It's OVER

I have officially finished my 7th summer as a youth ministry widow. In fact, my sweet husband gave me a card and a gift certificate for a day of rock climbing in honor of that.

Really, I was thinking that this summer in particular was going to be the hardest one yet but it wasn't at all. If I do say so myself, I did well with Addie by self and I had lots of help from Connie and my mom. The biggest challenge this summer was that instead of Josh being gone a week, home a week, gone a week etc. he was gone for two weeks, home a week, gone another week and half. Two weeks was the longest time he has been away in one chunk, especially since Addison has been a part of our family.

Josh had some awesome experiences this summer and I wish I could have been a part of them - I guess in a way I was. This year's Kadesh theme was HOPE. My favorite. This was the theme the first year that I was a camper and the first year that I was a counselor. It has a huge part in why we picked Addison's middle name. It has played a huge part in my life in general. When I was a camper I left the day after Kadesh to go to Africa for the first time and on the way home from Africa 3 weeks later got very (deathly) ill. I remember vividly laying in my hospital bed in Chicago where the plane had to do an emergency landing and thinking that if I died it would be ok because I had no doubts that I would go to heaven. What I had learned about Hope was so real to me. That experience changed much of my faith and outlook of life.

Hope again played a huge role in my life when Josh and I struggled with miscarriages. I have been waiting for the Kadesh theme to come back around and was upset that I couldn't make it this year but in a way it's probably better. Josh was able to talk, on Addison's 9 month birthday, about my story of Hope and how it's important to me and how it has played a part in how we named her.

There was some youth group drama at Kadesh over kids bringing cell phones and being mad and Josh for taking them up so they could focus on camp - oh the life of a youth minister.....

After Kadesh, Josh went directly to OC for Cornerstone with a few high school counselors and some adults from Denver drove the MS campers there. It was a good week for him to be with friends but hard to be away for so long.

It was great when he finally came home - Addie was so much bigger and moving around so much more! She had started actually crawling quickly and getting into things right as he left so I had to begin to adjust to the more mobile baby by myself. He was amazed at how much difference two weeks made.

So, that's the first part of the summer - the other big thing was the mission trip to Honduras which I will have to write about later since I should be working right now.

Even though it's challenging at times, I am so very blessed to be the wife of a youth minister. I love to see his passion for teens, even when he is frustrated with them. I love that I grow to love these kids and that I get to be a part of their lives. I am excited to see Addison continue to grow up around the youth group and these kids that love her so much. I am excited to teach her that even when her dad leaves a lot in the summers its because he is spreading God's love to others and we should be proud of him and pray for him. I want her to develop of love of ministry just like Josh.