Happy Mardi Gras!

Down here in Southwest Louisiana, Mardi Gras is a paid holiday for almost everyone with office/state jobs. So I am enjoying some time at home with Daisy. It is very quiet. I ate a leftover chicken breast from our bbq on sunday and then took a long, hot bath. The only thing is I think my baths are probably too hot, because I am physically drained after finishing one. I did get to see one my favorite shows on HG.tv. Then my hubby called to see if I wanted to go to the parade this evening. We hardly ever go to parades anymore but it is sort of fun when you are with a group of good, fun people. We will be going with his buddy and his wife. So it should be a fun time. I told J that he could let me know what he decided to do after he gets off work today. Of course, being the surrendered wife that I am, this worked really well. We will see. I would be just as happy staying at home and cuddling on the couch.
Mardi Gras parades were a fun part of my past. My step-grandparents lived near the place where the parades pass through, so it was always a day with family and really great food. My grandma could really cook. I just wish I would have taken the time to learn her recipes before she got sick. She died when I was 24 and still being very reclusive about losing our first child and not having any more come along. It was only a few years later, that my grandfather died too. I miss them still. On a very positive note, it was on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) 10 years ago that J told me he loved me for the first time and we just knew that we were heading toward marriage. We knew this was not something casual, but the real kind of love we had been praying for over the many years of waiting.
I recently posted some pics from college on FB and in the pics there was memories from an all-girls trip three friends and I took to Gulf Shores and I remember we were all thinking, we would never find our Mr. Forver. Well, quite suprising I was the first one to get married and now we are all married and they all have 3 kids already. I can't be the first for everything ;) I, then, decided that I need to not be counting the cycles, days, weeks, months, years of ttc as a waste. I could very well in 10 years see pics from today and think back saying "Wow, and we wondered if the kids would ever come?" I have been having a great peace (that truly surpasses all understanding) that I will be a mother one day. I will finally see a positive preg. result, I will finally get my own "Annunciation" . I will give birth to a baby or babies. My only job right now is to continue promoting my health, being open to life, and share wonderful times with my husband. God is in control of my tomorrows and he is with me today!
On a more somber note, I am not looking foward to going back to work tomorrow. It is going to be hectic, being ash wednesday and all and knowing that we are having a huge group come for mass in the evening (which means I will be working until at least 9 pm) and a presentation to prepare for lent and in the past few days I realized that the priest I work with has not given me any of the materials to prepare on the computer yet or copy so it will be a last minute, hectic day. You can see how worried I am with that crazy run on sentence. Plus to top it off, I am responsible to come up with a beautiful prayer area first thing in the morning for the staff meditations for the remainder of Lent. Plus fasting! woe is me - hahahaha.
I pray for God's blessings to you all, especially those of you who are hurting physically and emotionally today.
Dearest Abba,
I pray for all who struggle with infertility today and for the crosses it brings into their lives every moment of every day. You are the giver of life and we look to you to bring us life, hope, renewed faith, and mercy. Be with us today and bless those who love us dearly and suffer greatly in being unable to fix us, but are just called to share this journey with us. Amen.