2009-Continued

July--The 4th of July was fun, but cold.


We enjoyed hot dogs and smores. The kids had fun target shooting. By 8:00, we had to pull out coats and sweatshirts. Burrrr!

My son also worked hard in July to do a bit of yard transformation for me (landscaping is not my strong suit, and that's putting it mildly!).
August--Started with the Nationwide race at the Iowa Speedway. Crazy!! The speedway had never hosted a race this big with this many attendees. It was an exhausting weekend, but so much fun! We were treated to one of the best races I've seen in years, good weather, and great people!

We went on vacation!! We spent a wonderful 9 days in Colorado with dear friends and visiting my dad and sister. The weather was gorgeous, the company, divine. I can't begin to express how that trip to the mountains spoke to me and challenged me. We were able to worship with believers we didn't know and yet, we knew them. What a blessing! September--was pretty quiet. I had a couple of more races to work. Other than that, things were lazy and hazy, the end of summer.

October--count down to S's arrival back home. The month turned off cold, rainy, and miserable. We had snow in the middle of the month. Harvest was way behind (to this day, there is still standing corn in some fields and we have many inches of snow!). S made it home safely, praise God! We had quite a contingent to greet her!



We were elated to have her home, thankful to God for keeping her safe and causing her to grow and mature. She really had to learn to rely on Him during her 6-month stay in Thailand. She saw miracles happen and she (and we) continue to pray for more to take place.

November--we spent much of November getting her settled back in and seeing people. My son moved into his own place the week after she got home, so she helped me to deal with that by repainting and making his room into my craft room (with his permission and blessing!).

December--A very long month. I've already detailed the sorrow from this month in the blog, so I won't say much more about that, other than I'm thankful that my dad is doing well and that I'm so thankful that my dear friends knew the Lord and we will all be reunited some day! As the year has closed out, I'm praying for 2 little babies with health issues and the mother of one of my best friends who just found how she has breast cancer.

I'm thankful to God that I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He has much to teach me in sorrow and in joy. I'm thankful that I have Him to rest in, that I can sit at His feet and learn, that He longs to comfort me and that He loves me. What more do I need? Not a thing.