It’s been awhile since either of us did anything here on the blog. We’ve had a busy spring/summer season. Let’s see…

– Josh finished grade one first grade with flying colors.  He had a good year at Our Savior’s Lutheran, and is continuing there for grade two second grade. (i’m told that only Canadians say things like grade one)  The small class size, committed teachers and amazing atmosphere at OSL contributed to a good experience for him.  I felt that he was in need of more of a challenge, and he is rising to it.

– We celebrated our 12th anniversary.  Not usually a “major” one to celebrate… but 12 years has FLOWN by, and I can’t believe we’re in our 13th year now!

– Brian and I crossed something off my bucket list.  Well, if I had a bucket list it would have been on there.  He (without me knowing) scored tickets for us to see U2’s show at the new Meadowlands Stadium in June.  We have a wonderful babysitter who was able to stay overnight with Josh, and off we drove down the Thruway.  It was the (musical) experience of a lifetime for me. Seriously.  The only thing that would be better than a U2 live show might be having Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. show up for dinner in your kitchen.

– We made it back to Canada for a week this summer.  It was good to hang out at the cottage and rest.  As usual there was nowhere near enough time to get in all the visits we should have had with various people. Josh enjoyed being with his cousins immensely!

– We are now nearing the end of the “in class” portion of Brian’s D.Min. studies.  He did his second residency at Talbot in June, while my parents came and stayed with us in Albany to help me out with Josh.  Brian’s passion for communicating God’s word is being honed even more, and it is so exciting for me as his wife to see the results of what he is learning.  I’m hoping that next June, Josh and I might be able to join Bri in Cali for a week or so, while he does his last set of classes. He’s nowhere near done yet though – lots of research and writing still to come.

– We experienced an earthquake, and then a hurricane.  Well, more of a tropical storm.  But Irene did her best to batter the Capital District, along with many other places.  For some reason, the pocket of Albany was spared greatly compared to other areas not even an hour away.  35 brave/crazy people showed up for worship at Pineview, and despite leaks everywhere we had a great morning together.  We have had less water in our basement at home during non-hurricane storms, oddly.  However, we were still taking turns manning the shop vac that Sunday!!

I think that about covers it all.  Inbetween those major things, there is church work/life, our super cool golden retriever Caramel, two crazy cats, friends, family, Starbucks, and just everything that goes along with daily life here in Albany.  I’m thankful to God for seeing our family through all the good and the bad.  I see His guidance and provision all around us. And I am looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us next!