the first of many to come?

Its begun. Henry chipped his tooth last night, and I can only imagine that this little "injury" is the first of many. We were thankful to get into a dentist this afternoon where we found out that the nerve was not damaged (whew). However, we are going to need to take him to a pediatric dentist to see if he can do anything about the sharp edges now on the tooth. Tonight Henry fell again and hurt his lip with that tooth (which is what we were afraid of happening), so we're thinking we need to go on and try to get it taken care of! So thankful that this isn't a big deal, but wondering how or if they can get him to sit still long enough to fix it:)

Stress reliever

Last weekend, some of the staff women went to a local shop and painted pottery. I had no idea how fun it was going to be and was surprised that it was actually really relaxing and easy! How awesome to just sit there (child free), paint, and talk to friends! Hmmm, need to do it more often. I decided to go with something simple for lack of creativity:)

touch a truck

On Sunday, a local museum had a fundraiser called "touch a truck!" It was a super clever idea and I'm thankful we were able to participate:)

glimpses of change/keeping it real

I thought that I would have blogged a lot more about our summer project. To be honest though, I've had a hard time wanting to put up a "cute" picture about what we are "up to" when there has been so much more to our summer. In a way, I would have felt like I wasn't being honest just highlighting us or the students behind a beautiful backdrop while I was sometimes struggling with being here.

With all of my heart, I believe that students lives have been truly changed since they have been out here. A student even came to know the Lord a few weeks ago! I've seen their eyes opened to truth and their hearts softened by God's grace. It has been a joy to be a small part of their growth, but personally, this summer has been kind of hard!

The summer project schedule has really brought out a lot of my sin and selfishness. The staff work six days a week and have been out of town way more than desired. It's not real life, but it has been long enough to resent the schedule and become tired of staying in our condo with Henry while the other staff are out with the students. My heart has become discontent and even asks the question of what is my purpose in all of this. It is a total blessing to be Henry's mother, so I long to be content with exactly where God has me. I know that a lot of people are reading (and blogging about) "One Thousand Gifts," so I started reading it and making my list in hopes of greater gratitude and embracing every day even if it seems like I lived it the day before. Ann V. says that gratefulness is a learned thing, and I feel like I am just at the beginning of my journey.

I have seen glimpses of change in my heart, and have experienced the blessing of being at home with Henry when Hank gets home from work. It has also been fun to co-lead a bible study to have more contact with students and to hear first hand what they are learning. We're thankful to be in such a beautiful place, for students willing to learn, and for our job with Campus Crusade! Thanks for letting me keeping it real:)

We're here for another 12 days and then off to Fort Collins, CO for our huge staff conference!