I was mowing today on the rider, and holding Jenna on my lap for a few rounds. She was so delighted to be with me after watching from the stroller for so long. She'd throw her head back in the wind, and giggle. She gripped my arm tightly, and every now and then twisted her head up to see if I was there. Upon seeing me smile down at her, she would screech with delight, and kick and wiggle; so happy to be with me and very secure in her position above the roaring engine. She loved every minute of it, and would have stayed there for a long while. But I soon deposited her in the sandbox, her second love in life right now, and she was just as delighted to squish and nibble the sand while I finished.  

But I had to think to me and my Father. How I delight to be with him on this ride through life. Not observing his works from afar, or seeing someone else do them. But doing it with him. How I delight to be near him, to see his smile of love and approval and sheer joy at having me near. How I delight in my secure postion, though life may be a noisy, uneven ride. And it always brings a smile to my face when I ponder again, that my feelings for my precious little girl who absolutely adores her mommy, are very much how Father God feels about me. How he longs for me to pour out my adoration to him! I know I fail in that far too often.

I should get a real, long, newsy post in soon. I'll try. But for now, Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart!

  July in Iowa is usually sweltering temps, running the air continuously, hanging out at every pool or pond you can find, and dashing out to tend the garden in the early morning hours before the sweat blinds your eyes. Jason comes home from work around 2 pm because the shingles on the roofs are so soft that their feet tear holes in them when they walk on them.

  But not this summer. Today it is 62*, chilly and it feels good to have your jacket or sweatshirt on. My garden is as clean as it's ever been just because I can weed for an hour whenever I get a chance! The air conditioner has been on maybe one week so far. And tonight it's supposed to be down to 51*, which makes us start thinking about digging out the extra quilts and blankets!!  IN JULY!!! Yeah, don't even talk to me about global warming, my eye!

  Anyways, weather aside, we are enjoying our summer very much!! My brother Roland is home from Africa for a 6-week visit, and it is SOOO good to see him again. He is just soaking in family time!  That's what he misses most. For the 4th of July we all spent the weekend out at my moms camping. I took the kiddoes to the parade on Sat. morning, and we've been dealing with ice cream pails full of candy ever since!  We try to give a baggy full to every little person that comes over....lol. I am also busy with green beans right now. They are bearing nicely, and I get about 8-10 quarts every 3 days. The tomatoes are turning orange... I can scarcely wait to have them coming in so thick that I get to can them to keep up!!! That is.... if I can EVER keep my boys from harvesting them as they turn a pale shade of yellow. They are twice as excited for the first tomatoes as I am, lol.

We are gearing up for a weekend of meeting in about 4 weeks. My mom & dad and Jason & I decided to invite Pastor Michael Howard (Roland's Bible College teacher) to come speak in Kalona during his preaching tour here in the U.S. this summer. He agreed, and so we are eagerly anticipating what God will have for us through him. That will be the weekend of August 14 & 15 at IMS, so if any of you want to be stretched and challenged beyond compare, do come!!  

My babies are all doing great. Jenna got 2 teeth this month, and just this week is officially crawling. She is 8 months old, and weighs about 23 pounds!  She is such a chunk.... I think she inherited the Gehman thighs, lol!! She has just started feeding herself little chunks of food, and eating is one of her favorite things ever. Jenna is such a happy, smiley baby, and I am SOOO blessed with that!!   And the little foster Babykins is growing alot too!! When we brought him home 6 weeks ago he weighed around 7 pounds. This week he weighed 11lbs, 5 ounces! He is much calmer, and sleeps all night every night. I cannot wait until he's off of the oxygen so we can take him out and about easier. Dragging a tank along is such a pain! From what the docs say, he should be off soon. He is also scheduled for a cornea transplant in a few weeks, which I am excited about! It would be so awesome if he could see and bond alittle better!    Christi is growing up SOOO fast! She turned 3 in May. I was looking over pictures from when Jenna was newborn the other day, and I could hardly believe how much Christi has changed in the last months. She is so gorgeous, and I have been teaching her to say "Thank you! God made me like that!" when people tell her how pretty she is.  She hears it alot. Christi is learning the alphabet this summer, and loves doing puzzles and beads.   Jo & Micah are LOVING their summer break. It seems I hardly see them some days as they are either in the pool, building a new tree fort in the woods, or off to work with dad. But I am amazed too at how much they can help run the household! Snapping beans, watching babies while they nap, doing up dishes, etc. I started offering them each $1 per week if they can keep their own room spotless and clean. Every Thursday is check-in day. If I go and check it on Thursday and find that I need to clean it, I charge each of them a dollar and clean it well myself. They have only missed once!  My kiddoes are so much fun, and I really do enjoy being a mom. I was telling my mom today how motherhood is such a dying to self. It strips me of every bit of self and my own ambitions IF I submit to it.

 Speaking of motherhood, I am once again enjoying the little kicks of a tiny one growing inside of me!  Yes, it was a huge surprise, I had no idea I was pregnant until I started feeling those little kicks. I had often heard of other women who got quite far along before they knew they were pregnant, and thought how crazy! Did they not know their bodies any better than that??? lol! But Yep, it happened to me. I was not sick at ALL, didn't gain any weight, didn't expect any cycles because I was nursing Jenna, and never dreamed I was pregnant. When I found out, I was 17 weeks, and I was speechless. Shocked. Unbelieving. And I'll be honest and admit that it took me to a whole new level of trusting that God knows what He is asking of me, and being okay with whatever that may be. Of dying to myself, my reputation, and my own ideals and plans. My Father is so patient and so loving, and He has a most amazing plan. I am excited to meet this new little one, and I am sure God has quite a calling on his/her life already. Oh, yeah, I am due the 25th of November, about 5 days after my sister Rachel.  How unbelievable is that??

Wow. What an epistle already. I guess I should just post more often. Not that I have much time for that right now. But I hope ya'll don't mind wading through this whole book.  I haven't even mentioned my upcoming trip to the women's conference in Colorado the end of July, or how Jason is now into business for himself! But maybe another day...

Til next time, ~Lou