Fruits of the Summer

Dear Friends,

Summer has pretty much slipped past us here in Northern Maine by now. We are beginning to see yellow maple leaves, red fields of barley, the occasional frosted morning window and a crisper, cooler air is blowing. 

 Many beautiful and wonderful things have happened since Benjamin and I were married in June. We have been busy for many weeks now with school, work, house-work, church-life, attempted-ministry, and marital adjustment. Busy days can go by very quickly causing the weeks to march past you without having the time to always stop and appreciate what you are filling your days with. I want to pause, just before we jump into Fall, my favorite season, to remember some of the highlights of the summer.

First stop: WILMINGTON, NC

 This is where Benjamin and I honeymooned for 5 days. We wanted to head south before hunkering down for our first Maine winter together. Wilmington turned out to be a lovely beach town, with plenty to keep you busy, but not a lot of tourism. While here, Benjamin saw his first alligator and swam in the ocean for the first time. We also visited the Airlie Gardens; the battleship North Carolina, one of the largest battleships, commissioned in WW2; and a museum on the history of the Wilmington area, from its settlement to the present day.

CONTINUING HONEYMOON TRAVELS

We had two weeks after our honeymoon in Wilmington to travel back to Maine. On the way home, we stopped at the Shelburne Museum in VT as well as Kennebunkport, Maine and Fort Knox.  

GRADUATION!!!! 

In the middle of our honeymoon travels, we stopped in NY to be a part of my sister Shannon's high-school graduation. She was a beautiful graduate, receiving high grades and many college credits. She will be missed by Adirondack Christian School, of whose family she has become a cherished part over the years. 

Shannon's spent most of the summer writing and is planning to stay at home with Mom and Dad for another year, at least, and hopefully finish up her Associates of Arts. You can check out her blog here: writeon6240.wixsite.com. Shannon is very good at proof-reading; if anyone has a publication or webpage that she could help proof-read, she would be happy to hear from you. Please email her at: ilovegodandhorses11@gmail.com.

Proud Nephews and Nieces

Proud Graduating Professor

FAMILY TIME

During this stop in June, we also enjoyed a family camping trip led by the famous Adirondack Al', encompassing three generations. 

What's camping without good food?

Obviously the Legend's grandson. 

MAINE FAMILY

Our time in Maine has been blessed by the family and friends that we spend time with, including birthday celebrations and back-yard cookouts, a Massachusetts family gathering to celebrate Roy McEndarfer's "absence from the body to be present with the Lord," and babysitting our twin nieces. 

CAMP SHOSHANAH

We took one more trip to NY in August to see all our friends from Camp Shoshanah and announce the conception of our baby to them and our CBC church family in person. Again, we couldn't miss out on catching some sun and kayaking with the Aardsma family while there.

Having to now SHARE my bestie of how many years???

Camp is a place where friendships form warmly and quickly. 

Camp Founder and Head-Matchmaker,  Arnold Fruchtenbaum, invited us out for lunch at "Quiche and Crepes."

DAILY BLESSINGS

Benjamin and I have plenty of fun even during the "weekly grind" when we are not traveling. Maine is a beautiful place to hike and drive, and community events bring everyone together for socialization also, such as the county fair and balloon festival last month.

Fields upon fields of wild lupins grow in Maine. 

Spontaneous dinner on top of Haystack after work with the pizza delivery man.

My projects mainly consist of cooking. 

Benjamin's projects often consist of building something. 

The house we had hoped to buy. 

Maine Fair. We were on the Ferris Wheel when it broke!

These are the types of moments that we want to continually cherish. Now that summer is over, our goal is to embrace the season of life God has put us in, focusing on the goals of school and supporting a new family that He has given us, while continuing to grow in our relationships here. They are a great place for ministry as well as refreshment. 

We hope that your summer was filled with highlights also! One thing we keep learning is that life is not always "great," but when we encounter struggles and difficult seasons, that is opportunity to remember that our God is ALWAYS great.

Some new highlights for us are: 

1) Benjamin has opted to take fewer hours at work, giving us more opportunity to share life and grow stronger together. We decided, for now, not to take a ministry opportunity that was presented to us as a couple at church. We believe God is telling us that more needs to be done to "put our house in order" before we accept the responsibility of teaching others. Pray for us as we grow together.

2) Megan has been put in the childcare rotation at church. She is excited about getting to know more of the church's mothers through ministering to their children. Her pregnancy seems to be continuing very healthily also; we are already at 15 weeks! 

3) We experience the pain of our relatives sometimes; family hurts are felt very deeply. Pray for us that we will be the light God desires everywhere we go. 

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to seek the Lord as a family!