Summer whirlwind!

Seriously…I can NOT make this stuff up! I'm not sure how our family constantly has such a crazy wild ride on this roller coaster of life, but things around here are NEVER dull! Through the mountains and the valleys we've had a summer of rejoicing and shedding tears. Words can't express the thankfulness we have for those who've walked this journey with us and have been there to laugh and cry along the way!

As summer winds down and I go back to school tomorrow I want to share some amazing ways we've watched God work.  This may be long, but I am going to give you a glimpse into how God has held our hands on this wild ride for the past 10 weeks!

June started with a bang! The same day school got out for the summer, our precious dog, Ranger, ate something toxic.  We thought we were going to loose him and were so upset as we watched him fade away; he is only one year old and a true part of our family. Thank you, Jesus, for a wonderful vet who met us after-hours and cared for our baby! Ranger stayed there over the weekend and thankfully felt back to his spunky self within a few days.

The next week Lia had her one year cardiology appt. and she checked out wonderfully! We don't know what the future holds for her, but we do know THE ONE who holds her future! She has a slight mitral valve regurgitation and her O2 rates have dropped from about 98 to 95, but she certainly never lets that slow her down and her cardiologist was very pleased with how well she is doing. Before her dr. appt. we went to have her beautiful long hair cut so that she could donate it to The Childhood Leukemia Foundation. They make wigs for children, like our niece Jaycee,  who have lost their hair to this nasty disease.

Then on June 18, after raising funds, and a great deal of planning and praying, Brandon, Tia and I prepared to go to China with a group through America World Adoption Association. We were blessed with a couple of families who donated strollers for us to take to The Morningstar Foundation in Beijing for the precious children in their care before we headed to our final destination to work in two different orphanages. 

The blog we kept for our journey to China and back can be found here: http://actchina2014.wordpress.com/.

While in China, we loved on babies, met new friends, and watched God work in amazing ways. I had the awesome opportunity to give one of the Ayi's(Nannie's) a Chinese bible.  The joy on her face was THE MOST PRECIOUS LOOK you could ever imagine.  I just wish and pray that we would all have such a joy when we open up our bibles.  This was a book that in her words was, "THE BEST GIFT!"

 

In July, we spent time getting over jet lag, watching some volleyball games and loving on our friends and family. July 4th is always a fun time when we celebrate our freedom with friends and family and this year we did that plenty!

Can't wait to see what the future holds for these two lovebirds!

On July 8, I was blessed to spend a day with friends(and Brandon) on a road trip to Houston to see this precious family, the Henderson's,  who have been battling a terrible illness with a long hospital stay with their darling daughter, Maggie. Please stop over and check out how far they have come and pray as they continue this long journey!  Thank you, Lord for the healing we are seeing you do in Maggie's life. We pray you continue to move mountains until she is 100% healed. 

The week of July 13 is one I will always remember for being one of those weeks that changed our lives! Monday, Tia left for church camp and David went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled.  While he was gone, our mamma goat gave birth to twins, one of which was definitely a runt and had to have help with nursing.  David came home on pain meds, but being the trooper he is, he helped me feed the baby before falling asleep!

Thankfully, God went before us and had everything planned out long before we did! On Tuesday, David would have normally been at work, but had taken off some time because of the pain meds he was on. About 5:45 p.m. we got a call that Nathan had been injured at work; about 5 hours away. Since David was home we were able to throw things into a bag and leave immediately.  Friends stepped in to get us to Nathan quickly, care for Lia, feed our animals and other things I may never know!

After spending four days away from home, Nathan was able to be transfered and have his facial repairs done closer to home.  The day before Nathan's surgery, Tia had her wisdom teeth out(I will save myself some grief and NOT post those photos!)She did great and thanks to her "other sister," Baleigh, she had a smooth recovery. 

Nathan is on the mend, although it will be a long road to a full recovery until his facial nerves regenerate and potential other surgeries happen. We appreciate all of the prayers and acts of kindness as you have been the hands and feet of Jesus to our family during this difficult time!

After a few days, Nathan and Lexe fortunately felt good enough to make the drive to Lake LBJ where we had already planned our family vacation.  I think it helped his spirits to be around family and friends and we were all so thankful for some time to rest and rejuvenate after the previous few weeks.  We missed Justin this year, but know that he is doing a wonderful job during this season of wildfires in CA. 

After coming home we enjoyed a beautiful baby shower as Nathan and Lexe prepare to welcome our first grandchild into the world in just a few more weeks.  

Nothing like ending the summer with a bang! 

After we noticed electric bills much higher than normal we started investigating the cause.  Apparently our water well was running continuously, so we needed to have that repaired.  Once the company came today, it was discovered that we had tree roots 30 feet long(yes, that is how long they stretched!) wrapped around the casing of our well.  Our friend who owns A & V Water  was able to fix it for now and buy us some time to save up to have another well drilled.  We are so thankful that we have the time to prepare and that it wasn't gone today! In his words, "You can't say your roots don't run deep!"

It has been a whirlwind of a summer, but through each mountain and valley I pray our roots have dug in a little deeper to THE ONE who has supplied our every need and held us through every twist and turn.

       

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col 2:7

Transitions

Change is often a thing we struggle with and
transitions are often TOUGH!
Apparently, though, it is through the change and transitions in life that
we often grow the most in our walk with the LORD and
in our relationships with others.

It seems I have had to learn this lesson over and over again,
and yet, it never seems to get easier.
I don't do well with "good-bye"
or "see-you-later" as my friends and family can attest!
(I have friends who still tease me that I cried when we said
good bye to the waiter on our cruise!)

The most difficult times, though,  are when I've said good-bye
to a loved one or dear friend, even though
I know I will see them again someday in heaven.

Other times have been when my kids have left, especially for long periods of time.
In 2005, shortly after graduation, my oldest son, Justin joined the
United States Marine Corps. and I remember that good-bye and
how difficult it was. That good bye was only
preparing me for the one later where he would be deployed for a year.
I shed many tears during that time, even though I knew he was doing what he wanted to do
and was in the place God had planned for him during those years.
I can't begin to imagine the pain families go through whose
sons and daughters don't come home!
My heart and prayers often go out to you!
"Thank you" would never be enough for the sacrifices these families make!


Now, a few years later, Justin has gone to work for the US Forest Service and is working
in California fighting wildfires. He says the work is harder than when
he was in the USMC and the days are long and exhausting.
What a relief it was to talk to him last night if only for a little while.
The fires are all around them and they are out in the field for days without a shower.
They are eating MRE's and bathing in the cold river.
It is difficult for him to be away from home for so long, especially when his girlfriend is here!
I pray though that during this time away he is able to seek the Lord and His face and
grow during this transition.
He took the picture below, so I'm not sure who the young man is, but the scenery is amazing.


Just like it says in Deuteronomy 5:4 this is also my prayer for him during this time away. 

"The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain."