Misc summer pictures

Here are several pictures from our summer adventures. We had a great time with family and friends.

Karri, striking a pose prior to going and and watching fireworks on the 4th of July

Everyone has hamburger and fries on the 4th, but for dessert?

Brad playing in a 6v6 soccer tournament.
Fun with the Fisher family at mom and dad's house in Oklahoma.
The cousins!
Celebrating Dad's 60th birthday.
The kids at the Indiana State Fair in August.

God's paintbrush

My family knows how much I HATE storms. I despise the threat of storms, don't like the sound of storms, can't sleep during storms, etc. It all relates back to a very bad experience when I was little. But I have found the silver lining (or in this case the red lining) in storms. God's paintbrush. He can take a horrible storm and finish it off with a view like this. AMAZING! It really shows us how He is in control of all things, He makes all things beautiful and He is the master painter.

Back to school

The kids headed back to school on August 12th. It was hard to believe that I no longer have a child in elementary school. Garrett is in 5th grade this year so he is in intermediate school and Maryna is in 7th meaning Junior High - YIKES! It's sad when she is going into grades at school that I remember VIVIDLY! In fact, she is the age I was when we went back to Brazil. I don't know how my parents managed me during that time with such a huge change in location, environment, culture and the raging teenage hormones. They obviously deserve some type of reward.
Maryna will be turning 13 on September 25th....pray for me. I'm not sure I'm ready to be the mom of a teenager. They both are doing really well in school so far. Maryna has transitioned great into JH. Garrett, however, is my more reserved child. He's not a big fan of the unfamiliar and wasn't thrilled when his close friends weren't in class with him (some were even at a different school). In fact, he said the only exciting thing that happed on the first day of school was when he got to leave class to go to the bathroom. UGH! He seems to be doing better know, however, if you ask him if he likes school you'll get a very confident NO!
Soccer season officially kicks off this weekend so our craziness is about to begin once again. I'm sure there will be plenty of things to post as the season progresses.