A month in the life...

Well, it's been a frightfully long time since I've updated my blog. Many apologies for that...July was a busy month with lots of people in town to visit us. First, Grandma and Granddad came up on the 4th and stayed with us for a week. We had a great time with them; the girls especially enjoyed going out on their own with Grandma and Granddad for a meal. Then our friends Josh and Hammer came to visit us. Formerly known as our 'basement dwellers', Josh and Amber lived with us for a few months one summer a few years ago. We always love having them here and hearing about what the Lord is doing in and through their lives. Following Josh and Hammer, our dear friends Ryan and Scottie stayed with us while they were here at Bethel doing two weeks of intensives. The kids LOVE hanging out with them and we enjoy some fun date nights out thanks to the guys. (And, they don't just babysit; they make homemade pizzas, ice cream sundaes-who could ask for more?) And then the big news, we were having dinner at a friend's house one evening and Anna fell from their monkey bars and broke her wrist. One trip to the ER, two x-rays and 5 days later, she was fitted with a super-cool hot pink cast! She has done really well with the frustration of having one arm in a cast during swim season. This Thursday we go back to the doctor; if after another x-ray, the arm seems to be healing well, he'll put it in a short cast, one that doesn't go above her elbow. Then she'll have it on for about 3 more weeks. And while all this was going on, our little garden has grown from strength to strength. So, I've included a picture of our harvest: so far just cherry tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes and one small carrot (we'll leave the rest of the carrots to get a bit bigger! We were just curious!). The girls are having a great time watching our plants grow so big. And finally, Joel had some fun Daddy time with the kiddos for 4 days while I went to Indiana to spend time with my girlfriends from my Cambridge prayer group (see picture at the top!). It was such an encouraging time for all of us to come together and share what's going on in our lives and to pray for and encourage one another. I'm so thankful to Joel and to everyone who helped him with the kids (Amy, Kate, Melissa, Kelsey and Amanda) for making this time possible. And I'm forever grateful for the friendship of these gals, Renee, Jill, Katie and Karla. Sadly, four others couldn't be with us this year--Caroline, Pip, Alysia and Emma--and we missed them. It would take a miracle for ALL of us to get together (I guess that's what heaven is for!) but we enjoy the times we do have. So, I conclude because it's late and I should get to bed. School starts for us this week so I need to be on my game. I hope I'll keep up here a little better than I have this summer! Till then...