Sun Oct 22

This week has been a tad stressful.  The A&K's dad had a court hearing on Wednesday.  He was offered a bargain, but denied it.  That meant he'd go to trial in a couple of months.  I thought he was sorta crazy to want to do that given the circumstances of his case.  I really felt like a jury would give him a MUCH harder sentence than the deal he was offered, but alas....that was his choice.
And then on Thursday, the news came that the DA renegotiated a new deal & he took it.  He will be officially sentenced on this coming Wednesday (25th).  He is accepting a 10 year sentence, which means that he will be eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years.  He's already served 8 months, so I'm sure they will apply that to his prison time, which means that he'll be eligible to parole in about 18-20 months.
In a lot of ways, I'm nervous about the future.  I guess one thing this whole saga has taught me is to be calm, rely on God's promises and just relax.  If I try to take this in big gulps, I'm bound to choke.  Going one day at a time is best.  It makes me nervous for the kids.  Unfortunately G & Kelly were not responsible parents and I fear what the future holds for the kids.  I'm certain that G will want to get the kids back once he's out.  There will be a tall & treacherous mountain for him to climb before that can occur.  I suppose if he's able to climb that mountain successfully, it won't be as hard to slowly let the kids go....but I am beginning NOW to pray for that time as I know it will be *EXTREMELY* difficult for all of us.  The emotions involved with all of that threaten to overwhelm me if I think on it too long, so onto something else!
On Friday, Larry is having a Lower Lumbar Interbody Fusion surgery.  I think that's the right name anyway!  It's a lower back fusion if you're like me & don't know all the medical terms.  A friend from church is going to take care of getting all the kids up & to school that morning (THANK YOU CINDY!!!!) so that Larry & I can get to the hospital at 5:30am.  :::yawn:::  Surgery is scheduled for 8:00 & is supposed to last a couple of hours.  He & I are both anxious for this time to arrive & be done.  He's ready & feels very much at peace about it all...just ready to get it done!  He will be in the hospital at least through the weekend, possibly into Mon or Tues.  We have a lot of friends planning to come pray with us prior to the surgery, help with the kids all weekend, and meals coming in for that first week.  We are blessed!!!!!  Please join a great army of friends & family who will be praying for a successful surgery, quick healing and a smooth recovery time.  After he's released from the hospital, Larry will not be able to drive for 2 weeks and will be required to spend most of that time resting & recovering at home.  The doc wants him to get up & walk as much as possible, but not to push himself too far either.  After those first couple of weeks, he's free to slowly ease back into regular life as he feels up to it.  The story we get is that by 6 weeks, he'll be "back to normal" (whatever normal is!).  :::GRIN:::
THanks for your continued prayers & support through this great journey of our lives.