I may be too old for this...

...but I love it! I'm 38 and starting over...again...but it is worth every minute!

On the weekends the first question all the kids yell is "Are ya'll going to play ball with us?"

JJ and I are getting up there in age, and we would much prefer to lounge in front of the North and South trilogy and rest our weary souls, but what is important to the kids is important to us too. So, as the good parents we TRY to be, we grab our gloves and head out to the back yard where we take a little time out of the afternoon to play ball with the kids. There are usually enough there to have two teams. Even my daughter, Meghan, who never socializes, gets into the action. JJ pitches, and even I, she who never runs, tries to run bases...sometimes I feel like my feet are stuck in peanut butter, but I keep trudging on. It is exercise. It is fun. It is time we spend with the kids, and we love it!

We make the most of every weekend that we can. We work hard. There is a lot of cleaning up to do on "the hill" and we all pitch in. We always make sure to squeeze in some sort of playtime, and enjoy it to the fullest. Sundays are days for getting ready for the work week. The General and I get our "paperwork" done. This usually consists of budgeting for the next week making sure that we know what bills each of us has to pay. JJ gets his receipts ready to turn into the office, and I get the calendar out and we go over the schedule of ballgames and engagements we have coming up.



JJ saw this meal and had to have it!



The one thing we make a point to do is to cook a good meal for the family before we all head out to our respective homes. The meal is different each week, but it is usually something we all enjoy. Clean-up detail comes next and packing up.

After we take JJ's kids home, we try to spend some time together in the quiet watching a TV show that we have gotten hooked up on. One season we did Walking Dead, and this season we are watching The Vikings...it is something we can do to spend a little bit of time together.

People sometimes ask us how we can keep our relationship strong when we live apart from each other. They ask how we can stay so close when we don't see each other but a couple of days out of the week. The answers are simple:

1...Make the most of every moment you have together. Share EVERYTHING.

2...Play hard.



JJ cheers me on: Run baby run!



3...Work hard...toward the same goals. --TOGETHER.

4...Miss each other when you are apart... TELL EACH OTHER that you miss one another.

5...Never miss an opportunity to say I LOVE YOU. Never hang up without saying it.

6...PRAY FOR EACH OTHER.

7...Don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call when something is on your mind, even at midnight.

8...Don't hesitate to answer that call. ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ONE ANOTHER.

9...Strive for the goal. Recognize the dream you share and work everyday to obtain that dream. Be willing to struggle and sacrifice to achieve that dream. PRAY ABOUT IT.

10...LAUGH OFTEN and LOVE MUCH. Live life to the fullest. It is promised to no-one, but is a gift to all who will receive it.



At the end of a day of work--a bonfire!



Lord Jesus, thank you for the families that we come from. Thank you for the hardships we have endured. Thank you for the lessons they have taught us. Thank you for the people we have become.  Thank you for the new opportunity you have presented us to make a new family. Thank you for the strength you give us, the strength that we share with each other. Be with us and bless us, Lord, every day of our new journey. ~~Amen.