The Countdown is ON!

As January nears, the anticipation of Keith's return is mounting.  We're way under a month until he comes home, and I can hardly believe that this chapter in our lives is over.  We are so thankful for the lessons we have learned, the tears we have cried and most importantly, the amount of support we have received.  We could not have done this without the help of our friends and family, but more importantly, without the comforting words of our Lord, constantly reminding us that every situation works itself out for our good.  We can truly testify to that as both Keith and I have had amazing opportunities to minister to others through lessons we have learned from our separation.

Keith has thoroughly enjoyed preaching every week while in Iraq.  He does two different services, where he is the primary one responsible for organizing and executing the service.  He has gotten a lot of preaching under his belt and is looking for ways to continue that when he returns home.  We know that God has gone before him and placed opportunities for preaching, we just pray that it includes a permanent job :)  The church we got married in is without a pastor right now, and Keith hopes to preach frequently there.

Things for me are pretty much routine.  When Keith comes home, I think he will be surprised to see just how well his wife did without him :)  Don't get me wrong, I will be ecstatic to have him back home, paying the bills and managing certain aspects of our life, but I must say-all in all, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated.  Aside from the few household chores that I disliked (namely cleaning the litter box and the fish tank)--I was able to keep up with the house, bills and everything else fairly nicely.

What is next for the Smiths?  Truthfully, only God knows.  We ask for your continued prayers and support as Keith transitions back to being at home, and I adjust to sharing the bed again :)  It might end up being a great time to switch from our full bed to a queen :)  We know that there will be hard aspects of being back together and times where we have to work through how we have changed in this year apart, but we are SO looking forward to just being in the presence of one another again, that those seem like small hurdles to overcome now.  We covet your continued prayers over these next few months and are very very thankful for the times you have lifted our names up to our Savior over the last year.