A glimpse of some of our summer ...

Life has just been busy.  I'm sure you can relate.  It seems to swirl around me so fast at times that I can hardly catch my breath.  Other times are slow and sweet.  I like those times best.  Relaxing.  Family and friends.  Laughter.  I'm trying to savor the moments.  Cast my fears and worries on the only One who can carry them.  It isn't always easy though.  Stress settles on me and I can feel it.  Its work to push it off.  (Maybe its because "I'm a girl" as my oldest reminds me.  LOL)

Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

So looking back a bit on our summer and then hopefully catching up.  It seems to be a theme with me though, doesn't it?  LOL

We ran and played and had fun with friends.

We celebrated graduations.  (Isn't this an adorable gift that Rebecca made for one of her friends?!)

We celebrated a birthday (more on thatHERE in his birthday post which I just wrote).  Happy Birthday my precious Daniel!!!

We worked and had fun at our church's Kids Week (VBS).  I worked with snacks with another sweet  Mom.  We made snacks for 500 that were gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free.  Wanted snacks not to be a stressor for the kids attending.

We said good-bye to someone very dear and precious to us.  Our beloved pediatrician, Dr. Lail.  We met her after Eliana was born and in the NICU at the hospital.  She did not know us but stepped in when we needed someone and started advocating for us.  She has been a God-send on so many occasions.  I know God blessed us with her and I am so very thankful to know her!  She is a truly amazing doctor and Cincinnati Children's is very lucky to be getting her!

We are going to miss you!!!  (Eliana took this picture of us.)

We had our shopping adventure at the consignment sale.  Here is Eliana modeling one of her new outfits.  Isn't she beautiful?  Sorry the pic is blurry.

Christopher came home.  So thankful to have him nearby again!

We went to visit my parents for a day.  Christopher had a tight schedule coming home from NJ and then starting back at State.  We took a day to go to Charlotte to visit.  They have faced a lot of challenges and health issues and its been a more than challenging summer for them.  We were thankful to have some time together even though it was much too short.

Hanging out with one of their cousins.

Not sure if Eliana didn't want her picture taken or if this was to block the sun.  Or maybe it was a premonition of things to come.  While we were there, her eyes started watering and nose running - like an allergic reaction to something.  Then she started crying.  She was inconsolable with things that will typically cheer and distract her.

The ride home was long.  Adding in standstill traffic and construction didn't help things at all.  Eliana cried and cried and then starting getting sick.  Very sick.  Can I just say that Rebecca was amazing during this ride!  After getting sick 5 times, she finally was able to go to sleep.  She continued to get sick at home and it was a long rough night.  She woke up at one point and wandered into the kitchen ... and then fell asleep again.  Isn't this pitiful?

After a rough few days, she began to mend.  We had one trip to the ER which confirmed some infections.  I think all of this stemmed from food poisoning.  We don't know for sure though.  Thankfully she is a tough little girl!

It was so nice to see her back to looking like this!

After our trip to the ER with Eliana, we were back again a few days later with Daniel.  He stepped on a toothpick which impaled his foot.  (No, we don't know how he did it either.)  We tried to pull it out and it wouldn't budge.  They tried in the ER and had the same results.  Brought in some surgeons to remove it.  There was a 1" piece stuck up into his foot!  Eek!  No wonder he screamed so!

Not many pics, but here you can see one after stitches.  (Yes, I know it needs to be cleaned.)

These last few incidents were all happening on the week we were going to start school.  Yeah, that didn't happen.  We are back in the swing of things though and I'll share more on that later.

Through it all, God is there.  The good and bad.  The happy and the frightening.  He is with me through it all and I need to keep my eyes on Him.  So much to learn - always.   Funny, one of my boys the other day told me that he "knew" the Bible.  So confident about how much he knew.  I chuckled.  I realize that the more that I learn about God and His word, the more that I have to learn.  There is so very much I have yet to learn.

This post feels long and rambling and disjointed, but there you have it.  It is kind of reflective of our summer.  Thank you to my family and friends who have been praying for us over the summer.  We appreciate your love and care so very much.  We are thankful and grateful for the many ways that God has blessed us.  Sometimes those blessings are disguised and hard to recognize and other times that are surprising in being more than we could have asked for!  Today was one of those days and we are grateful.

With love
Leslie