It's been awhile. . .

Wow! It's been FOREVER since I posted on here. I hope somebody still checks from time to time. :o) July was an absolute blur. 4 children went to camp this summer, of course each a different week. Three of them had a wonderful time, and Ericka, well. . . she learned alot. She had a couple older girls in her cabin who were pretty hard on her, giving her a bad time about being a farm girl, shopping at thrift stores, etc. She really wanted to come home Wednesday night (2 of her friends DID go home Wed night, for the same reason) but stuck it out the rest of the week. This is the kid who would live at camp if she were given the chance, so I knew something big was up. Thankfully, the director handled things well and the week finished out much better than it had begun. She came home feeling that God had taught her alot of things about being on the mission field, and though she's as convinced as ever that she will be a lifelong missionary, she also realizes that she has alot more to learn before she goes. I am so proud of her maturity and the way she handled the whole thing.

We also had our VBS for church in July, and to top it all off, my parents' 40th wedding anniversary party. It was a wonderful party. I am so honored to have Godly parents who have taught me so much throughout my life. I pray that the Lord blesses them with many more years together.

August has been busy, but manageable. I'll be running our HOPE (Helping Other Parents Educate) group again, and this year we are doing a great study on the History of Minnesota, from a Christian Perspective. If you'd like more on that, it's www.statehistory.net . It will be a fun year, I think, and with only one meeting per month, it won't be overwhelming.

We are getting "practiced up" for school, with the children schooling a couple days a week. We'll have another "easy" week, then start full bore into the school year. It's been a good summer, but the children are ready to study, and ready for more structured days than we've had lately. Now if I could just squeeze 5 minutes in with my husband. . .

Speaking of my dear Knight-in-Shining-Armor, the crops look really good for the first time in several years. It's nice to see his hard work paying off. As for the foam business, that was SLOW until July, then all of a sudden we have TONS of work. Thank the Lord for that!! Add those businesses together, and there isn't much family time, but we do what we can.

So, there it is in a nutshell. Hope everyone out there is blessed and filled with the joy of the Lord.