I know it's been a long time. Truth is, I'm so overwhelmed with photos and stories of the rest of our eventful summer, that I don't even want to begin catching up. Maybe I won't catch up. Honestly, I could count on one hand the amount of hours I have spent sitting in front of my computer in the last several months. Every day holds a new adventure and the sunshine has been a non-stop reminder of how sitting at my computer desk should be last on my to-do list. This has been the sunniest coastal summer I can remember. Growing up here made me appreciate sunny days...as we don't often get too many. I think it's rained twice since the 4th of July...unreal.
Anyway, besides all the fun I had with my family, my summer was filled with change, sorrow, excitement, calamity, pain, and work.
Change:
Well, to make a long story short, Adam was finally rewarded with a promotion of sorts. After 10 grueling months of double- and triple-duty, he was offered two different jobs within GP. After a lot of prayer and weighing the pros and cons, he decided on taking a job for the pulp and paper division (North American Consumer Products) of Georgia Pacific. He's now the leader of Chemical Process Safety for the division. Yeah, he's kind of a big deal. I'm super proud of him and glad to see that his under-appreciated hard work and success is being recognized and rewarded.
Since beginning his transition in July, he's been traveling a lot. This will be a new "normal" for us as his new job requires 40-50% travel. However, when he's not traveling, he gets to work from home! That's right folks, he no longer works at Wauna Mill! As much as he will miss many of the people he worked with there, he's excited to be in a much more low-stress environment For now...and maybe even permanently...he has made himself an office down in his shop. So far it's working out nicely.
Sorrow:
I've been on a mini roller coaster of heartache and hope with a dear relative of mine. He's drug-addicted and beat down. Satan has gripped his soul and my heart breaks for him. By a series of God-ordained "coincidences" I was able to spend several moments with him on a handful of occasions...loving him and encouraging him the best way I know how. Currently, he's in jail...and sadly, I feel relieved. I continue to have hope and pray God's blessing over him.
Excitement:
For over a year I've been praying for a pastor to come to our area...someone to help us (me with other folks in the community) start a church. And through a long and detailed and amazing series of events, God has answered my prayer. Oh my goodness gracious...God has answered my prayer!
Calamity:
My dad had a big health scare! It's a long story that many already know. To sum it up, he grew a huge lump on his neck over the course of a few days and had an extreme headache. Our local hospital didn't know what it was so they sent him in an ambulance to OHSU. After some tests and a lot of waiting they thought he might even have cancer! In the end, doctors removed a very large thyroid cyst and half of his thyroid with it. It took a bit to recover and he's still plugging away. We are so thankful that God has restored him and his health!
Pain:
I hurt my foot!! About a week before Labor Day my dog barreled into me and my poor foot got the brunt of it. Basically, I lost a big chunk of skin and the rehab has been ridiculous! Initially, I let it scab over and hobbled around for a good week wearing one shoe. The bruising along with the road rash was painful. Anyway, when I got home from our Labor Day camp trip, the pain seemed to get worse daily. Every step I took made the scab pull away from my healthy skin and I could hardly walk. I tried passing the time by enjoying the sun, but the sun made it hurt sooo bad...even covered and wet! Long story short, I've had to keep the scab wet and the healing has been long. I can only wear special sandals...even flip-flops are painful. It's been nearly 4 weeks. It's looking WAY better...but I still have a bit before I can wear real shoes.
Other than that, Synnove badly bruised her tail bone when she fell out of a tree. And Soren was bit in the face by a dog (in the dog's defense...she was provoked...but still unfortunate). I'm glad we made it through another summer with no broken bones or hospital visits!
Work:
Andrea and I worked through the summer cleaning houses. We took a few weeks off in August, but I managed to find other things to occupy my days. Unfortunately, I didn't do one ounce of painting on our house (my intent)...but I did help a friend paint hers. Adam has been working during his "free" time on the fence for our field. He's also been tinkering around with his "new" car (ugh!).
