One down, everyone else to go

Well, I had my first official "Goodbye" yesterday. My sister and her three boys have been visiting here from Costa Rica for a couple of months, and we have been spending a lot of time in Yoakum together so the cousins could play together and the sisters could visit.

It was a lot of fun.

We went to NASA.



















We did the splash pad "thing."




















We even did the grandchildren picture for my parents. It was sad for my mom and for me that this is the last picture with all nine grandchildren for three more years.




















Of course, they don't always go as planned.





















Besides the fact that God blessed us tremendously at the garage sale, the only other thing I'm thankful for was that it made me so tired and ready to be home, that I didn't cry when leaving my sister...until I was 7 miles away. Kylie didn't see me tear up, but she started crying a few miles later over her cousins. This is hard. I'm not going to pretend it's not, but I feel confident knowing we are right where we are supposed to be with the Lord.

Even though I am in God's fold of sheep, there are yet others out in the pasture still in danger of being attacked by wolves or getting tangled in thorns and vines. I'm thankful that followers of Jesus get to be a part of gathering the lost sheep into His fold, where they can find love, security, and hope.

Both sets of sheep endure the elements and harsh conditions, but only one group can call on the Shepherd and know He is right beside them. Believe me. I'm calling on Him daily! We've got a few sheep of our own to shepherd.