i want to thank all of you for the wonderful welcome!! i look so forward to talking more with you and learning all i can from you and this site. i also thank you so much for the advice and encouragement. i'm so happy i found this site and other people going through what i am. i will definitely have lots of questions along the way, and hopefully over time i'll be able to help newcomers like myself. like suggested, i am going to take this one day at a time...learning and incorporating what i can as the days go by. thanks again!!