, and their wedding was just wonderful. My favorite part of the video was at the unity candle. Jason leans over to Amy and says that she looks really beautiful and that her dress is pretty. She turns to look at the back of the dress and says, "My dad stepped on it" and then they have a good giggle over that. It's just kind of how their relationship has always been--friends first, and the other stuff built on top of that foundation. Our entire family adores Jason, and we couldn't have picked someone for Amy who would have been more perfect. They're just great folks, as all of my nieces and nephews are. They're growing up, finishing college, getting married...when did I get this old? I've always thought of myself as the "cool, young" aunt...but I'm coming to realize that I'm just old Aunt Kellye. Yikes!!!! :o) Honestly, though, they are so wonderful, and I'm so proud of them. Dan has his first real job, and he loves it and is so happy. Ben and Matt made the Dean's list. The three boys have just always been so nice, like the kind of guys you'd pick for your daughter. I've always thought that whoever they end up with, the girls' parents are going to be so happy, because they're just solid men. (and handsome, too, did I mention how handsome they are?) Amy was my first real job--I babysat her when she was a baby and Kay worked in the summer. I cried more over leaving Amy when I went to college than anyone. She has turned into this beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful woman--someone I'd want as my friend. And Katie, our baby of this set of grandchildren, is just the kindest, most compassionate person on earth. Her heart is as big as her beautiful smile. She is stunningly beautiful on the outside, but her looks pale in comparison to the wonderful person she is on the inside. I'm so proud of all of them. Can you tell?

I think I'm getting sentimental as the birthday approaches. Oh, well...I guess getting older beats the alternative by a long shot. I'll take it! Here's praying that no matter how old you are (or how old you feel), your day is filled with giving thanks for the great people in your life through whom God has blessed you. Blessings!

His,
Kellye