Happy September!

Yes, it's been the whole summer since I last posted.  Oh my!!  So much happened this summer with church activities, the death of dear ones, vacation, etc.   I started out the summer going to Camp Cedarbrook in the Adirondacks to help work with their horses and had a fantastic time there.  It's so beautiful there and the horses were wonderful - plus it's fun just being "Ann" for a while.  After the week I was there, we flowed right into the Mother/Daughter weekend with Nicole (19) and Joanna (8) coming up and my friend Lisa and her daughter spoke.  It was a wonderful weekend.

Joanna at archery

After camp, we got home on Sunday and went away overnight on the boat Monday, July 4th.  We saw some great fireworks and had a wonderful time but came home to the terrible news that our friend's son fell while skateboarding and had a critical head injury.  The next week found us doing a lot of hospital time, encouraging, praying, crying and working with our dear friends as they decided to let their handsome 19 year old son go home to be with the Lord.  It breaks my heart and I have kept them in my prayers constantly.  Even yesterday, I went to Pep Boys for a new battery for my van and I prayed for Nelson and Charlotte because that's where Vince worked.  :(  Please keep them in prayer as they adjust to having lost their only child.  They are strong in the Lord which helps but it's still devastating to lose your baby boy!

This pic is my daughter's friend Juliana on the left, Vince in the center and my daughter Nicole on the right

Right after Vince passed away, we had our basketball camp and dance camp at church.  That kept us hopping each evening but thank heavens my daughters could drive and all of the kids were involved so it kept hubby and I from having to run all over the place.  We had a number of nice date nights that week!

Nicole leading the girls in the tambourine worship

After camps, we had a week off to "rest" and get ready for the next event at church which was our biggest thing we do - VBS!!  It was a great week with 500 kids registered, 200+ workers and a ton of parents all being fed by me!  It was so much fun and we really made an impact with these kids.  Many heard about Jesus for the first time and there were many who were saved that week.  Praise God - He is so good!!

Ooops!  No pics of VBS!!  Sorry!

So after VBS, we had one week to get ready for our vacation - and clean up from VBS.  We had a wonderful vacation of almost three weeks on our sailboat where we went to Newport, RI, Block Island, RI, Martha's Vineyard and places in between.  We had a bit of a time getting home because of some bad weather and we HAD to be home because Hurricane Irene was coming!  But we did it, got home, got ready for the storm and weathered it well.  :)

Sunset in Cuttyhunk, MA

Now we are home, it's the other side of the hurricane/tropical storm and we are doing great.  School started for Lauren (21) and the rest will go back next Wednesday (the 7th).  I'm trying to get my life organized and catch up on things that have been put by the wayside.   Life is always running and sometimes I need to stop and get things cleaned up before the next thing comes!

So that's us in a nutshell this summer.  :)