Just married...a year and a half ago!

We celebrated a wonderful joy in the family as my sister had her wedding last night. Everything was beautiful. I loved the deep red color with the black tuxes and Kristina's white dress. It looked absolutely gorgeous!! Kristina was a beautiful bride and we're so happy to have Steven as part of the family. Everything went off without a hitch. We had a great time at the reception and danced the night away (especially all the little girls who were dancing their hearts out!) :) Below are some pictures of the wonderful event:

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

It's over!
:( After all the preparations for Christmas, it's always a bit of a disappointment when everything is all over. Just looking around the living room and seeing the wrapping paper and bows all over and piles of presents here and there. And then of course I think that I should be so joyful for all the many gifts; I have a wonderful family who'll get together and eat as much as we can; we have the luxury of buying gifts for each other and seeing the joy on others faces when they open them; we have a nice warm place to celebrate in each year. There are so many "gifts" that can't be given, or taken back :), at Christmas time! Thank you Lord for each gift from you throughout the year. Following are some pictures from our family. It's the first year EVERYONE was here for the holidays! :) YEAH!!

The Hahns

Hahns/Bergers/and Clarks

The dads show off their new flashlights! :)

Girl Time

What a wonderful blessing it is to be able to spend time with girlfriends. I had the pleasure of doing this last evening with Jessica. We went to see P.S. I love you, which if you ever decide to see it, you should bring plenty of tissues! A total girly movie, which was fun. Then we went to eat at Panera...mmmm! It was such a nice time to be able to catch up with her. Even though we work together, we don't get to talk near as much as we did when we worked right beside each other! :) It's so nice just to be able to sit and talk and laugh. And I am totally blessed to have such a wonderful co-worker and friend. Merry Christmas all!

Elfis, Elfis, Elfis

No, that is not a typo, but the main character in my students' Christmas musical. It was about an elf (Elfis) who had many similarities to Elvis and his many elves and reindeer. Absolutely adorable. The kids did such a great job, which everyone was relieved about considering their practice the day before was less than stellar! The joy on everyones' faces was priceless, before, during, and after the concert. It was so neat to see the students' take pride in a job well done. Congrats on a great performance! Can't wait until next year.

Two letters

We got notice from our adoption counselor that two birthmothers had requested our letter to read in November. Again, not the high number we had hoped for, but it's a step up from 0, which we had in October! I check the website every day and we usually get hits from 2-3 people. So, people are looking...but which one will choose us? We have yet to know, but it is nice knowing that that decision is not in our hands. Thanks for praying for us! Love ya!

Getting older...

Happy Birthday (I realize it's a day late!) to my wonderful husband who turned 30 on the 4th of December. With our crazy schedules, we didn't get to see each other until 9:30 that night so luckily we had planned ahead to celebrate last Saturday. I surprised Matt with a dinner at Red Lobster where both our parents, the Frye's, Jenn, and the Stuckey's met us to have a wonderful seafood dinner (except Amos who ordered chicken! ;) ) Then we came back to our house to enjoy opening gifts and eating monkey bread, ice cream, and cookies. We had a nice night and were even pretty nice about not mentioning the big 3-0 very much! :) I asked Matt if it bothered him to be turning 30, and he said not really! :) Hopefully I will be as laid back as he was when it's my turn next year.
I was just thinking about getting older and I don't really think the day by day turning older bothers me, but I am quite bothered about being really old (ya know like 70 or 80) and not being able to do things that I can do now. But luckily I've got a long time to worry about that and we'll just take each day as it comes.
Happy Birthday Matt!

Thanksgiving!

Oh how blessed we are to be able to freely celebrate Thanksgiving and all of the many wonderful blessings God has given us. We started the day at mom and dad's. Steven and Kristina made it back Tuesday night. I am so thankful to have them home for a few days. They are even (sort of) shopping for houses in the Nappanee area!! Good sign that they're serious about coming back here to live (hopefully next summer) :). Anyway, Thanksgiving was delicious as always. We had a good time catching up with relatives and laughing at the kids and the funny ways they see things! ;) Then in the afternoon, we went over to Matt's parents to spend time with his aunt, uncle, grandpa, and parents. After that, we went over to my dad's side to see those relatives. We had a very busy day and I don't think I could've eaten another bite. But it was a wonderful day spent with loved ones....and now that it's over I started putting up Christmas decorations! :) Yeah!! Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. Love ya!

So, I've been tagged

OK, according to Mikel this is like a chain email only less annoying because it's on a blog! :) The goal is to learn a little bit more about your fellow bloggers. So here goes five things you did (or didn't) know about me.
1. Even though I think I am ok with adopting, there are many days that go by that I regret that I probably won't be able to have my own child. Especially when I see pregnant people or hear others talk about those 9 months of their lives. Attention all pregnant friends: This does not mean that you have to stop talking about your pregnancy when I am around. Most of the time I accept this fact of my life...but there are also days when I don't! :)
2. On to a much less important fact about me...I like computer games. Ok, so this may sound totally nerdy, but I can spend a lot of time playing games that my husband actually has bought for himself. I think it comes from my love of games in general and with the Internet there, there is always someone to play with or against.
3. I absolutely HATE driving in the car without music even if there is someone else driving with me. This may go back to my fear of akward silences, but I think it has more to do with my love of music. I'd rather listen to music I don't like (i.e. rap) than not have any music on in the car at all.
4. I would love to go back to Europe some day. I went to Spain in high school, but I don't think I got the true appreciation for the culture being that I was a teenager and most interested in myself! :)
5. I am afraid that I won't have enough money in the future. Is this why I am a cheapskate? Maybe, but I truly am worried that my retirement will fall through or I'll have to keep working until I'm 80 because I won't have enough money to live comfortably on. I consciously know that I shouldn't worry about this because it is not my plan, but God's that will ultimately decide my money situation. But that still doesn't always stop me from worrying.

Ok. So there's probably more about me than you'd ever want to know. I'm tagging Jess, Jenn, and Jessica. Check the links on the side of my blog to see who they tagged.

The Joy is in the Journey

Just returned from an awesome concert at church put on by our Worship Team. While there, one of the members stated, "The joy is in the journey." How too often I forget that! Especially as I am waiting (most of the time impatiently :) ) for a child, or complaining because God has put me in situations that I think I don't want to be in, or because I am being tested and am faced with a weakness that I have (small talk, anyone?? :) ). But tonight, I reflect upon the fact that life is a journey to be enjoyed and learned from. I need to enjoy the ride and not just focus on what I'll have when my prayer comes true. Because I know that when one prayer is answered (or not...because that is an answer too) I'll have more waiting in the wings for God. So as I wait, I'll try to enjoy the journey and the anticipation (thanks Jess :) ) or the end result!

No letters

We got a call from our adoption counselor who informed us that no birthmothers had requested to see our letter we wrote in the month of October. She said not to be too worried because the California agency only received our letters in the middle of the month so that would be only two weeks for them to hand out our letter. When I heard that message it was a little disappointing. I know that we are only in the beginning stages of waiting to hear from someone, but I am still anxious. It seems like we have been waiting for forever! :) And when you think about it, it has been awhile...since we thought about starting a family in October of 2004! We have had a few hits on the website, so I think that is a good sign. I am trying to be patient and I know that God is working on the perfect mother for us. Some days it's just hard to wait! :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

OK, not really, but Halloween has got to be one of the best holidays! Every year Matt and I plan a Halloween party complete with a theme, decorations, and friends who plan fabulous costumes. This year our theme was occupations. We enjoyed food, company, playing Halloween and occupational charades, and just having a good time. I think one of the best parts is finding out everyone's costume choices! This year we had a street watch salesman, waitress, handywoman, UPS delivery man, computer spammer, dolphin trainer, California patrol officer, handyman, nurse, and a construction dog. Below are some pictures to document the evening! :)

Grateful

As Nappanee tries to pick up the pieces from the recent tornado, I am reminded about how awesome people are. When you are needed, it is overwhelming the sense of urgency you feel. How can I help? Where am I needed? That is what thousands of people felt yesterday afternoon as they all descended upon Nappanee to help clean up the damage. It was so heartwarming to see the masses of people, friends, neighbors, and complete strangers that felt the urgency to help. Although, we only worked for a few hours, I could see progress being made but know there is a lot more to be done.
Then today as I returned to school, I was extremely nervous about what my students would be like today. Would they be able to concentrate and learn after seeing so much destruction over the weekend? Would they dwell on the tornado and want to spend the day talking about it? Had anyone lost their home in the storm? Well, of course the only way those questions could be answered is through relying on God to lead me through. Amazingly enough, students talked (just as all the teachers did), but by lunch time, they had moved on to other things. Kids are so resilient, while adults are still trying to figure everything out and process it all.
My two favorite quotes of the day:
"Mrs. Hahn, did you hear about the tornado?" :)
"We live in Blackstone [the subdivision that was hit by the storm]. But luckily we don't live in a mansion because the mansion side was hit by the storm, but our side is just fine!" :)
Thank goodness for the kind souls of people.

Unbelievable

The tornado that ripped through Nappanee on Thursday night did a lot of damage to homes and buisnesses. It is absolutely unbelievable. This is a picture of what used to be Taco Bell/KFC and all of the debris. It is so crazy how different you feel after a storm has ripped through your community as opposed to somewhere else in the world. It feels so much more real seeing places you know well, destroyed. Co-workers lost roofs and whole stories of their houses while others had to be evacuated for the gas leak. Church members found their house unlivable and are staying with friends. I feel so helpless and I'm sure no one knows quite where to begin. Matt and I are planning on helping with the clean up.

If you are in the area, on Sunday at 10 am at NorthWood High School everyone is meeting to be shuttled to areas that need help cleaning up. It's one small way to give back to a community who always gives so much.

Blessed...

by his thoughtfulness to make me dinner when I am tired.
when he asks me what he can do for me.
when he asks how my day was.
by his willingness to do chores around the house WITHOUT complaining!
by his thoughtfulness to call when he'll be late.
by his sense of humor and abilty to make me laugh.
when he loves me even through my faults.
by his support and encouragement.
when he does things I'm too scared to do.
by his passion.

Thank you Lord for giving me just the right husband and please help me to be patient as You choose just the right child for us.

Adoption-Step 5...WAITING!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Ever since high school, this has been my favorite Bible verse. It is God's awesome promise to us that He wants and knows what is best for us. As Matt and I wait to hear from a birthmother, I take comfort in knowing that God has my future planned and that the perfect family is waiting for us, just as we are for them.
I can't believe that we are actually finished with our paperwork and ready to wait for a call from a mom asking us to parent her child! It is amazing and quite nerve racking at the same time! Thanks to all for supporting our decision and praying for us. We love you all!!

Oops!

Alright folks, time to catch up. I'm a little behind on the many joys in my life right now. Everything is going very well. We're waiting on the final ok on our birthmother letter, school is going great, ISTEP testing is over (big YEAH!), and family and friends are doing fine.
Just wanted to share quick about the 10 yr class reunion on Sept. 14 and 15. What a great time we had tailgating at the NW football game on Friday night. I haven't been to a game in a long time (even though I do live close by still). We had fun even though it was very chilly and NW won so that's always good! Then we had our "formal" part at the College Football Hall of Fame. What a nice time to get to see people and see what they've been doing for the past ten years. A big THANK YOU goes out to Jessica and everyone else who helped plan the big events. We had a great time!
Also wanted to recap a wonderful ladies day out. Melanie asked if Jess, Jenn, and I wanted to go shopping in Michigan City at the outlet stores and hang out last Saturday. Of course, we said yes. Melanie has been so busy lately with new beautiful daughter that we haven't gotten to spend much time together. We had a great time (and found some spectacular deals!) I even got some new tennis shoes so I can get rid of the ones I've had since college. We had a great time talking, shopping, and eating together. Thanks for all the fun memories!

Adoption-Step 4....Almost....

Hey there all. Just wanted to update you on the progress. We are coming along! We got approved for adoption through our home study and we finally got a picture approved for our letter. So, I am hoping to get the prototype of the letter made and sent by Monday. Then, we have to make about 200 copies of the letter. After that, I believe we are good to go! It's getting very exciting and to the point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. For those of you who are curious, here is a link to our website http://www.mattandalicia.wordpress.com/ that we set up for the birthmothers to read.
Also, one of my co-workers recently asked me the thought provoking question, "Are you praying for your birthmother?" Hmmm....probably not enough. So if you think about it when you pray for us could you also stick in a prayer for our birthmother, whoever she may be, that she is safe and taking good care of herself and child. I'm going to try to pray for her more often too. Thanks so much. This process is much easier with family and friends supporting us!

kids...

I just have to share a "kid" story. I have a little girl in my class who is as cute as can be but she is quite the talker, or singer, or person who is always making noise! :) Luckily she's adorable so most of the time it doesn't bother me. Today she told the cutest story....
Last year, my teacher saw Joshua's backpack and said, "Joshua, why is your backpack so full?"
Joshua said, "I don't know." My teacher said, "Joshua, when I asked you to throw away the rest of your popcorn bag did you put it in the trash?" Joshua said, "Yes." Then my teacher opened Joshua's backpack and out spilled a bunch of popcorn! (By this time my little girl is just cracking up with her own story! I wish you all could've seen her!)
The part that puts the icing on the cake though is that I went to this student's first grade teacher to ask her about the story and the funniest part is that this little boy really liked to save food for later because one time she found pancakes in his backpack too! :) Just had to share...kids crack me up!

Adoption-Step 3

Slowly but surely the process continues. We are finally nearing the end of the part we "control"!! We had our home study this weekend, where a counselor came to the house, looked around, and interviewed Matt and me. I was way nervous about this step because I felt like it would be a job interview only worse! It's not just for a job, but a child! So, thankfully everything went well. The counselor was very friendly and easy to talk to. And the best news of all was that before she left she said, "....final step...."! Yeah. We're getting there. We're still waiting for my fingerprints to come back, our letter to the birthmother to be finalized, and our picture for our letter to be approved. The website is getting close to done (which I'll post a link to once it's mostly complete). It's such a wonderful feeling to get all this paperwork behind us. Hopefully by the end of this long Labor Day weekend, we'll be ready to sit by the phone and wait for a mom to call! :) Thanks so much for all the prayers!

Joys

I have been a bit of an unfaithful blogger as of late. I've been keeping all of my wonderful experiences to myself so I decided to write a post that will probably be a bit rambling... so brace yourself! First of all I wanted to write about the great time we had with the most adorable kids last weekend. (And I know mom and dad will be mad that Gracie has her finger in her mouth, but that picture was just too cute!! It was right before nap time. :) ) We got to babysit the Frye kids while Amos and Jess had some time to themselves. Matt and I had a great time. We were definitely very busy! Both kids were excellent as usual and we were very blessed to get to spend time with them. It's so neat watching them both grow and develop into little people! :)

Speaking of little people, I also started school this past week. It's always sad to see the summer end, but I like getting back into a routine and meeting new kids each year. So far so good, but we've only had three days and I think the kids are still on their best behavior. :) The beginning of school is always exciting because of the possibilities for the coming year. I didn't know any of the students before hand, so the "unknown" is always a little scary, but of course everything turns out fine! God always gives me new challenges, which keeps life interesting!

And finally a joy for friends. I am so thankful for all of the friends in my life that make me laugh and help me figure life out. We had a Sunday School party at Jamie's house on Friday. It's been great getting to know her more and spending time with her. Then on Saturday, Jess and Jenn and I went to the most awesome restaurant...Hana Yori's (sp??). Everything was SOOO tasty. Those girls always keep me laughing and I love how open and honest they both are! (Plus they are my most faithful commenters on my blog! :) ) Love you all and don't forget to share with others how great you think they are!

Adoption-Step 2

Thank you all who have been praying for us and keeping our family to be in mind over the past few months! I was hoping to be a little further along in the process now that it is August, but God's plans are not always the same as mine! :) We did finally get the last of our paperwork mailed today! After some set backs from blood tests and fingerprints, I think we have that part complete. Now as we are waiting to schedule the home visit with our counselor, we need to finish our birthmother letter, which is in the final stages already, and put a website together, which we know very little about! :) Through all the set backs I have been so very thankful that I have been off of work to be able to have the extra time to run all these errands. Please keep thinking about us and I hope to have another adoption post soon!!

Harry Potter and Dale Hallow

So, back to real life. I just finished reading the last and final book from J.K. Rowling's series Harry Potter and let me just say WOW! What a talented writer to be able to write for young and old alike and to be able to tie seven books together is just amazing. What a blessing for her to be able to get people interested in reading books (even if they are written for kids!) and teach others about important characteristics just as courage and love! I'd recommend the series to anyone, no matter what your age or level of love of reading!

And now that all my time is not being consumed finding out what happens to Harry...I have time to post pictures and comments about our recent trip to Tennessee! If any of you are looking for the most relaxing vacation, I would definitely suggest a houseboat. It was so peaceful out on the lake and beautiful. We had time to spend with one another and just take it easy. Below are a few pictures from the trip:















Matt took a few hours out of each day to try out his fishing boat and when that didn't work, he started to improvise! He did catch enough fish for each person who wanted one to have one on the last night!





















My lovely family (Why we decided to take a family picture on the last day of the week when we had only had "lake showers" is a mystery! :) )

Loving well

I am blessed this summer to be in two Bible studies with friends and co-workers. In one of the studies I am learning how to love others...no matter how difficult some may be to love! :) It is a Beth Moore study called Loving Well. She uses 1 John 4 as the basis of the study and comes up with 4 key points to loving anyone. They are:
1. God is perfect love.
2. Nothing can separate me from God's perfect love.
3. God pours His perfect love into my imperfect heart.
4. Accessed, I can love anyone through anything.
I was challenged to memorize these key points to use when I come across someone who is difficult to love. God calls us to love EVERYONE!! And because we are humans, it is beyond our capability to love some people, but with God's love in us, we can. I thought I'd share and I hope to keep these points with me...especially once school starts again because it is much easier to love people in the summer! HA! :)

Heads Carolina, Tails...

We had a great time visiting my sister, Kristina, in Fayetteville, NC over the past week. She was a wonderful hostess, even though we had little time to "chill" :) ! The area is beatiful, although hot and humid. We spent one day at the beach in Wilmington where we also went shopping, visited a Serpentarium (see pictures below), and got to eat fresh steamed crab.

Kristina and I also got to do some "girly" things like go shopping and lay out at the pool while Matt played Xbox at the apartment. Don't go feeling too sorry for him though, we did find two disc golf courses to play! We also got to attend church with Kristina, play some mini-golf, and tour Fort Bragg. Luckily Matt came along because he helped Kristina fix some things around the apartment and saved us from the killer cockroach in her bathroom! :) I feel very blessed for the opportunity to visit, but I'd much rather have her closer by!

A bushmaster and reticulated python at the Serpentarium. They had some pretty cool and DEADLY snakes there!

Kristina enjoying her first whole steamed crab. Watch out...they may bite!

Chain O' Lakes

Yeah! It's summer which means camping trips. I love to go camping, but I realized also how nice it is to be able to get a hot shower and sleep in a bed! :) We went camping over the weekend with the Frye family and the Davis'. We had a great time even though the weather was less than desirable! I did learn to bring a big sweatshirt and jeans next time, even if the forecast is for 80 and partly cloudy because it sure was chilly when it only got up to 65 and rained! :) But luckily everyone was a pretty good sport about it and we still had a nice time. We got to go fishing, canoeing, eat dinner over a campfire, make smores and pudgie pies, and listen to raccoons arguing about whose turn it was to hit up our campsite for food! Here are some pictures:

Grace and Logan,who still had patience with her during this picture! :) He is trying to get used to youngsters and does pretty well most of the time!

John and Jessica canoeing.

Matt says, "I was glad to be able to catch the big fish of the trip!" :)

Grace enjoying some "popcorn"

Amos and Jess playing cornhole on the set made by Amos and Matt...too bad the beanbags didn't hold up very long!

Adoption-Step 1

I'd like to call this step information overload. We have a lot of paperwork ahead of us (luckily it's summer vacation...yeah!!). We have to fill out a profile on what kind of child we want, along with employment verification, physicals, and multiple questionnaires. We are very excited about this new adventure God is leading us on but still have many questions. We are working on getting all this paperwork completed and turned in. Then we will have a home study where a counselor will come to our house and interview us. We also have to put together a website and a letter to prospective birthmothers. Once those things are complete, we wait (which will probably be one of the most difficult parts!). Average range is waiting 6-18 months. Once a birthmother narrows down her choice of family, she may call us and we will meet her before the baby is born. Keep checking back as we complete the steps of this process! :) THANKS!

Smells good!

After a great busy and fun Memorial Day weekend (even though my husband was gone :) ), I just have to comment on smell. Sounds strange, you might think (well, welcome to my blog!) I worked outside most of the day on Monday. It was a gorgeous day and there were quite a few outside chores that needed to be done. Well, after I was finished, I jumped in the shower and was reminded of one of my favorite smells. Ya know that smell you get when you've been outside in the warm weather and first get in the shower to get clean?? That's the one I'm thinking of! I don't know why I like it...other than it reminds me of when I was younger and we would play outside on warm summer days and then take a bath before bed. Ahhh, memories! :) While I'm rambling on about smell I also have to mention two other favorites which would be freshly cut grass and cookies baking in the oven. I think I like these smells so much because they bring back so many great memories for me. I know you all out there have some great (or maybe even weird) smells that you enjoy. Why not share?

Mom's Day

Did I ever tell you how thankful I am to have two moms who are so super duper?? How blessed I am to have family within a 10 minute drive! We had a wonderful time with both moms (and dads) on Sunday. We celebrated Mother's Day with steaks on the grill, fried fish (which Matt so expertly caught!!), potatoes, corn casserole, salad, rolls, and snickerdoodles for dessert.

Besides all of the great food, we played a rousing game of Bocce ball where the ladies were annihilated (even though it was MOTHER'S day). Mom B. (Rita :) ) was definitely the MVP for the ladies. We still had a great day! It is such a blessing that both sets of our parents get along and we can celebrate the holidays together.

It looked like so much fun even Logan had to get involved! :)

Count down...

I have found myself lately being in "count down" mode (and if you're asking there are 16 more days of school, not that I'm counting! :) ). Instead of taking each day as it comes, I find myself hoping it gets over soon because that's one less day I have to teach my wonderful cherubs! This time of the year is really tough for everyone. The kids get on each others' nerves and mine :) more and more. Counting down can be a great thing because it means you're excited about the possibility of something great to come. But if you spend all your time "counting down", you miss the great things that happen each day. Lord, please help keep me accountable in making a joyful noise each day...not just when I'm on vacation!!

Skipping school! :)

Ok...not really. That's what personal days are for right?? Just wanted to share the great blessing of family. I recently got the opportunity to spend time with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and husband on a Tuesday afternoon in April. That's never happened before and you may think...that's not that cool. But when my sister lives in North Carolina and her husband is serving in Iraq...that is super cool! We got to spend a few days with them and had an awesome time together sharing laughs, playing games, and catching Steven up on season 3 of The Office! What a joy to be able to spend time with family. Can't wait till we can all be together again! Love you guys!!

Are we safe??

Do you ever wonder how safe you really are? Do you give a second thought to driving to work or going out in public? I usually don't and I bet the Virginia Tech students didn't give it a second thought when they woke up that morning. But we sure do question our safety now. Are we ever really safe? God is the only one who can answer that question. Resting in him is the only way to feel "safe" from all the tragedies that happen in this world. He is the one who knows when it is time for you to go home to be with Him. Aside from taking time to pray for the friends and families of these students, take comfort in knowing that God IS in control, even though sometimes it's hard to understand.

Last one!

Well, I've finally made it. After two years of tedious work....I had the last meeting with my Master's group tonight. Over the past two years Matt, my husband, and I have been working with one of my colleagues through many tedious classes and assignments. Each week we had to meet to discuss questions and tonight was our last meeting. It sure does not seem real (I'm hoping when I get my raise in the fall it will sink in!). I just wanted to share my joy and thanks to all who have given me encouragment along the way.

Learn from a child

Do you know someone whose laugh is so infectious that you can't help laughing right along? I really noticed this the other day while babysitting for my friends' gorgeous daughter, Grace. As we were dancing around the living room, I couldn't help but laugh at her laughing. Now granted I don't always dance around the living room to songs from cartoons...but maybe I should! She was dancing around having a ball and I noticed how joyful that silly dance made her and how much I need to have more carefree laughter in my life! When was the last time you acted silly and laughed so hard you couldn't stop? If you can't remember, maybe it's time to do it today! :)

Introducing...ME!

I am a 28 year old wife, sister, daughter, and friend. By writing this blog, I hope to remind myself and others how important it is to make a joyful noise each and every day. There will always be wonderful things and horrible things that happen to you each day. I hope to find a way to look at those horrible things in a positive way and be a better witness to those around me.