A Wonderful Gift

What a summer we had, and not one that I would wish on anybody. On July 5th my Dad was in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't wearing a helmet which resulted in serious head trama and a LifeFlight ride to the hospital. Dad spent a week in the ICU in a coma and was unresponsive after the first day. He passed away on July 13th. We were blessed that we had a week to say good-bye and to tell him we loved him; not everybody has that gift. During the following weeks, we had the funeral to plan (which was on August 17th), a benefit dinner to help with medical expenses, the bike had to be taken to the repair shop to get to get an estimate of repairs-which also resulted in the side of our car being dented up, an obituary to write, a slide show for the funeral to prepare, and so many other things that just kept building up. In addition to all of this, my Grandfather had a hip replacement, my Step-Mom got an infection in her leg, Elli had to have a minor surgery done on the inside of her lip, and it just get going and I was beginning to think it was never going to stop.

Thankfully, I have some pretty amazing friends both through work and outside of work and I know that without them, their prayers, and their support, I would have been in much worse shape than I was. I have always believed in the power of prayer and have always known that God listens and is their when you  need him....this summer I truly felt the power of prayer and the strength and comfort that came from all of the prayers. The gift of prayer and support from these truly amazing friends was above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined and yet, they still continued to give. They pooled together and gave Ray, me, and the kids, a wonderful (& very much needed) day at Silverwood. It was definately a tear-jerker moment when the kids came running up to me with this beautiful gift box and a card and many "Mom, what is it!" "Mom, open it!" While reading this beautiful card and after opening the gift box, the tears started falling and just wouldn't stop. We enjoyed this wonderful, and very generous gift, over Labor Day weekend.

We started Sunday morning off by getting the kids up and going...planning outfits with shorts that would dry quickly and comfortable sandals (at least for the kids & I, Ray opted for jeans and tennis shoes). The bag of swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen was packed just in case we decided to hit the water park. The jackets were thrown in along with the camera. And the whole time the kids were trying to guess where we were going. The whole way there it was a constant chatter of them trying to guess where we were going with a lot of "I think we're going to Catalog!" (From an Elizabeth who was trying to say Kellogg) and a Nicholas with a lot of "Oh yeah, I know this road, I think we're going to Kellogg." And finally the "If one more kid asks where are we going, they aren't going!" (That would be from the Daddy). The best was when we came upon Silverwood and the boys started getting all excited, "Yeah! Silverwood!" and then the Mom with the "Wouldn't it be so cool if we were going there?" and the look in their eye as they pondered whether Mom was teasing or being for real. The cheers from the backseat as we took the exit and pulled into the parking lot were priceless. So, here are a few pictures of the wonderful gift that we recived from many special people.