The pastor at our church often ends his sermon with a prayer for the congregation to be blessed so that we can be a blessing. This is something Mark and I take very seriously. We are not rich with a huge bank account and your typical examples of wealth (big house, luxury car labels) but we have always received what we need in order to be able to give what is needed to others. This is not at all to pat ourselves on the back or brag about what we have been able to do, please don’t read that message in this. Things have occurred for us as they do for everyone; illness, job loss, relationship challenges, death in the lives of those we love and each time there’s been something positive that came of the negative. I get that the saying “things happen for a reason” is quite played out and can be maddening when it seems that “all the things” happening really suck. Most recently, in the last year, Mark was having some significant stressors at work. He had had a 3 week bout with vertigo about a year prior. The doctor said it was brought on by stress, and things were mounting again. We did not want to go through that again. Working his entire career in restaurant management you would not believe some of the stories (that’s for another blog J); people can be demanding and sometimes unreasonable in restaurants and often one must hire people for which restaurant work is just something they do while pursuing other goals. It can be very hard work and long hours. We have had the goal since being together to have Mark home, pursuing other things that he loves, training dogs, gardening, working around a property etc. When Rocke and Krista asked if we would be open to watching Cash when they both returned to work after paternity/maternity leave, we took that as a sign and opportunity to make those goals happen. With that, things started to get into place to ensure that that could happen. We are now excitedly awaiting our next grandchild, a sweet girl, Penelope Rose, arriving at the end of September. We are fortunate to be able to take the time to go to Arizona where Jake and Alex live to be there for her birth and spend a little bonding family time. Things that may not be possible if we had not made the decision for Mark to stay home. We can look back at every challenge we have faced and see how the timing was perfect and there was in fact a reason for us to be in each circumstance. That belief and faith will always keep us looking for blessings in all challenges.