Is there something called a normal life anymore?

As I get ready for one day to end and another day to begin I wonder " is there something called a normal life anymore?" is it just because I'm almost 40 and an adult that the world seems so much more complex, and filled with so many more trials than when I was young? Is it just that I come in contact with more people, and hear more stories of trials that the world seems less kind? I'm not sure, but I do feel that my life will never be the "normal" that it had been. I look back and realize just how blessed the past 13 years were. My husband and I had time together, I was able to be home with my children. There was no worry about having a job,

or even the worry that there would not be a new job to have. Now it seems to me that many people worry about this. If people have a job they worry about how long they will have it, if they don't have a job they wonder if they will find one. Some people have a job and worry that perhaps they are not doing well enough. So what do you do when the world around you seems so out of control? I guess what I have been trying to do is make my home feel very much like there is control. I try to make my home peaceful for my children. I try to make it seem normal to them even when for me it is very much the opposite. Some days it is very hard. But I think I'm doing well. My kids are happy. They are doing well in school. They are making friends. They do not see that my husband and I are stressed or worried. I feel in some ways making life as normal as possible for them helps to keep my life a little more calm. I have found this great sense of peace in the past few days. I have found that I have the ability to be calm. I daily seek direction and peace from Heavenly Father. This has given me the extra strength I need to keep going. I try each day to build my husband up, to help support him. He has more trials to face, and all I can do to help him keep strong is what I will try to do. If I am able to keep my house feeling peaceful and normal I know this helps him. He is working so hard and I continue to pray the Lord with help him. A song I have begun to really love is " How Firm A Foundation." One part of it is where I think my husband and I are: " When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."

The top photo is of a blanket flower. I love that they bloom from spring to fall. The middle photo is of a zinnia in one of my front gardens. If you pick the flowers back then they bloom a long time too. This photo is of a Cosmo. I planted the seeds for this plant late. I didn't really think they would grow or bloom, but to my surprise they did. I love the beautiful purple color, and I liked the fact that they did not get too tall. This was from the seeds the Librarian at the school gave me. I was happy that the seeds grew. I'm planning on sending him a card made with the photo. A funny thing about flowers and plants is that for some reason in my garden things grow extra big. It baffles me and my neighbors. One strange thing that has been happening is that I cut some of my tomato plants and left just stalks. They were in pots and I set them in my back yard as I wanted to empty the pots and put the soil in my back garden. The plants have started to regrow. I have totally ignored them, didn't even water them and they are flourishing. My neighbors just look at them and shake their heads. What a green thumb you have they say. I'm glad for that. I love the beauty of nature. Well goodnight.