this is Sheila's mom. I wanted to let you all know of recent events in sheila's life! July 24 she went into the hospital with pain in her left side and contractions. The short version is she had surgery to remove an ovary! She is home on bedrest now ,recovering from the surgery and trying to avoid premature labor. She would appreciate your prayers and I'll try to keep you updated.

Leaving home, Going home

So excited to see my husband (70 hours and counting) :)

So hard to say good-bye to my out of town siblings and their families last night :(

Looking forward to reuniting my daughter with her daddy and some of her favorite family members :)

Dreading the last good-byes to the rest of my family, especially knowing that Katya won't understand the permanency of these good-byes :(

There have been so many, what shall I call them?, mental conflicts?
Watching one of those remodeling shows and realizing that the amount of money they spent on the dining room would be enough for us to live on for almost 3 years.
Watching the way some people here use water (turning on the water before even putting the toothpaste on the brush...), knowing my husband barely had enough water to bathe, do laundry, etc.
Watching what people here consider to be 'in need' or on a tight budget, knowing the abundance they actually have in comparison with my situation or that of many I know.
Watching what some girls are comfortable wearing here these days, even to church, coming from a culture of knee length or longer.
Enjoying the comforts and comfort foods of home, yet simultaneously feeling a little out of place and looking forward to the simplicity and honestly healthier lifestyle of home.
Struggling with faith, knowing that it "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", and seeing the needs and unknowns of our life. (For example, we've been gifted with more than half of what we need for the birth in a private hospital - hooray! But of course, that means that a little less than half is still needed....My husband has a job, but 100% commissions do not add up to what we need, and no other job has opened up...)

Sorry to say that I am too tired to come up with a good ending to this, but at least I managed to get one more post in before I go, and included at least most of what has been rattling around in my brain of late...

Feeling much better

First off, I feel like I should clarify a little: when I said that my neighborhood was one of the worst hit, I meant in our city, not anywhere. But I was tired and worried when I wrote that post, so sorry if it sounded worse than it was.

Anyways, I am happy to say that this morning I received a text from Herme saying that everyone was fine, there were just a lot of problems with phone and internet service, and that we would try to connect in the afternoon, which we did! :) The fact that we had planned to not talk for a couple of days due to busy schedules, and then couldn't talk due to the hurricane issues, I was really happy just to hear his voice, without considering my worries and whatnot.

But, apparently, both he and his family, as well as our houses, are all fine despite some serious flooding all around them. Interesting, since our house has a tendency to flood a little bit in just a regular rain storm. As Herme said, God had His hand on the family.

So, feeling much better today. So good to talk to my husband for a bit. So nice to know that there was no damage to our stuff. So good to talk to my husband for a bit :) (I know, I said that 2x, but it was really good)

Thanks for praying.

Hurricane Alex

I'll update when I know more, but I haven't been able to get a hold of my husband, and from what I can find online, our neighborhood was one of the worst hit by hurricane Alex, one of 6 receiving government assistance for flooding...

Appreciate your prayers...