Hello! My name is Pam and I'm a blogger slacker.......
I think 2+ months is the longest hiatus from my blog I've ever had. It was not all due to being busy; though that is a constant issue. We had a really, really tough summer. Many things converged to make it difficult, but the biggest thing is that our sweet daughter H's biological dad died very unexpectedly, plunging her into deep grief and the loss of the hope she had had of one day reconciling with him and having some sort of relationship. At times her despair was very great, and often her grief was (is) masked in anger. It has been a pretty intense emotional roller coaster and there have been frequent times when I have felt my stress receptors were going to completely overload.
BUT......
Throughout these hard months God has never once left our side. He is so incredibly faithful and present. He is "the God who is there." I am so thankful that He is not far off, or impersonal!
We had four birthdays since I last posted. My father in law, who had been declining for four months since having a stroke, passed away. It was a bittersweet week of missing and celebrating him. That was immediately followed by a week of VBS that nearly all of us worked at, three mission trips for three different teens, a week of camp for another, and a cross country trip to visit relatives for another.
All summer, throughout the hard days and the busyness of six children's activities, we looked forward to our scheduled vacation coming up the end of August. The week before we were to leave, our basement flooded in a torrential rain. Yes, the schoolroom! We threw out one big rug that we couldn't salvage, shoved all the school furniture we could move to the dry end, removed everything from the lowest shelves, and went on our camping vaca without looking back.
Our vacation did not disappoint! Overall we had a marvelous time and made great memories together as a family. Pics coming soon, if I can get them to load faster than one every five minutes! When we returned, our basement was as we had left it. No new water! Yay!! I had not intended to deep clean the schoolroom the week before we were to start our school year, but it was a serendipitous blessing in disguise. I worked like a mad woman for the better part of three days, and then we started!
The end of our first week of school I fell down the stairs and broke one of my big toes and my left hand. Daughter G took me to the ER for x-rays and on our way home, we were in a major car accident. Both we and the other driver WALKED AWAY UNHARMED!!!! It could have ended so differently. My heart is so full of gratitude to God for His protection. It would not have been a bad thing for us to suddenly be in God's presence, but I wouldn't wish that traumatic of a departure on my family, and I don't want to leave them yet!
So that brings us to the present. I have typed all of this with one finger, haha! After this, the next several blog posts are bound to be shorter. :)
Here a couple pics of summer highlights. They are much better than the lowlights. ;)
At the cottage. One of our happy places.
Daughter H's 15th birthday.
First day of vacation ~ trip to an amusement park! I rode some giant coasters, oh yes I did!
Twins
Son C's 12th birthday!!
Homeschool prom!
The Sound of Music done by our co-op drama class (sons G and L played Kurt and Friedrich).
Grandma (my mother in law) and her grandkids.
My wonderful hubby's birthday!
Riding a camel at the Creation Museum!
My lovely cast for the next four weeks.
