Summer has sped away and autumn is upon us. I wrote at the beginning of July that this summer has not been quite what we expected. This is all the more true now. Toward the end of July, my grandparents were involved in a car accident which, for my grandfather, necessitated a rather lengthy recovery period away from home. My grandmother moved down from Montreal to stay with us during the month it took my grandfather to recover in the Sherbrooke hospital and rehabilitation centre. Though this car accident was far from a desirable situation, it did allow my grandparents to meet their newest great-grandchildren and we all enjoyed the opportunity to interact with our grandparents more and to learn some shorthand from Grandma.

Though not fully recovered yet, Grandpa is doing much better and he and Grandma were able to return home at the beginning of September. Amy also, is doing much better. The doctors’ best guess at what was going on with her was that she had an ulcer which, left scar tissue blocking her intestine. A series of “ballooning” the scarred over section has widened the intestine such that she can now handle finely chopped solid food – much to the delight of a very-tired-of-a-liquid-diet Amy! And she is finally putting on weight and acting herself again. Praise the Lord!  It will probably take a few more “balloonings” before she’ll be really back to normal, but is a great relief to all that Amy is no longer going downhill.

Despite all the unexpected happenings this summer, we still had opportunity to take a few family outings. Given how far behind I am in updating, I’ll just blitz through the events…

July found most of us taking a Saturday hike up Mt. Ham. It was a pleasant walk and though the view from the top was dimmed by haze, it was very beautiful.

The following day, my family went down to a picnic and an afternoon of fun activities in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, I, who stayed behind to milk the cow, joined Nathanael and Samantha for an afternoon in Orford Park. enjoying and photographing the beautiful scenery… and wildlife! Though frogs are not my prefered photo subject, it was interesting to catch the reflection of the lake in its eye.

The end of the same month took most of my family on yet another hike – this time Mt. Moosilauke in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Sunday fellowship times are such a joy as we get to know each other better, encourage one another in the Lord and witness spiritual growth. Recently we had the wonderful opportunity to join together as a brother took a public stand for the Lord through the waters of baptism. It was certainly a unique baptism – the water being a stream the family had dammed up to created a pool. The cold muddy water didn’t shake J’s determination to be baptised! How beautiful to see a young man publicly committing to the Lord.

And finally, a few random photos of other events and activities…

Well, that about covers our summer… Or does it? What about all the little ones whose presence we are so enjoying? But I think they deserve a separate post…