august days

Our August was pretty uneventful... other than Natalie breaking her collarbone from running on all fours like a cheetah.  She is reeeeally fast and ran full fledge into the grass and broke it!  After her crying for half an hour over it, I finally decided to bring her in.  At that point, she stopped crying and said it really didn't hurt anymore.  I was kicking myself for bringing her in but sure enough, broken.  No biking, swimming, or rough playing... Natalie was given strict instruction to keep it in place.  What a bummer for the last few weeks of summer :(  It bothered her during night for about a week because she'd wake up from starting to roll which was just miserable.  There was one night where she must have been disoriented because she was swinging her arm and screaming because of the pain it was causing.  I calmed her down and tucked her in tight again.  But I discovered, once again, that I have a hint of my mother's faint-hearted-ness.  Just even considering the pain she was feeling while thrashing her broken collarbone around was about enough to make me pass out.  I felt so bad for her.  But, remarkably, after the first week there was no more pain.  The six weeks of restricted mobility turned to limited mobility which basically turned into a free-for-all.  Her bone healed quickly and perfectly as children's bones most often do.  The rest of our August was uneventful.  Just full of enjoyment as school approached.

traverse city

We took an overnight trip with friends up to Traverse City to go wine tasting.  What a riot!!  We crammed 7 of us in a van and 7 of us into a hotel room!  El cheapo!  Many laughs, more memories!  Love these people!

The kids stayed with Jess and Jeremy and of course had a great time.  We got the guns out when we came back to pick them up and each of the kids shot for the first time.  Another great weekend!

bible camp 2014

Sometimes in my pondering, I think about how it must be for God to know intricately every detail of our lives before they happen; if He is eager to see our reaction once a time of revelation comes.  I believe that as we make important choices, He rejoices even though He has known how it would be since the dawn of creation.

Eighteen years ago, I went to my church's Bible camp and continued to go for some years following.  Each summer, I was greatly affected by it.  From the worship to the messages and our intentional quiet time... I was on a spiritual cloud nine after each week away from home.  These weeks have always stood out as building blocks in my faith.

Now all of these years later, I've gotten to go back to camp as a counselor!!  And it was amazing!  I thought I was primarily going there to serve but knowing that I would be worshiping ,engaging, and learning as well and I knew that I'd be blessed.  But God went far beyond my expectations!

I was able to be in a cabin with my niece, Anna, which was so special and bonding!  I was and am so proud of her and to deepen our relationship was such a blessing.  And Sam, my nephew, was along as well and our relationship also reached a new depth!  But camp was also much more of a challenge than I thought it would be.  I had to plead for wisdom, strength, and boldness!  And I cried a lot concerning some tough choices that I had to make.  But because I went through all these difficult decisions, doubt, and sadness, God also provided and answered prayers in ways I wouldn't have witnessed had I neglected to ask Him.  Specific answers to prayer!!

There was also a moment in worship where I had to grieve the loss of my relationship with my dad.  Again, unexpected!  What in the world?  I was more hormonal than my 13 year olds!  But it was worth it!  I was prayed over by one of my sweet cabin girls!  So special!!

By the end of the week, all of the turmoil that I had encountered was resolved with a hug and an affirmation.  I was also able to pray with someone who gave their life to Christ.  And my one-on-one conversations with my girls were amazing!

I was exhausted but enriched in a way I hadn't expected!  Once again, Bible Camp built up my faith and ignited a fire!  I am so grateful to have had this opportunity!

chicago with the fam

Chicago in the summertime.  It calls to us!  Plus we had an errand to run so we packed up the family and we were on our way.  We had to pick up a large load from Ikea for a client.  We checked the kids into the Ikea playroom and had one hour to grab and load what we needed before having to pick them up again.  And then we were off to the city.  The weather was just perfect!!  We stopped at the Lincoln Park Zoo again after having been there with the family this winter.  We parked and walked downtown and strolled over to Billy Goat's Tavern.  Good times!  We continued to walk and shop and since it was so gorgeous and the kids were angels, we decided to stay as long as they were having a good time.  We ended up by the river at the end of the night and finally at 11:15 pm, we decided it was time to go.  The kids, minus Natalie, we asleep almost instantly but our eldest had to pee.  About half an hour later we found an exit outside of traffic where we could pull over and let her go.  Jordan had taken an energy shot and talked us all the way home.  Usually, that is ideal, but I was so tired!  I just remember he kept saying in between his jabbering that he didn't know if the shot was working.  It was!  Such a great time!

 We couldn't find a sitter but needed to get to Ikea for a client, so we brought the fam with and tucked the boxes around them.  It was a really tight fit.  Kudos to Odysseys!!