Hello!  Marlayne here.  Know it's been a while since I last wrote, but I'm doing well (for the most part).

Mom is now in a nursing home:  she had a massive heart attack several months back and she's still trying to get over it.  She's been left extremely weak, and she's lost a lot of weight; she reminds me of a little bird.  It's sad to see, but her attitude remains good, so I am hopeful that she will leave there one day (hopefully soon!).

I am still working at Rising Horizons with the special children and loving every minute of it.  I love seeing them discover new things and seeing their young minds (and bodies) grow!  I am still going to New Hope church every Sunday; church is one of the most important things in my life.

I have a boyfriend now:  name is Kirk Gilmarten; met him at church just before Thanksgiving, and we hit it off immediately.  I love him:  he's so funny, compassionate, and has such a loving spirit.  I only hope he sees the same in me!  :)

Whenever I show him pictures of the "old me", he is flabberghasted.  He can't believe that I used to be so obese, but the truth is, I was; have the pictures (and the scars on my body) to prove that.  Now that I am "skinny", I feel so alive, so much better about myself, especially since I eat the right things and get the proper amount of exercise each and every day (unless I'm in bed sick, that is LOL).

I don't know why I ever let myself get to be so big.  Let's face it:  I was a real pig!  All I could think about was food, food, food; now my train of thinking has gone off in an entirely new direction, and I'm greatly benefitting from it.

Now I think about my family, Kirk, the kids at work, and trying to improve on my health.  Now that I have been given a whole new lease on life, I count on making every minute of my life worthwhile!

Well, I hate to cut this short, but I'm in the middle of doing laundry, and now that the dryer has sounded it's "I'm done!" alarm, I'd best tend to the clothes before they become all wrinkled, and then they won't be worth wearing.  I will write in here again soon; please forgive me for the long lapse in writing!  Take care and God bless!

~Marlayne.  :D

*To be continued.*