…and we also have another settlement date!! And I’m pretty sure it will happen this time  because I received a call the other day saying, “The loan has been approved. We just need some updated bank statements.” Which I of course sent their way and now we wait till settlement day. I think we’re adjusting well to living in the city, although it is hard to remember where I put stuff and I open 2 or 3 cupboard doors to find what I need. We’ve enjoyed several walks around the city. I found the library and have decided it’s easier to walk than to try to figure out where to park our van. It’s only a 20 minute walk. Also with JoAnn working again and a new house, I need to come up with a new routine to get the chores done. It’s been a bit challenging; I didn’t know how much I depended on JoAnn to keep everything together for me. I’m beginning to depend an awful lot on my phone and its alerts to me. Living with an invisible brain injury is very frustrating some times.

Here’s the front of our house. We have big plans for the front porch: flower pots, lights, wicker furniture and I’m toying with the idea of a painted porch rug.

Here’s our front window with our elegant “recliner chairs”. Our recliner chair was falling apart so we plan to get lovely matching ones but it’s not a very high priority yet.

Here’s the living room, we do have some comfortable seats.

One wall in the dining room

A friend spent most of a day and helped move Jennie’s memorial garden. We transplanted the bulbs and set it up. Now we want to plant annuals for the summer and add a few more pretties: solar lights, flower pots, a flag and maybe a hummingbird feeder.

The rest of our backyard, it only takes ten minutes to mow with the reel mower. We’ve planted some carrots, radishes, lettuce and tomatoes. And we also have dreams and plans for this little spot as well. Yes, we have a lot less space than we used to but it feels so much more manageable for me and a lot less stressful, too. We’re learning  how to work with and accept my brain injury and the limitations it has put on me.

We were given this yummy fruit pizza by one of our new neighbors and another neighbor gave us a bleeding-heart plant. And we’ve been told quite often this is the best part of the city. We do like the park across the street as well as the close by coffee shops. So if you think about say a prayer for us as we adjust to city life and continue healing emotionally as well as physically. God has done some amazing things for us in this journey and even in the hard, painful pieces He is still God and He is GOOD.

This summer we didn’t have near as many appointments as the last two summers so I decided it’s the year to do a few fun things. The girls made ice cream one warm day.

It tasted quite yummy and they didn’t get any salt in the ice cream.

  Jodi baked a lots of goodies for us and we made “mud and worms pudding”, too. 🙂

Our neighbors’ whole family went away for an evening and they invited us to use their pool. It felt so good to be in the cool water after a hot day and Janessa was so delighted to be able to go in the deep part and not drown.

We did one of our yearly traditions and found caterpillars to grow and hatch.

A friend brought us a picnic lunch and I made our picnic table summer festive. It was fun and the food tasted so good. I think eating outside makes anything taste better.

Joe took the girls for pony rides. They were quite delighted.

We did some crafts, colored pictures and read a lot of books. I’m almost embarrassed to admit we read one whole Boxcar Children book in one day, but when I remember all the missed reading times over the last two years; I have decided its perfectly okay to do that. We painted sun-catchers, sewed felt kittens and simply enjoyed a relaxing summer. Even so Jennie was never far from my mind and heart. I think (or at least hope) I’m learning how to live with pain intermingling in with everything I do, everywhere I go. Yes, there are times the pain is so overwhelming and it slips down my cheeks as tears, and its also quite a challenge to live well in the tension of feeling pain and joy simultaneously.

We enjoyed a wonderful family vacation. We rented a cabin for 10 days and didn’t do much but eat, sleep, play games and have fun. It was a very different schedule than the last two years have been. No Dr appointments, no therapy. Just relax and take it easy.

We enjoyed the hot tub.

We played games.

They went fishing.

I read quite a bit.

We had craft time.

We colored bow tie noodles with chalk paint and made butterflies and flowers out of them.

We enjoyed a camp fire and tried a new for us campfire food.

Ice cream cones stuffed with peanut butter, chocolate chips, nuts & marshmallows.

They were very yummy.

And through it all Jennie was never far from my mind. I know she would have loved it at the cabin as much as any of us, but she is enjoying heaven and I can’t help but think in some ways she was right there with us enjoying  it too. We just see though a glass darkly.

In one of the movies we watched, a lady who had just been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis said, “We never know what life may throw at us, but I’ll be okay because God is my catcher.” And I just loved that thought of God catching me and holding me. But do I allow Him to “catch me”, to hold me or do I think I need to be strong, to hold up on my own? Do I choose to trust in His goodness even though my situation looks anything but good? Am I willing to “Be still and know that I am God”? At times it is so hard to trust, to believe, to just be held, but the times I do that are some of the sweetest, most beautiful moments this side of heaven.