Dear Tyler,

Hi my sweet son! How are you doing on this Sunday afternoon? Mom is freezing her butt off as it it so cold here again. It is 36 degrees outside but with the 30+ mph winds we have it feels like 25 degrees. The rain is finally here & looks to be like some sleet mixed in but no white stuff! It is suppose to change over to all rain by this evening & rain all day tomorrow. Its is just plain yucky out there but Mom has been pretty productive today. I was up early ( 7 am ) & I made a wonderful breakfast for Mark & I. We had scrambled eggs, maple flavored bacon & belgian waffles. After I am done writing to you Mom is going to be making homemade lasagna & garlic bread sticks for dinner. A hot meal indeed is what is needed on this day! After Mom did all the dishes from breakfast, I got ready & we took the pups for a pretty good walk. They don't mind the cold or wind. They just dislike the rain & snow. 
 Mom took a few minutes from writing to you just now & chatted with Meme while I prepped dinner. Multi-tasking helps sometimes & sure comes in handy. Our dinner is now in the oven to be cooked & pups have been fed & also prep dishes are done too. We actually will be eating at a descent time tonight...lol! The afternoon Mom spent going over & fixing things on her Exam 6 & it is now ready to be submitted to my instructor tomorrow. I have done everything that I can on it & I don't see any changes that I can do anymore to make it better so I will just have to take the grade that I get & accept it. Mom is over 1/2 done with her final exam. Tomorrow I should be working on the 5 page paper & then fine tuning it on Tuesday & submitting it on Wednesday & then I will be able to move on from this class & on to my next one! It has been a long time coming but I am doing the best I can. I just want to pass this class altogether so that I can leave it behind me. I was pretty impressed with myself for doing homework on a weekend. Nothing much else to do on a day like this. Rather do it than having too on a sunny day. The rain is coming down hard now & the wind is increasing by the hour. By tomorrow morning it will be 35-40 mph. This is crazy. We just don't get snow or rain like we did back home in NH we get high winds all the freaking time here. Mom is slowly getting used to it but not sure I will ever completely. Mom chatted with Charlie early this morning. Guess nothing new where he is. I haven't spoken to Marion since his surprise birthday party over 6 weeks ago. It used to hurt Mom really bad because supposedly I was one of her best friends but now I have let it go. It is what it is. I don't accept that she is always busy because people make time if they really want to so if I talk to her I do if I don't I don't. Mom refuses to get hurt from anyone else anymore. It has happened way too much in the past & I am learning to not get emotional or attached to anyone. Mom is not into the head games or high school games. I am too old for that & honestly I really don't want that negativity or drama in my life. I have no time for that. I think you would be pretty proud of your Mom for this. I know you have seen me get really hurt before by many & it crushed you. No need to worry though. Mom is doing good there! Aunt Beck & John are just a couple hours out from boarding their plane to Italy! They should be boarding in about an hour & the flight takes off in 2 hours. They will be on the plane for 9 1/2 hours straight. They will arrive in Rome by 11 am their time & 5 pm Mom's time. I hope everything goes well as they will have a shaky start with the weather we are having. The wind will be the nastiest but Mom knows you will be with them. Thank you my sweet precious son. Thank you for watching over us all & keeping us safe. It really means a lot to me. Mom will touch base with Grandpa & Debbie tonight because we did not chat with them last night & there is no skype call for this evening. Guess that is pretty much all the updates that I have for you today. Oh yeah.. I forgot.... remember Charlie's ex girlfriend, Sherrie.... Ian & Ben's Mom? Well I saw today that she got engaged on March 24th. Somehow I didn't see that post over social media. Mom never talks to her at all. I am happy for her. I wish her well. I guess Ben is still at home & is a Junior or Senior this year in high school & Ian moved away after getting into a lot of trouble. He is hanging with the wrong crowd & doing some bad things from what I was told. I guess he is living in NY & rarely talks to Sherrie let alone sees her. Okay... that is definitely all I have now...lol! 
 The evening sky is going to come soon tonight than normal. It is already dark out. Mom hopes that tonight is restful & peaceful for you. May you do all the things that are needed of you & maybe some fun things that you may want to do. Come be with Mom if you can or visit me in my dreams as I sleep. I will whisper to you later this evening. Smile for Mom & I will smile to you as well. I will light a candle before we sit down to dinner. That candle will be burning bright for you my sweet precious son! Mom misses you & loves you like crazy. To the moon & back & all the way around the world. You will also have a place in my heart, mind, body & soul. You remain there forever. I need to get going so that I can finish dinner as it is almost 5:30 pm but I will be back tomorrow night. Until then.... good night & sweet dreams my bright shining star.
 Always, Mommy xoxoxo. Muah!

Here is a prayer for the day:
   As a Christ-follower, what do you want your life to look like in 5 years? Do you want to be bolder, wiser, and more courageous? What bold, wise, courageous seeds might God have you sow at this moment? May God give you wisdom today to plan for your tomorrows. What lie did you pick up when life let you down? May you throw it aside and move forward with conviction, knowing that you’re NOT your circumstances, you’re not your family tree, you’re not your past mistakes, you’re someone God loves, someone Jesus has saved. It takes both grit and grace to walk this faith journey. And in Christ, you have everything you need to live boldly today and to grow into the person He’s destined you to be tomorrow. Have a blessed weekend.