What the heck happened this week?

What the heck happened this week was a question Nick asked just last night after a week of disappointments, illnesses, a car accident and the straw that broke the camels back, Ausili's are moving to Dallas.  Not to mention the absolute sadness I feel over the lives lost in Parkland, FL from yet another school shooting.  This was when Nick finally asked the question in his big booming voice, "What the heck happened this week?"  It was like this week literally blew up in our face.  Some weeks are just like that but this week tested me in every way. It all started with illness.  Mike got sick about 3 weeks ago and this week was so sick he missed an entire day of work.  Mike has to be near death to miss work, so yes he was near death.  This was no joking matter.  I forced him to go to the doctor and as I write this blog he's turned a corner and is slowly coming back to life.  I was sick all last week, like super sick, and haven't felt like myself since before I got sick.  It's like I've been walking around in a fog, which leads me to first big hit this week.  We had such gloomy, foggy weather that Faith got in a car accident this week.  She is okay and so were the others involved in the accident.  All I know for certain is God's hand protected her and the others, and in the midst of my heartache and disappointment this week I have a thankful heart.  I hugged her so tightly today that I thought I'd strain her already strained neck.  Life is precious, friends, as if I even had to tell you that.  Several weeks ago I learned that my dear friend, Mary, was moving "back home."  In fact she had put an offer in on a house (and they had accepted) only 20 minutes from me.  I was elated, but I also knew there was a chance the Ausili's could get a transfer with Mike's job at any time.  I pushed it out of my head as I could almost feel God saying, "Amy, I'm taking the Ausili's, but I'm giving you Mary."  And I've learned that I know nothing.  God is God and I am not.  Mary texted me this week and the sale on her house that was only 20 minutes from me fell through.  That's not to say she is not moving back home, but things are up in the air for her and John right now and it most definitely means she won't be living 20 minutes from me.  This news came from Mary on the day after Faith's accident.  Then last night I learned that Ausili's will be moving to Dallas.......13 hours from us.  I don't even have the words to write articulately at this point.  I only write to document.  I am not thinking clearly and my only laughter comes from my friend, Sarah, who loves Jenny as much as I do.  Her and I are joking that we'll have Sieb make us a She Shed and we'll drive it down to Texas and we'll make Sieb be our bartender!  In every situation I try to see some humor and I've certainly learned to be thankful in all things.  I am thankful for Sarah.  I am thankful that although things are up in the air for Mary, that house she was going to buy was not the right house for her.  There will be another house for her, in fact it will be "the house" and it will be just right for her and John.  I am thankful, oh so thankful, that Faith is okay.  I am thankful for my mother who feels every bit as sad over this news as I am, and sees the Ausili's as an extension of her family.  I will continue to pray that Dallas is where God wants the Ausili's to be and that He uses them for His glory.  In the meantime I will allow myself to feel just a little broken and devastated over the changes that are sure to come.  My husband is losing his brother, as that is what Mike Ausili has been to him, a brother, who not only was his childhood friend, but who stood by him during his job loss, prayed for him for years and then baptized him.  In putting a positive spin on this, there are good times to be had in Dallas and there is a direct flight from our local airport.  I've already promised Jenny that on the day she leaves I will never touch another cosmo again, unless I'm with her, as that is our cocktail!  I promise in the months to come I will have a more coherent blog filled with wisdom and encouragement.........Or at least I'll try anyway.