Cyster?

We've seen it all in Idaho... now that we've been to the hospital with Gracie. Nearly a month ago we learned about an abnormal mass in Gracie's mouth from an x-ray at the dentist's office. The x-ray was so unusual it took three medical professionals to figure it out. Yesterday, we took Gracie to the hospital to remove what the experts were calling a cyst. After an hour in the waiting room, the doctor emerged from the O.R. with a perplexed look on her face. She said, "We didn't find a cyst, and we aren't sure what we found." Ugh! The doctors are looking at samples of the mass from Gracie's mouth to determine what "lies beneath" the surface. I don't have an ominous feeling about the results... yet... For now, Gracie is trying to recover, and we're trying to be patient with the medical professionals.

It's amazing to watch Gracie handle the whole situation with a smile and resilience... I admire her spirit and attitude. God is able to teach us amazing things through our kids. I praise God for her every day... what a blessing she is to me!

Resting from Rest!

We're home! However, it seems like everyone else is gone. We returned home on Friday night, and on Saturday were back to set-up at the school. It took longer than usual because everyone else is out on vacation this month. Thankfully, we get to leave the church equipment set up for five weeks during summer vacation.

We had a great time visiting friends and getting reacquainted with familiar places. My favorite spot to reconnect with was Winter Park. FIFTEEN years ago, Mary and I spent the first night of our honeymoon in Winter Park. The town has grown and changed... it was a great time to celebrate. Mary found the place we stayed in fifteen years ago (there's a funny story behind this, but you'll have to call or email to get the full version), but we stayed in a European bead and breakfast across the street.

Breakfast by the river in the morning was amazing!

That's enough nostalgia for one posting... the point is, I have a lifetime of wonderful memories... and most of them are not of places, but people. It's hard to be separated by such great distances from people we love... there will be a day when separation is a distant memory... until then, life and work go on.