today is my wednesday off both school and work so i was able to enjoy the morning with mahlon (my husband) and drew (my son). we all love coffee in the morning and now that drew is home we always have to make a second pot. he jokes that it is his "ale" and i think to myself how glad i am that his "ale" is now coffee. it has been over 8 months that drew has been sober. i know that each day is reason for us to celebrate this victory!

so...as i am writing this, i feel as though i need to pinch myself to see if it is all real. well, i just pinched myself, it hurt, ha ha! it is true, our long lost son has returned...he is home....though we know it is for a season of restoration, healing and preparation for his future, we are thankful for each day that he is here.

i don't want to lead you on to think that it is all just so easy; transitioning as a family has it's difficulties but we grow stronger through each day. we all have our quirky ways about us but you know that is part of what makes us uniquely different.

i smile when i think about our times....to see his grin...it is a gift to me...yes even when it is coming through his sometimes sarcastic humor. he tells me not to get offended and that i need to just get used to his humor. so...i am trying to do that and at the same time i realize he too needs to get used to my way of communicating. so together we are learning to share our opinions respectively...this is good.

it is really funny when he comes downstairs in the morning and speaks his little phrase of dutch. it is something that he and his dad get a real kick out of. but what i enjoy most about this is that he wakes up and comes down the stairs and into the living room with a smile on his face. i have waited so long for this...to witness the smile, the twinkle in his eye, to hear his voice.

what you are reading, keep in mind, is from the heart of a mother....a mother who waited for a very long time for this season.

every day we hear new stories of his adventures over the last ten years of his life....i never heard the term "gutter punks"before, actually i am finding out that there is a whole other world out there that really i know nothing about but through drew i am learning many things. i have come to realize that where i live is only just a little piece of a much larger picture of the world. one thing is for certain no matter the person, or where and how they live....they all have common needs...love...food...shelter....and a sense of family. our son was out there in a place that i may never know or even see but i think of those whom God put in his path to help him and i am so thankful.

the other day when mahlon and i were on a date to canton we saw a homeless man (drew said the homeless like to term it "houseless") and i was moved to give him money. he was sitting there on the snow covered ground holding a sign "need prayer, a job and food." it felt good to do so....maybe it was a "pay it forward" to all those who reached out a hand to our son when he was out there holding his sign.

we are finding out that drew really can cook and he has taken on this duty quite well on the days i go to school. it is a real help to the family. drew also loves music and i never thought he would ever like bluegrass but it is true...he does and he has even introduced us to some i can handle listening to. actually there are many genres of music we are all finding we enjoy together. drew is an avid reader and we have always known that he was quite intelligent. we are thankful that his brain is in good working order. not everyone who has been drug addicted has that benefit. i know that he knows God has protected him in so many ways.

one of the things i really enjoy doing with drew even when he does beat me....is playing Scrabble. it is time for him to get beat again.

we are praying that drew gets hired soon. one of his biggest struggles is what to do with time on his hands. he has been helping at our church food pantry and he loves that. he has a real heart for hurting and the poor. well, i must close for now...prepare lunch and then get my homework and exercise in for the day.