Review of 2011: May - July

***For the last 3 days of 2011 I want to recap our year...

Here is #2: May - July...

A couple days ago I was going through my pictures... deleting and sorting and I realized that I took over 7,000 pictures in 2011.  I had this wonderful idea to recap our year in picture collage form, but what I didn't even think about is the journey I would take to remember back through the year.  Yesterday was a "kick in the stomach" so to speak.  I cried a bit, felt sick all over, and could barely sleep last night.  Around 2 in the morning all I wanted to do was FORGET about 2011, but it is now part of our history... and God is still making good of the ruins.  Praise Him for that!  

On May 1st I loaded the kids into the Suburban and drove out of the canyon I had called home for the past 7 years.  I remember this moment like it was yesterday.  I was numb.  The Suburban was on auto pilot.  I didn't cry and I didn't look in the rearview mirror... once.  The kids were abnormally calm and quiet... Ethan had a temperature of 105 and Eden's was 104.  A day before I had listened to President Obama talk to the survivors of the tornados that had twisted through the country.  He promised that the nation would stand beside these people and do whatever it took to help them through this devastation.  Those words echoed in my mind... did anyone realize a tornado had torn through my heart, mind and soul?  There was nothing left standing... I was numb.

We moved into the MBC Dorms... we unpacked and made a new home.

I was numb for the next couple weeks. But the kids were reeling from the move and sorting through their feelings in the only way kids know how to communicate -- acting out.  Eden cried/screamed A LOT! Ethan just wanted to move back to his old house.

 Again, I coped by filling our days with crafts and outdoors adventures... We explored our new town finding the library and taking note of their story times; we found parks and played at different ones each warm day we had; and we baked A LOT!  Our favorite place was a little river a ways behind the dorm.... we played there almost every single day.

We went on hundreds of picnics and got dirty... EVERY SINGLE DAY! Some days we even had to take two baths!!!

Nana Rose came for a visit... and it was perfect timing! She brought out a playful side of Ethan that I had never seen before.  He loved his time with her (Eden did too, of course, but I think this trip was HUGE for Ethan)!  We kept busy while she was visiting... 

Another vivid memory I had during this time is the number of rainbows I saw!  It felt like every single day there was a beautiful bow stretching from horizon to horizon... whispering hope... reminding me of God's promises ... We splashed in a lot of puddles... 

We found Bozeman beach.... and a water park in Belgrade!  Whenever it was even a tiny bit warm... we found water... we splashed, squished, and everything in between.  Each and every single day was a reminder to breath in and breath out!

Bozeman is one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived!  Everywhere I looked I saw beauty!  The clouds were different every single day... the flowers were bright and PLENTIFUL! There were  many evening that Micah and I looked at each other during a walk, breathed in deeply, and exclaimed how thankful we were for this new season of life!  As the land burst forth with the spring beauty we felt our hearts were awakening from a long, cold winter... everything was becoming new and beautiful!

Eden celebrated her 2nd birthday... life was beginning to settle down and 

life was beginning to be "normal"...

  The 4th of July was a highlight in our summer... it was an incredibly fun-filled day!  We went hiking, had a picnic at the lake and stayed up super late to light sparklers and to see the big fireworks!

Even though life was happening, I felt like my heart was in a coma... Often I found my eyes watching the kiddos play in the dirt, while my mind was miles away.  I felt like I was a ZERO... I had just received a F for ministry... I mean how do you fail in "ministry"???... and yet here I was... wrecked. About this time I got a call from my Mother in Love... Her friend, John was going on a mission trip to Moldova.  At that time there were no other females on the team and he felt strongly that the team needed a female. He thought of me.  When Rose told me this... I laughed!  Like Sarah (in the Old Testament), when she was told that her barren body would bare a son... She laughed... it was impossible.  That is how I felt.  I was washed up... and yet this call felt like I was on the beach with Jesus and He was restoring me.  He chose ME... He wanted me to go on a mission trip. I did go and while I was there I laughed, I cried, I laughed, I cried... and cried. It was an adventure... a tangible taste of GRACE!

Some more food for thought... I forgot about our Fajita pizza!!!  Yum...