Things have calmed down a little bit since the tornado. Mike has been busy on this radiology rotation (but not as bad as before on anesthesia, that's for sure). This is his last of the three weeks and then he moves on to orthopedic surgery. This will be another long hour, high stress rotation, but at least we will have a long weekend in between (even though I'm sure he will spend 3/4 of the time studying).

I have kept myself busy being pulled in multiple directions. Work has been rather high stress with many deadlines, dealing with incompetent and unreliable coworkers and preparing for a conference the first week of August. At church, I've taken a break from worship team for the summer but have recently started a new Beth Moore bible study. I am also still able to find the time to keep up with my exercising, quilting, cross-stitching, hanging out at softball games with the ladies, playing with the furry children and holding down the house.

Mike and I have got to spend the last two weekends doing stuff together (that's a miracle right there). Two weekends ago we went up with some others from our church to help the tornado victims in the residential areas that were hit the hardest. It was amazing to stand at the house we were working on that had comparably minor damage especially when you looked around the cul de sac and saw people standing on the only part of their house that was left, their front steps. The path of the tornado was so evident. Your heart broke to see so many who had lost so much, but the encouraging part was to look around that day. There were so many people from the community who came and sacrificed their weekend to help others who needed it the most. We got to work with some people from the vet school, our church, a local youth group and complete strangers. I do love Manhattan and the sense of community that can bond people together, that isn't something you see everyday! I am however thankful to say that I have now seen that twice: here in Kansas and also back home when my family lost our home to a fire back in March 1996. Even through the storms, God is faithful and will provide!!

Mike and I also got to spend this past Friday night with my best friend, Val. She was in Kansas City for the week with some of her students that were in a competition. We got to go to the Cheesecake Factory for an early dinner and hang out. Even though it was a brief visit, it was nice to see a face from back home.

I've also recently finished two more quilts. One was a jungle/rainforest playmat for my niece, Ava, and the other was a rag quilt for my friend's daughter, Grace. I will leave you with some pictures of them.

Ava's jungle/rainforest playmat

Grace's purple and pink flower rag quilt