AHHHHH!!! Deep breath...

 FALL FESTIVAL AT CHURCH

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind...

Honestly, I am kind of a homebody and that has not been the case lately at all.

One of my least favorite things is leaving the house in disarray, which has totally been the case lately...

Between our new home school coop this year, which I love, and the boys playing basketball for the first time we are out and about a whole lot more than normal. 

Yesterday I had my second lithotripsy done.  I feel so much better today than I did last time the day after... but man, was I nauseous yesterday all day... ugh!! 

I do not have a stent this time... praise God... that makes it a whole more comfortable also.  I did a metabolic workup last week, so hopefully we can find out why I am making the kidney stones and maybe we will be able to have it better controlled.  Glad these procedures are hopefully a thing of the past, at least for awhile.

We were blessed to get to go see Hope's birth mom today.  We haven't seen her in over a year.  It was a special visit.  She herself was adopted out of the foster care system at 17... Just having had orphan Sunday last weekend at church... fatherless children have been on the forefront of our minds lately.  Can you imagine not having parents; one of the most basic, most foundational things in our life and just not having it at all... for years upon years?  It is mind boggling to me... Makes my heart hurt for those kids...

We are so thankful that her foster family chose to adopt her as their daughter just months before she would have aged out of the foster care system... She is really sweet...  It is interesting now that Hope has more understanding.  I know she doesn't fully get it at all... but we are trying to plant seeds of how uniquely and specially God brought her to us... We are so thankful that her birth mom chose to give her life... and that we get to experience it with her:)

We will be heading to funeral of a fellow seminary students of Greg's in a couple of days... He was 41... please pray for Matt's wife Janet and their 2 young girls...  And it is this very thing that causes me to appreciate the little things about life... even though it has been so busy... we are living life, so thankful to have each other... so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness!