Same deal, different day.

Here we sit. On the 16th of March and are still awaiting an offer on our house.

Man, this market stinks.

The twins are five, I'm a year older, we have a baby who will be 7 months at the end of this one, a husband who has been living in a different state for nearly 4 months and still ... we wait. We waited through Advent; we're waiting through Lent.

It's been four dreadfully long months of roller coaster rides of emotion. Four long months of the kids missing their dad with all of their beings.

Yet I have to believe that at the end of this tunnel, sublime happiness awaits.

In the meantime, said sublime happiness can be found in the authentic smile of Miss Eleanor. It can also be found in the faces of Hayes and Sam when they beat me at Mario Kart on the Wii. And in the precious smile of Mary Beth when she sees her Daddy after a long week of him being gone.

One thing I've most certainly learned is that God's graces cannot ever be felt in any moment other than the present. His graces aren't lurking in the past and certainly not in the future ... it's only in the here and now and we absolutely must stay in the now in order to feel His presence. And that I do.

I am blessed. I have a wonderful husband who absolutely adores me. I have four breathtakingly beautiful children who can light up the darkest of rooms. I have a family who would do nearly anything for me. And friends who are truer than I could have ever imagined. Blessed indeed.