Left to Tell

I was talking to my friend Cathy a few weeks ago, and the topic turned to prayer.  She told me about this book she had just read, called "Left To Tell".

It is the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwandan Holocaust in the early nineties.  She spent three months hiding in a 3'x4' bathroom with SEVEN other women.  They literally had to sit on top of each other, and barely spoke a word for fear of being discovered. When she began hiding, she weighed 115 lbs, and when she got out, she weighed 65 lbs.  The thing that got her through this ordeal was the relationship she developed with God.  She prayed for nearly 20 hours a day, and through her experience, she learned how to communicate with Him, seek for His will, and forgive the evil men who killed a million of her people, including her family.

This is the first paragraph of the forward in the book:

"I've read thousands of books over the past 50 or so years.  The book you hold in your hands is by far the most moving and poignantly significant of the vast library that comprises my lifetime of personal reading.
You're about to embark on a journey that will undoubtedly change the way you view the power of faith--forever."

It is not an easy book to read, because of the horrific things she describes, but I am so glad I read it.  She believes that the reason she survived this ordeal, is so that she could share her story and help others to heal through His love.

It made me think twice about my own problems, and how insignificant they are.  Todd took the book tonight so he could return it to the library on his way to work tomorrow, and already I wish I had it back to re-read.

I hope that I can apply some of the things she learned to improve my own faith and prayers.

Curious

Be sure to notice the background!

My kind of quilt shop

This is the sign in front of the quilt shop in our new town  (well, hopefully it will be our new town whenever we sell our house)



Fabric emergencies?

I think I'll get along with these ladies well :o)

Summer at the pool

Our kids only went swimming one time last summer.

Yeah, we're losers like that.  I blame it on the fact that I didn't have a maternity suit.

We're making up for it this year, though.  We swim nearly every day when we're at the RV resort, and I've actually learned to kind of like it :o).  Most days we have the pool to ourselves, which is especially nice.

 dun-nuh....dun-nuh...dun-nuh, dun-nuh, dun-nuh...

 My assigned jobs are to apply the sunscreen, blow up the floaties...

 ...and carry them to and from the pool.

(only one mother was harmed in blowing up the floaties)

The return of the tooth fairy

Dillon lost his first tooth this week!

 I was tempted to tell him the truth about the tooth fairy until we found this note on his bed:

It's been so much easier since we told Brayden and Caleb...

They just send us a bill at the end of the month.

Three drowned rats

Even though it rained almost the entire day, I took the kids to the new splash pad at the park while visiting Todd this week.  To say they absolutely loved it would be an understatement.
We will definitely do this again (preferably on a sunny day, with swim trunks)!

I don't think Caleb's shoes have dried out yet.

 Boys will be boys...

Thou art not yet as Job...

I'm chuckling to myself right now as I think back on this crazy summer, and marvel at the blessings we've received. 

I wrote here about our trailer nearly blowing over in the wind a few weeks ago.   What I didn't mention is that the next week the same thing happened again!  This time, Todd moved our trailer to a new spot.  Dillon never says a prayer now, without praying for our trailer while we're away.

In addition to the wind, we've also faced floods, fire, insects, cankers, and let us not forget the 100+ degree temperatures, and the swoobs* that go with it.

Before the kids and I left for our recent trip to the trailer, we had a major downpour, and water started leaking from the ceiling vent in the bathroom.  Here's Justin playing in it:

I took this picture of our backyard so Todd could see what it looked like as we left:

 We had a river in our driveway

 And when we got to the RV resort, we discovered there had been a fire on the mountain (1/2 block away).  It's hard to tell in the picture, but everything in the background was burned.

 Here's a better picture that I took a little ways down the road. I'm not sure if the park was evacuated.  If it was, we weren't here to move our trailer anyway.

While Todd was driving down last time, he ran into a mob of mormon crickets, and at night there are cockroaches everywhere (so far only outside of the trailer).

I think the stress of our situation has caused me to clench my teeth at night...with my tongue in between, so I have cankers all along both sides of my tongue.

The funny thing is, that even with all the craziness, I feel more relaxed and have spent more time with my kids than the past two summers combined. 

The days when we are home are a little hairy.  With Todd away I'm a single parent, while trying to keep the house "show ready" and finish the quilts I've had for way too long.  

The days when we visit Todd at the trailer have been really good for us.  The kids have been forced to be more creative in making their own fun. This morning I found them outside playing charades :o)  Cleaning the trailer takes about 30 minutes (with dishes and floor mopping) and then we're free to go to the pool, or the library, or do laundry at the clubhouse (I love doing 3 loads at once!).  I've enjoyed spending time with my kids without the stress of quilting, or yardwork, or the constant "Is it 3:00 yet? Can we play wii?".  The boys love to walk down to the garbage/recycling center at dusk to watch the bats flying in the air, and I love living close to a craft store :o).

All in all, it's been a good summer.  Not at all like I expected or planned, but good.  Honestly, if I had to choose it again, I would.  There are parts of it that really stink, but as always the blessings have outweighed the trial.  We have been stretched, molded, and pulled out of our comfort zone. We've been forced to rely on the Lord more, and focus on the things that are most important, and I believe we are better for it.

*sweaty + boobs = swoobs