Thanks for watching over my little girl

There are moments when we are offered the chance to grow, to learn.  I admit, I don't often react well to those situations.  Iron sharpens iron, and I am definitely iron.  I need hard situations to teach me.  I am not a naturally flexible person.  I struggle to learn how to "go with the flow."  This summer's family reunion vacation offered the opportunity to learn to let go and leave it all in God's hands.  And it also provided many moments for thanksgiving.

273. Four generations of family gathering to give thanks for 2 parents, their 13 children, 35 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren

274. my children getting the chance to get to know not just their grandparents, but to have a relationship with 3 great-grandparents

275. four excited children racing bikes through a state park

276. bike helmets - though perhaps we should move to hockey masks in the future!

277. late dinner of pizza in the ER in a strange town a days drive from home

278. my strong little girl, so brave for hours in the ER with cuts, bruises, a split chin and (as we learned the next day) a broken jaw

279. vacation plans that go with the flow

280. the persistence of my husband, unwilling to accept anything less than the right care for his little girl

281.  the loving concern of a godfather, surgeon himself but too far away to be of help, calling constantly to keep up with his little "queen"

282. the kindness of strangers

283. steady hands of a surgeon guided by God, who carefully closed up a cut so deep that 23 stitches going three layers deep were required

284.  a surgeon's wife who held my little girls hand through it all

285. the prayers of so many family members

286. above all, I say thank you to the Lord.  For helping us find a man in a strange city who opened up his home at 10:30 at night to sew up my baby when no one else was ready to help.