CURED at last!

Today in clinic we had two cases in which the kids had previous treatment for their club feet at other hospitals, yet both with no improvement. Thankfully they

were both directed to CURE and are now receiving proper treatment for their club feet!

Daniela is a five-month old baby who has already been casted fourteen times at another hospital. For a baby the casting process should only take four casts, six at the most. She is now receiving treatment with bar shoes to correct her feet and will be back in one month for a check up!

Bella is a two-year old girl who has been getting casting treatment for nearly her whole life at a hospital in Tegucigalpa. When the casts were continuing to fail her improvement, a friend told her mother about CURE, so she made the 4 hour trip to our hospital. Even though we have two doctors in Tegucigalpa with whom we work with, she prefers to make the trip every week here to be sure that her daughter is getting the proper treatment.

To be a part of healing a child born with a birth defect, visit cure.org/curekids!

¡La Segunda Semana!

Week number two in San Pedro has been filled with with highs and lows- making great memories for sure! I have been in my apartment now for a week, so life here is feeling a lot more like home compared to the first week when I was in the dorm at the hospital. Although I miss living with the Bridgemans and chatting with the guards in the evening, and now I have to wake up an hour earlier before work, I'm still thankful for this nice place to live in a safe neighborhood. I'm learning to be totally independent in almost every way, except for the fact that I don't have a car, but can't drive alone anywhere anyway even if I did. But I have great friends who are always up for adventure, so there is never a lack of activity!

Some of the latest:

-Church.

The Bridgemans have been visiting a different church each week to see which place is right for them. I've been going with them and am liking the different experiences, although it will be nice at some point to find a place to connect with. The first week we went to Geraldo and Aracely's (our Spiritual Director) church, and this past Sunday we went to ICF (International Christian Fellowship) which is an English-speaking church made up of mostly missionaries. The Bridgemans like this one (as do I) because until their girls get more sufficient in Spanish, they want them to be in a place that they like and understand.

-Recreation

On Saturday while Jay had to study for his upcoming final board exams (can't wait till they are over! I thought Jay was fun with how busy he now- it'll be great when the studying is done!) Pauline and I went with the girls on a (very HOT!) hike up one of the mountains surrounding the city. There is a trail that leads up to a big Coca-Cola sign (displayed like the Hollywood sign) so we made our way up this trail but after about a hour decided we should head back with the kids and wait for a cooler day to go to the top. We were very happy to find this safe place to hike that is close by.

On Sunday afternoon while Jay continued to study, Pauline and I went with the girls to Club Hondureno Arabe, where we pay 100 Lempira (about 5.50 USD) for the day to swim in their olympic size pool. I've never swam in a pool this big before; swimming laps have never been so fun! It is quite a nice place, and we plan to order from their Middle Eastern menu next time!

The first weekend that I was here, I went to Zizima (a big water park) with Pauline and the girls. Most of my pictures from the first week that I was here, including these, I have not yet been able to download onto my laptop because the setting my camera was on is not readable by my computer. As soon as this bug is fixed I will upload these great pics!

-Storms

Every night, with very few exceptions, we have crashing thunder and bright lightening along with torrential rain. I feel so sorry for Ace because no matter how many storms we get, he is equally afraid. As soon as he hears thunder, there is no personal space left for me, and we sleep on the same pillow. I really don't mind, it's just that for his sake I really wish he'd gets used to it!

Some nights the rain is lighter which is a huge blessing, because that means my house won't flood! This afternoon I went to the hair salon across the street from my apartment, and while I was there we had the worst storm yet. I felt badly for Ace because I knew he was terrified. Well, that should've been the least of my concerns- I should've known, but I guess I was just hoping so much for the opposite to be true, but when I opened the door, there half of my living room was flooded. Thank the Lord that I didn't leave anything on the floor! All the way from the door, under the couch, under the table, to the kitchen counter. *Sigh*.... I need to talk to my landlady about this issue ASAP! I do, however, realize as I drive past the shanties on the way to work and back every morning, how much I really have, and how nonexistent my house "woes" are compared to the majority of the world.

My apartment viewed from the front door- my bedroom is straight ahead and the guest room is behind the wall that is behind the twin couch that Ace is on to the left. The kitchen is in the back behind the table, and out the back door is a terrace where the washer and dryer are.

Half of my living room was flooded- completely under the big couch on the right, all the way under the table and chairs to the kitchen counter!

As I was sweeping the water from my living room outside my door, my next-door neighbor who I'd never met before came upstairs and as he saw me, he asked, "que te paso?!" meaning, "what happened to you?!" I told him the rain came under my door, and he promptly opened his door to see if he had any flooding. Only slightly. I don't know if my place in on a downhill or what. He then asked me how long I'll be here and where I'm from. When I told him los Estados Unidos, he replied in English, "oh, so you can be my English partner!" We chatted for a minute and he told me his name is Mario and if I need anything to knock on his door. That was nice of him, but really? As Jay kindly put "we need to get to know him better and I need to talk with every guy before you hang out with anyone!" Glad to know I'm not the only one looking out for myself! The Bridgemans are proving to bless me in increasing ways everyday. About five minutes later I got a knock at the door, and it was Mario, telling me he had extra tickets to go somewhere (it was in Spanish and I didn't know where it was) with him and his friends. Oh great. I'm glad I already had plans to go with the Bridgemans to get frozen yogurt. But who knows, maybe I'll end up having a really cool neighbor.

View from the front terrace (that I share with Mario) of the rain clouds setting in over the mountains.

-God's sense of humor

Before I came here, I was hoping that there would be an easily-accessible hair salon that I could go to since it had been just shy of a year since I had my hair cut. I debated just going at home before I left for worry that I wouldn't find a place, but I knew that I would be able to get it cheaper here and I like trying new places. I still worried about finding an easily-accessible place though, until the day I got here and saw advertisements everywhere for salons. Well as I mentioned above, there is one across the street from my apartment. I don't even have to leave my development. I don't even have to walk down the sidewalk. All I have to do is walk across the grassy yard between the two buildings and I'm there! It was a good lesson in remembering that God is in the details, even the ones that really aren't important! I think sometimes He gives us these little blessings to remind us that He is in control and has a plan from the beginning. There are the those moments in life when you realize that He's been taking care of everything all along, and all the while you were worrying you never saw His hand in it till something so unexpected happens. This was one of those moments. And since I know this, I can rest in the fact that whatever, whatever comes me way, must be necessary for me. Knowing there is a lesson to be learned in every situation helps me better trust Him through it all.

My apartment is the yellow building next to the brick wall on the left, and the salon is the yellow building with the red roof straight ahead.

-Heat.

The heat continues to stay around the nineties and low hundreds, with high humidity. I was told by one of our staff a few days ago that only in December and sometimes January does it cool off in this city. Well, it's a good thing I'm getting used to it. Ace, however, is a different story. If you know him at all, you know that he is terrified of water. He just hates it, and every time I'm done giving him a bath, he he shakes and runs around like a crazy man and rubs himself of the ground until he is dry. Well apparently yesterday he decided that being wet was better than being hot. When I was in the shower, he actually jumped in and sat under the running water. I could not believe my eyes! When I was done, he jumped out and as if he didn't mind being wet, he went and laid down on the couch. I never thought he'd get to the point that he'd choose wet over heat, but he sure did!

-Eating simply.

Now that I make my own breakfast and dinner everyday (we eat lunch at the hospital made by the cooks on the weekdays), I am trying to broaden my horizons with making new recipes. Pauline gives me a "cooking lesson" whenever I am at their house for dinner, and I am learning all kinds of new recipes! Chinese, Italian, Greek- she makes all kinds of good food and I am appreciating the lessons. There is one little problem, though. When I am at my house and I'm thinking what to make, all I ever want is cereal, fruit (mangos and bananas), and peanut butter & honey sandwiches. Seriously. I keep thinking about making all different kinds of food, but nothing ever sounds as good as those three foods. I really like practically every food I've ever tasted, but I never realize till now that if I have a choice, I really like simple foods. I keep asking myself, "am I just too lazy to make anything better?" and that might be part of it... Last night when I was going to eat cereal, I decided to make myself eat my vegetables before they went bad, so I made myself a tomato and cucumber salad. Granted, it's only been two weeks, so I know at some point I'm going to be ready for some new things, and when I am I'll have a wide variety of choices now that I have Pauline to help me!

Depriving myself of my beloved cereal and peanut butter sandwiches :)

-Dog-walking and running

Almost every house in this neighborhood has a dog, and as I am walking down the street with Ace in the afternoons, we always set off the "barking" alarm as we pass each house. By the time we're at the end, the whole street has been barking! It gets old pretty fast.

On some days after I walk with Ace, I run around the development. Ace can't run with me right now because it's simply too hot for him. There is a big soccer field and basketball court at the far end of the neighborhood so I run around those for some variety because the development is very small and I have to run around it quite a few times. It's a different experience running in this neighborhood; on the sidewalks there are a variety of obstacles like trash cans, chickens, iguanas, overgrown shrubbery and trees, etcetera. I wish beyond words that I could run down the bike/running trail along the main road, but I'm simply prohibited to leave my development by myself! :( I know it's for my best interest though, so I'll take what I can get. And besides, I never see girls running out there anyway; it's always big burly men.

On another, better note, I got home late tonight and had to walk Ace after dark which I don't normally do. It my very well light neighborhood it's not that big of a deal. And on my walk, I saw a girl about my age walking her dog, and as both of our pups ran towards each other we chatted for a minute. Then I saw a kid in a soccer uniform sprint past me. I figured there must be a game going on so I walked down the field, and sure enough there was a big game of pickup soccer going on. There was only one girl on the whole team, so who knows, maybe next time I'll join her!

Note to Mom: I wear my toe shoes everyday that I hike or run- they are the best and perfect for every activity. Thanks!!!

-Tela!

Today the hospital was closed, and we had a staff retreat at the beach in Tela- a beautiful city on the north coast about and hour and a half northwest from us. We had a lot of fun at Telamar, a nice hotel and restaurant on the beach, swimming, playing "futbol" (soccer), fishing off the pier, and eating at the at the beach buffet.

One minor detail, on our way there, the Bridgeman's new car of less than 24 hours broke down! :( Not to worry, we had Coto and the rest of the guys there to fix it, plus we had a caravan of about five cars, so we had enough space and joined Heraldo and Aracely's car with plenty of room (according to Honduran style:)

Boys to the rescue of the broken car

View of the pier in the distance

View of the beach from the pier. Riding horseback on the beach makes me happy

-CUREkids

I am loving my job as a patient photographer/videographer/storyteller, which I share with the world through cure.org/curekids. I am slowly but surely getting comfortable with the job and life here, and would dare to say that I work with some of the most amazing and wonderful people on earth! I also am loving the experience of spending time in the clinic/ward with Dr. Jay and the other medical staff, watching patient examinations, learning what different medical conditions mean, watching legs being casted, ect. Our work schedule is from 7am to 3pm, so I'm working on switching myself from being an "owl" to a "rooster." I thought waking up at 4:45 every morning would be bad at first, but it hasn't been hard- I'm learning to like it!

-Lessons....

As I hope you can see from the above news, my first two weeks here have been wonderful, better than I ever expected, yet at the same time have been filled with difficult times as God is revealing to me different areas of my that are not honoring Him. They may seem small and easily ignorable, but when God shows me an area of sin in my life, there is no inner peace in me until it is resolved, although I usually can pretend that everything is great. And that's part of the problem. I have a hard time keeping it real. I will share specifics as they form into a story, but it has been a work in progress and is going to continue to be. It's not fun, I wish everything could be perfect now, but as we all know that's not real life! Following God means dying to self daily and that takes a lot of humility.... Pauline has been a big help in trying to get me to accurately express life, but it's not easy! I feel like life is one long, continuous lesson. Yes, these two weeks have been the best, filled with blessings, and at the same time, the hardest, filled with challenges (blessings in disguise:). I'm so thankful for the laughter and grace that He gives through it all as I live and learn.

Angeli

Mondays have never been my favorite day of the week, but here at CURE Honduras, Mondays are amazing! Mondays are our Club Foot Clinic days, so we get to see lots of kids who are getting their club feet fixed!

As I walked out into the waiting room today, a tiny one-and-a-half month old baby in a green dress captured my eyes. She was so tiny and precious. Her father and mother smiled as I stood and doted over her. Her name is Angeli.

After clinic today, I learned from Dr. Jay Bridgeman that she in fact doesn't have club feet but has a more complicated problem with her knees and will need a different kind of treatment. He then explained that he had never seen a condition quite like this and she will be coming back to see another doctor for this and because of some other health complications that she has.

Please join me in praying for Angeli and the current health difficulties she is facing. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and they treat her, and for God's glory to be shown through this little one's life. Pray also for her parents that they will be open to the Gospel and receive hope and joy in the Lord in whatever comes their way as they walk through this phase with their baby girl.

The Next Chapter... One Week In!

Well, I've been in San Pedro Sula at the CURE hospital for one week now! It's been wonderful so far, and although it's been just one day after another filled with a hectic schedule of getting settled into life here, the CURE staff is beyond wonderful to work and live with- I am beyond blessed to be here!

For those of you who don't know, I am the new CUREkids Coordinator for this hospital. I get to take photographs of the patients and tell their stories for those who support CURE and sponsor surgeries for the kids.

Some news and observations from the first week:

- For the first six days here, I lived within the walls of the hospital in the apartment upstairs with the Bridgeman family- Dr. Jay who is an orthopedic surgeon and the new medical administrator here at CURE Honduras, and his wife Pauline who is a medical doctor, and their three girls, Abigail (7), Lillian (5), and baby Charlotte (1), who have become my three little buddies in no time flat! Having these little girls around makes happy and right at home :)

The Bridgemans have been here for about a month now, and are very thankful that God has finally provided a wonderful house for them after much house hunting! They also found a nice apartment for me in another neighborhood just down the street (unfortunately I can't live in their same complex because it doesn't allow dogs). I'm also just a few minutes from Aracely, our wonderful Spiritual Director, which is really nice because she and her family can easily pick me up to go on outings.

This week was spent traveling all around San Pedro visiting nearly every home furnishing store, and after much searching and purchasing of nearly all their home furnishing, a car, internet, ect., The Bridgemans have moved in to their new home and I've moved into my apartment. I'm thankful that the apartment I got is already furnished- I didn't realize the extent of furnishing an empty house until I experienced it firsthand! And this is Central America, so everything takes just a little bit longer and is just a little bit more difficult to accomplish! Pauline is my new hero and I can now empathize with new homeowners just a little bit better! God's grace through all of this has been so prevalent, providing everything in His timing. Pauline and I were talking about how we tend to worry so much about every little thing, and granted there are many concerns and so many moving parts with moving to a new country, but how God must be laughing at our franticness and thinking, "why do they worry? Why do they not trust in my perfect plan and timing?" God has been faithful from the start, and our worries only show a lack of trust in our all-knowing and all-powerful God.

- The Honduran staff here are some of the most dear people on earth! From all of the doctors and nurses to our guards, to Ruth the hospital Director and Aracely our Spiritual Director, to Gina our cook and Tito our maintenance man and Koto our driver and assistant extraordinaire, to Grace our club foot program coordinator (and personal driving/shopping/living/ guide), and everyone whom I have yet to meet, everyone is such a blessing to these children that they serve at CURE and have made me feel part of their family from day one.

- The heat is pretty killer but I'm learning to live with it. I'm getting used sweating as soon as I step outside, and even inside my apartment since electricity is so expensive so I'm sticking with my fan... we'll see how long that lasts. I try to ignore the sweat and it and think of it as normal, and I'm getting there... I keep telling myself, "this is healthy! This is healthy!" Having AC at the hospital is a true gift!

Tonight I ate dinner at the Bridgeman's house, and as we sat around the table outside, sitting in the stagnant heat, Jay had my doubled over laughing at his complaints about heat. He was asking, "so when does fall time come in Honduras? You know like when the leaves change colors and fall to the ground, and then we get snow... when does that happen here?" As I was dying laughing Pauline gave him the honest truth and said that she thinks this is actually one of the coolest times of year. We unanimously agreed that we needed to go to the air conditioned mall and get frozen yogurt.

- One of the first few nights that I was here, we were on our way home to the hospital, and Jay asked me if I know how to drive a manual car. I told him in theory I do but it has been several years since I've done so. He told me that everyone needs to know how to drive in case of emergency, so we are to have driving lessons. I responded with an enthusiastic "ok!" and but quite frankly, I've been here for only a week and I'm going to start at some point soon learning to drive a stick shift car on roads with no rules, filled with cars, trucks, busses, bikes, pedestrians, dogs, cows, horse-carts, you get the picture- this should be an experience!

- My first full day in my apartment was yesterday- and shortly after I got home in the afternoon I was putting groceries away, and it started down-pouring with huge flashes of lighting and rolls of thunder. I love storms, and especially here it turns the weather cooler, but as it rained I noticed a little water seeping through the cracks of the big window in the living area. Great, a leak already. I then looked down and noticed a giant puddle growing bigger and bigger- water was streaming under my front door, making its way under my couch and across the living room. My landlady didn't tell me a river comes through the door when it rains! Thankfully several bath towels were able to contain the water until the rain stopped. I hope it doesn't rain when I'm not home.

Here are some pictures of the fun things we did this week- I'm looking forward to sharing the work side of life so stay tuned for stories of our CUREkids here in Honduras!

Friday, my first evening in Honduras- movie night in the apt with the girls and Sarah (a friend of the Bridgeman's who visited for a week)

Saturday we went to City Mall- one of the very big malls in SPS with a massive food court and every kind of shop you can think of!

(r-l: Pauline, me, Abigail, Sarah, Lilllian, Aracely, her three sons, and her husband Heraldo)

We (especially Abigail because she likes to take them food and is always concerned about their well-being, and me because I like to talk with them) like to spend some time in the evening chatting with the guards and eating exotic fruit with them.

(back row l-r: Jay, guards Jose and Bilhilio, [the night guards which two who I've gotten to know], me and Charlotte, Lillian and Sarah [with fruit!] and Abigail). Note Bilhilio holding the girls' Dr. Seuss Spanish/English dictionary that he and Jose like to read!

After church on Sunday, we went to drop Sarah off at the airport, and we happened to see Miss Honduras on her way to Miss Universe in Brazil! We were pretty excited about this random happening!

(l-r: Pauline, Lillian, Miss Honduras, Sarah, Abigail, Me, Charlotte)

We are always on the lookout for new fruits on the roadside fruit trucks- here we have lychees which is a Chinese fruit, but I originally had them for the first time in India. They are one of my favorites! Some people here call them "orangutans" because the Honduras lychees have "hairy" skin.

My very favorite new fruit is the mangosteen- everyone should get to try one of these! It has a thick skin and in the center there is a sweet juicy white fruit... it's like magical.

Summer 2011

As I get ready to fly out with my pup Ace in just a few hours to start a new adventure with CURE International in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, these are some memories from these past few months.... my summer of 2011.

It's waking up and running around Bear Creek Lake and down the railroad bed. It's eating PureFit bars and drinking Crystal Light Pure Fitness.

Twice a week it's taking a bunch of energetic kids in The Ark's summer swim program to the Valley Tennis and Swim Club, Frances Slocum State Park, or Hickory Run State Park for the afternoon. It's having jumping competitions off the diving board. It's playing football, baseball, basketball, frisbee, bocce ball, and other made-up games with them. It's catching minnows and little catfish. It's chatting with them and learning about their families, their schools, their friends. It's eating watermelon and ice pops and swinging on the swings. It's taking advantage of "teachable moments" and trying to instill good behavior and respect in them, trying to pass on things that I'm learning. It's talking about how forgiveness is better than revenge. It's learning to take care of the earth and not litter. It's learning to take charge and be firm. It's also learning to be understanding and encouraging.

Every morning it's going to the Learning Center and tutoring underprivileged kids who need to be kept off the streets during the summer. It's being extra sympathetic towards them, knowing they don't have it easy. It's also being extra firm with them, showing them the importance of obedience and respect. Sometimes it's hard to find that balance. It's trying to reverse the mindset that they tell me they grew up learning; that's a tough one to change. It's learning that being lazy won't bring fulfillment. It's practicing Spanish with the Hispanic children and teaching them English. I'm so thankful for Sister Miriam and all the people who are so devoted to teaching these precious kids who have never been taught the truth. It's thinking often of all of their beautiful faces and crying over the destruction caused by sin. It's praying for them. Over and over again, knowing that they were meant for so much more than this.

It's driving back up the mountain in the afternoon. It's taking the horses out for a long ride on the trail. It's getting all my focus on riding and off of everything else for a couple hours. It's running up to the lake with Ace. It's jumping in the lake and swimming. Swimming to cool off, swimming to chill out, swimming to practice proper strokes and build a faster pace. Swimming to spend time with and be coached by my sister Sarah. It's going to the island to pick jumbo blueberries and going to the dike on the edge of the lake to pick the overabundance of wild blueberries, because I don't want to miss out on one of summer's best gifts. It's playing with my nieces and nephs and younger siblings and watching them enjoy nature and being kids. It's playing ping pong and sitting around the camp fire. It's missing my sis Emily, but it's building better relationships with the rest of my family and realizing that this is the best for all of us. It's enjoying the company of our many family and friends who come to enjoy the lake with us, so grateful for this beautiful place for all of us to gather. It's really super duper appreciating facebook for allowing us all to share our pictures.

It's going the Spanish service at Pocono Community Church and being so blessed by Pastor Emilio and the whole Body there. It's reading stellar, thought-provoking books like Francine River's Mark of the Lion series, Donald Miller's A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, Josh Harris's Boy Meets Girl, John Piper's Life As A Vapor, Roy Hession's The Calvary Road, Fenelon's The Seeking Heart, Francis Chan's The Forgotten God, and realizing that I need to become a faster reader because my list of books to read by the authors listed here and many more only continues to grow.

It's remembering the importance of being kinder that necessary, because everyone around us is fighting some kind of battle. It's continuing to learn that as a child of Christ, I am called to continually step outside of myself and my self-consciousness and seek to serve others. My time is not my own. My money is not my own. My possessions are not my own. They are all a gift to me from God and His purpose for giving them to me is so that I can bring His kingdom to earth, to be a part of His redeeming plan.

It's realizing that there is opportunity to help and be helped is everywhere we turn. Wherever we are. Opportunity is everywhere.

It's coming to the realization that although some moments and hours seem to take eternity to pass by, the whole summer passes by in the blink of an eye. I don't get how that works, but in realizing how time passes so quickly, I find that as much as I'm looking forward to following the Lord into this next chapter of life, it's really, really hard to see this summer end. But hey, the best is yet to come.

epic fail, redeemed. and other happenings, like birthdays!

Last weekend I watched a video that a friend of mine sent me called "Depraved Indifference." It is very powerful on so many levels; for so many reasons it compelled me to take the next day to fast. The more I prayed and sought the Lord that day, the more things kept coming to my mind to lift up to Him. The verse in Matthew chapter 4 was playing through my mind the whole day: "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" The Lord is really doing great work in my life, and one of the things that I asked the Lord for was to give me difficult situations so that I could really learn patience and learn to trust, to fully trust in peace, because I know that is one of the areas in my life that I need to work on. Well, you know it's been said to be careful what you pray for.

The very next day started out not how I had planned at all- it was just a bad start and I didn't take it well. From there it only got worse because every chance I got to have patience, I blew it. It ended with my four younger siblings be out of control and driving me up a wall- just exactly when my parents went out to dinner with some friends and left me home with my four younger siblings (and my bro Jon who always tries to help, but in this case I wanted nothing). I was so frustrated and wanted to get out of the house, so I packed sandwiches and snacks for the kids and we went to the Bear Creek Lake for dinner. The evening started to take a turn for the better as the we ate and the kids climbed a big tree and swung on the swings. When I was reviewing my day and wondering why in the world I acted so badly and gave my younger siblings a bad example, God so clearly spoke to my heart "Isn't this what you asked for? Didn't you want this so you could rely on MY strength and have joy even in frustrating situations?" Oh. Right. How easily I forget! I became very thankful for this "bad" day because if God didn't give it to me, I would've failed to see how much I really need to have patience, that by my own strength I am capable of nothing fruitful.

Just as it was getting dark, I told Abby, Mariah, Katie, and Nathan that we should take Ace for a little walk before we go home. My intention was that this would be a time of confession to them and to share with them the lesson I learned that day. WELL, does God have a sense of humor or what- literally as soon as we started walking, we saw rain coming pouring down in the distance over the lake, slowing (so we thought) moving it's way towards us. It was an amazing view, and I thought that we were good to keep walking, thinking we'd only get sprinkled at the worst. Well, not thirty seconds later, the rain came pouring in buckets down over us, and during the 10 seconds it took us to run to the car, we were all thoroughly soaked and dripping. The little walk didn't turn out as planned, but it turned out even better because we were laughing so hard at this whole situation...

So after that, I had four (well five including Ace and six including myself) very wet but happy kids full of laughs.

After we got dry in our PJs we were able to sit in our warm family room and I had my confession time that was previously rained out. It ended so beautifully because I was able to encourage them to also have patience and seek what the Lord is desiring that we learn during "bad" days. One of my favorite little books that I have is about the power of love, and I ended reading to them the following quotes:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud.

-1 Corinthians 13:4 NCV

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

-John 13:35

"Love is not in getting, but in giving....

It is goodness and honor and peace and pure living. Yes, love is that and it is the best thing in the world and the thing that lives the longest."

-Henry Van Dyke

"Love isn't a pretty feeling that floats around the world. It's tough and practical and active. Love is washing the kitchen floor over and over and over. It's scrubbing the toilet and doing the laundry. Love is taking out the garbage and cleaning the refrigerator. It's smiling when you're tired and finding reasons to laugh even when you're angry. Love is taking the dirty job, lightening the other's load, lending a hand.

Love goes out of its way to be kind. Love takes a stand. Love works hard and makes the world a better place."

"Love... puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies.

-1 Corinthians 13:4, 7-8 MSG

Now, to make that a reality when the hard times hit! Remember they don't come for no reason or by accident; God has a purpose in them. Don't forget to look for that purpose.

____________________________________________

In other news, today was the last day of Swim Pals summer camp! We had a great day at Francis Slocum State Park, playing bocce ball, swimming, playing freeze tag, marco polo, shooting down the water slides, boating, eating hot dogs, watermelon, and freeze pops. It was a great way to end camp, I just can't believe how fast summer went by, and I can't believe that I won't be seeing these fun kids until next summer! :( I was so blessed to be a part of this program. Please continue to pray for these awesome kids, that they would see their potential, that they would choose to be good examples and to lead well, that they would see how great the love the Father has for them.

I came home from camp to join my sister Katie's 11th birthday celebration!

l-r: Tristan, Hallie, Cole, friend Erin, Maya, (behind her) Jess, friend Katie, (in front of her) birthday girl Katie, (behind her) Mariah, and Will

It was a great afternoon of fun at the lake celebrating our creative, sweet Katie whom God has so generously blessed us with!

Other summer birthdays include:

My nephew Will who turned 8 on July 5th! The firstborn of my nieces and nephews... what a blessing he's been from day one! I am so blessed by his sincere spirit and the friendship he has with his little "uncle" Nathan :)

On August 9th my brother Andrew turned twenty-...... seven! Wow, you can tell we're all getting older now that I'm having a harder time keeping track of everyone's ages! I'm so grateful to have Anj as my brother- what a godly example of a husband, dad, brother, and good friend to have in my life, who also happens to share my same taste in almost everything including clothes and music, so that's just a huge perk on top of it all!

I have so many oldies but goodies of me and Anj... love you bro, you're the best!

Support Our RUN!

Check out these two races that I am running this Saturday with some of my friends in support of His Resting Place, a pro-life maternity home!