Endings and New Adventures

Well, September is here. It is hard to believe that summer is officially over. With the end of summer came an end to another chapter in our life. Justine who has been living with us for over a year was placed back with her birth father. We have many special memories that we have shared together and she will always be in our hearts. We have watched Justine grow and flourish over her year with us and we trust that God will continue to protect her and draw her to Himself. As a mom, you always want to protect your kids and to be able to be there for them when they need you and when you can't your heart breaks. Although Justine was not officially our child, she was in my heart. No matter what, I feel blessed that the Lord gave her to us for the time that He did. Thank-you to all of our family and friends who loved her along with us. Please keep her in your prayers. It was tough for us all to say good bye when she left so we took some time this past week to get away to the McGibbon cottage.

What a week! It was beautiful and warm and we spent most of our time in our bathing suits on the beach. The kids had a great time. We started homeschooling all the kids this summer so they were excited to have the first official week of school off. Well almost off...Jason taught Daniel, Caroline and Liam each how to build a fire and gave them lessons in the canoe. Yes, another generation of pyromaniacs has been born. Apparently, this is a tradition from Jason's mom side of the family passed down from Great Uncle Joe to Uncle Brad to Jason and now to his children. Oh well, I will just focus on the fact that if they ever get lost in the bush they can keep themselves warm. Trinity enjoyed the canoeing lessons as she got to ride in the boat while they were practicing. I sat on the beach, laughed at the kids, cried a few times, prayed lots, watched beautiful sunrises and sunsets and started to think about the new adventures this fall will bring.

We are all excited about the adventure of home schooling. We got a great start this summer and we are looking forward to continuing this Monday. Even Trinity will be going to "mommy's school" as she calls it. Although I must admit she did ask if Caroline could be her teacher instead of me! I have been learning a lot especially about what my kids like to read (and not read) and some of their own perceived strengths and weaknesses. I love spending the time with them and even teaching math and french is not so bad! With Liam's appointments that are coming up and his surgery this will help us keep the family together during a time that has been stressful. So although we have had a rough time as of late we are looking forward to the future and the new adventures that are around the corner.

Our Pastor (Jim) delivered a message today which he entitled, "Joy in the Midst of Chaos". It was a great message that hit me right where I am. So as I look to the weeks ahead and the uncertainty that it brings I also look forward to discovering the joy that only Jesus can bring in circumstances like these.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down oat the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2