happy birthday

these are some pics from my birthday.  little niece & little nephew wanted to take aunt chel to build-a-bear to get my own stuffy.  i picked out the sweet little lamb.  it is not something i would do for/by myself, but since the kids were with me, it was a lot of fun!  they were so excited.  nephew b here got a stuffed penguin on his birthday in the fall, and on this day he was allowed to pick out some shoes for his big penguin and also this little penguin.  shortly after this excursion to the mall, we all regrouped at my folks' house for dinner and chocolate cake. yum!  what an awesome birthday!

And these precious blooms are from sweet P for my birthday.  with a little note too.  what a wonderful man i am married to!
since my birthday, there has been a lot of sad, heartbreaking news from several of my circles of friends.  tragedies all around.  it is overwhelming.  i know that most of these people/families will find comfort in the LORD, and i hope that others will be drawn to the LORD through the circumstances that knocked their world upside down.  God has his reasons for why things happen the way they do.  we can't always know why, and that can really hurt.  we just have to trust.  we can't always see the end, the outcome, but we just have to trust that God has a purpose and a plan.  this may sound easier said than done, but at the same time, God's comfort and peace are supernatural, spiritual, and He cares for his little children in a way that you don't know until you are in the middle of the suffering. 

oh my soul, oh my soul

you never let go, you never let go