A Day at the Lake

Labor Day has come and gone but I never posted about it . . . so now I am. =)

 My family and another family that we know went up to Diamond Lake for the afternoon of September 2. The guys fished, the boys swam, the ladies enjoyed observing in the shade, the girls walked. I took LOTS pictures (200 and something I think), but I'm only going to share a few on this blog and a few on my photography blog. I don't know when I'll get the other photos up on my other blog but hopefully sometime soon. In the meanwhile, here are the ones I'm sharing with you now . . .

This is Mary-Hannah M. and my sister KayleeBeth heading to the lake.

The girls had fun walking on the logs which were all around the lake.

(That's another one of my sister's -Becky- in the background)

There was a really pretty stream/waterfall nearby that us girls enjoyed.

There was a cute little bridge over the stream on which M-H and KB had fun dancing on. ;)

They're so silly. ;P

Bwahahaha! This is the wonderful restroom we had to use.
(Just wait until you see the inside hehehe)

Isn't it simply beautiful???

And just look how considerate all the people that used the restroom before us were! 

It was so nice of them to leave some toilet paper behind for the rest of us. 

Now, here is something that is actually beautiful!

My lovely mother! ♥

Butterflies were ALL over the place! On the ground, on us, EVERYWHERE!! 

(I got some shots of the them that I'll probably put on my photography blog.)

M-H caught this picture of a butterfly on my hat just in time! (That's her brother Jesse in the background.)

A dangerous look to match her equally dangerous shirt. ;)

Some of the group.

 

My brother Ryan and Jesse M. were in the water swimming pretty much the whole time we were there. 

 

Becky, Jeri, and my mom. Doesn't Jeri look so sweet?

David M. and my brother Kirk fishing. They were clear across the lake and I had my zoom out all the way and still had to crop this picture twice so you could see them this well.

Kirk brought back some . . .

. . . delicious fish!! Aren't they pretty looking things?

Poor, helpless little fishy's!

 When David and Kirk came back KB and M-H went out on the pontoon boats for awhile and had troubles rowing and then getting back to shore. And no, that splash out there is not a fish but only Ryan. =P

We had a very nice day surrounded by family, friends, and God's marvelous creations.

God is in Control

    A lot has happened in the past week. Some things occurred that made me draw a little closer to the Lord. I was glad for that as I've been feeling a little spiritually dry and in need of a personal revival.
    A friend of mine and I aren't as close as we once used to be and it's painful to watch our friendship seem to be slipping away and not knowing if I should do everything in my power to not let that happen or to just let it be and hope something good comes from it but I've finally placed it completely in God's hands and know He will do what He deems best for me and for my friend. I've stopped trying to control things but let Him.

    My dad was out getting firewood two weeks ago and a tree fell on him. He wasn't doing too bad and even went to work that week and the next but his back and the side of his ribs where the tree had hit were hurting pretty badly so he was taking aspirin daily for that and was seeming to be getting better but then last Thursday he fainted twice during the night when getting out of bed to get a drink and then to use the restroom. He stayed home from work on the next day and we were all praying that he'd get better. That evening, my sister Becky came over and was going to check his blood pressure but my dad needed to use the restroom first so he got up and was heading towards the bathroom door when his face paled and he started to faint. My mom and Becky rushed over to him while my brother Kirk called 911. I was upstairs when this was going on and my sister KayleeBeth rushed up to my room and told me what had happened and that she was really scared. We prayed and then heard the sirens coming and the firetruck and ambulance were here soon. It was so scary seeing my big, strong daddy being out on stretcher and being put in the ambulance. Kirk rode with my dad and my mom and Becky left shortly thereafter. It was then around 11:00 PM.
    Kaylee and I "camped out" in the living room and my little brother was amazingly asleep while all this was taking place (which was a good thing because he would've really been freaking out). I called a friend to ask for prayer and she helped calm me down a bit and was very comforting. Kaylee fell asleep after a while but I was so frightened and fearful of what would happen to my dad that I couldn't sleep, so I prayed. Oh how I prayed, and prayed, and prayed! The situation was out of my control and I went to the One who was in complete control for I knew He could help. Well, my mom got home about 1:30 AM and told me it was alright and that he would be okay. Immediately, relief washed over me and I was able to relax enough to go to sleep.

    On Saturday we visited my dad at the hospital and it was so good to seem him doing much better and acting like his usual self. We found out that the cause of all this had been the aspirin that he had been taking; the pain killer hadn't been able to process through his body very quickly and as he was taking it daily it slowly began to create holes in his stomach and he got ulcers and had gotten internal bleeding from it. They fixed the problem that day though and he was able to come home on Sunday evening, praise the Lord! He can't go back to work until next week once he's recovered but it's nice to have him around the house and to spend some time with him.

    All this has brought me closer to God and caused me to trust Him in everything and to know that He is in total control. Going through this has made me stronger and taught me things that I don't think I would've learned otherwise. And I love the Lord more for always being with me and am so thankful to Him for healing my dad and showing me His power in all that happens. Whatever you're going through, know that God is in control in your life.