Life Goes On.....

I'm back, after a rather lengthy absence. And so much has happened during that time! Several weeks ago, a storm appeared out of nowhere. And it wasn't just your regular old storm. Think hurricane-force winds, white-out rain, me and the kids huddled in the basement, very eerie sounds coming from upstairs, and rain pouring in our patio doors and west-facing windows. The storm also blew away everything that was on our patio: picnic table, deck box, patio furniture, etc. It broke off our basketball pole and one of our trees, and pulled some shingles off the roof. Our patio furniture, though mangled beyond repair, and all of the cushions were found in a woods almost 1/4 mile away! We had very little damage compared with a lot of people in the county, though; there were downed power lines, trees, and buildings everywhere. We were without power for almost a week, and we just got internet back today (although it's still pretty sketchy). 

During the power outage, I was ashamed of how cranky I felt (and we even escaped by going on vacation for part of it!). And I realized how spoiled I really am. After all, lots of people in this world live like that every day.We had no air-conditioning, and the temperatures were in the 90's. We had no lights or water, and it sort of felt like we were in Ethiopia again: we had to brush our teeth with bottled water, use hand sanitizer to wash our hands, etc. I am thankful for the small generator that kept our freezer running!

Here are some other things that have been going on in our lives lately:

- We had a wonderful week of VBS. I taught one of the preschool classes, and we had a great time!

- Camps and lessons and appointments, oh my! With 6 kids in the house, it seems like we're constantly running here and there: to the doctor, to the dentist, to guitar lessons, to camps, etc. Shana has been a great help this summer, and babysits for some of the kids while I run others around. I don't know what I would do without her!

- Even though we got a little rain in the previously-mentioned storm, it has been extremely dry here for the past few months. The grass is brown and crunchy, the flowers are wilted, the shrubs are dying, we get excited every time we see a cloud in the sky, we pray for rain, the crops look horrible, and we have major cracks in our yard. I took a photo of one, and placed my shoe beside it to give an idea of just how wide it is:

- We went on vacation to a cottage on a lake in Michigan. We had a very relaxing time, and I even read a book for the first time since the twins came home from Ethiopia last fall! Usually I'm too busy, I guess. It was our first vacation as a family of 8, and the biggest difference was that I noticed myself constantly counting heads! I'll post photos of our trip another day.

- We got to meet the newest member of our family! My sister, Larisa, and her husband, David, recently arrived home from Ethiopia with little Sintayehu. They live across the state from us, so this past weekend we drove out to visit them. Sintay is adorable, and he did very well with all of us converging on him at once!

This was our attempt to get a photo of 8 kids together. Not the greatest picture, but cute nontheless!