Road trip induced thoughts

I went to my parents this past weekend.
It was refreshing in every way except the sleep category.
So glad I went and per usual, I really enjoyed the ride home.

Kids all fell asleep and I had total quiet for about 3 hours.

A few thoughts I had while I was driving...
--I haven't been the happiest person lately.  I usually am and I feel like the past few months, I'm forcing it somethings and not even trying other times.  I have so much to be happy about and thankful for, and I just cannot seem to break out of this funk.  I don't like it and I'm working on it.  I pray alot.
--I don't think anyone who it would affect reads this blog so I'm going to go ahead and put it out there that my brother Isaac and his fiancee have set a wedding date!  Easter weekend!!  I super-de-duper love his fiancee.  She is simply lovely.  Inside and out.  Oddly, I have thought so much about what Luke would say about all this.  He and Isaac were so close to each other and I know he would be so proud of who Isaac is today and who he has chosen to spend his life with, just like the rest of us.  I imagine he would be a little jealous too cause she's pretty amazing.
--Speaking of Luke, when several us get together, like this weekend, there are always a few moments where I just wonder about who he would be.  Would he laugh at the stuff we all laugh at?  Would he like the kinds of music we all seem to like?  Just makes me wonder...
--I saw Gabe play this weekend and he just keeps getting better.  Better at the technical stuff, better at the vocals, just better.  I so much want him to really "make it" in music.  He loves it and he's good.  If only, that was all you needed. 
--I thought, again, of Luke and if things had gone differently, would Gabe be where he is at?  He pursued music after Luke died.  There are alot of emotions that Gabe has put into his lyrics and songs.  It's powerful and moving.  I wonder...
--I am so baffled by the amount of illness that has ran through our household the past few months.  We have never had anything like this and I've always thought my kids had pretty robust immune systems.  Guess not.
--I love my sisters.  We are working on starting a blog together.  We all blog separately so thought we might as well collaborate.  It could be awesome... or lame.  Not sure yet.
--Caleb has been a total and utter pain.  I would like to send him to boot camp...or military school...or obedience training.  Or anything else that would get me off the hook from following him around all day telling him 'NO' or 'STOP IT'.  It gets really old.  His new favorite phrase upon be reprimanded..."I don't care."  I'm in so much trouble.
--My mom is amazing.  She is working on an idea.  A really good idea to set up some kind of mentoring/counseling system within our church bodies for pastors and their wives when they go through loss.  I had never really thought about it, but pastor's families are in a very unique position in a community and do require a different type of counseling, I think.  It's a wonderful idea and I hope it all works out!

I suppose that's all for now.  I love having time to think quietly.  It's therapeutic.