A few weeks ago we heard the shocking news that Irene (Leif's mom) has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. As you can imagine, we have been struggling with this news, trying to make sense of it all. We don't know what this means, but we know that it certainly doesn't sound good. Our hearts are heavy and we can't imagine life without Irene- without her coming to visit us in Russia every year, without our kids knowing her and enjoying her, without being around her and her zest for life. We love her so much!
In this, I feel that God is saying a few things. One is that He is God. He can do what He wants... He's the One in control. But in that, He is GOOD. And He is LOVING.
I also know that He wants us to put our trust in Him. With a lighter diagnosis, it would be easy to give credit to doctors... to put our praise in men. But God wants- and deserves- all of the glory. And I really believe He wants to do something amazing through this.
No matter what, God is with us and will give us the grace we need for whatever is ahead. He is the only giver of peace- amazing peace that makes no rational sense in times of trials.
We had the privilege of spending spring break with Irene and Leif's brother Lark and his family at Silver Mountain. This time together was a gift that we treasured. Below are some pictures from our time there....
cuddling in the king sized bed
riding the world's longest gondola to the top of the mountain
Our April Fool's joke: leaving baby Ike in a basket in front of some people's door, knocking and running away. These people are family friends of Lark's family, but they didn't know us (or our baby). Just the son was home at the time. He was quite concerned when he opened the door and later told his Dad, "That's a lot to put on a 12-year-old boy". But later he laughed. We only let him worry a few seconds before showing our faces.
Riding around on tubes on the lazy river
Gearing up to ride on the fast rides... Anneka has no fear.
Irene liked to pretend like she'd take the girls through the falling water and then would save them at the last second.
Leif tried boogie boarding and surfing.
Tubing up on the mountain. Anneka went by herself and got on the tow-rope all by herself with such confidence. This was a time that I saw how she has patience beyond her age... and I attribute it to waiting in lines in Russia. Anneka wasn't at all phased by the lines and her cousins got quickly bored with the wait. Those lines in Russia have their benefits!!
Ella got her own tube but went down with Papa. The man behind them was waiting to give them a good push to start down the slope.
Ike liked hanging out in the warm atmosphere inside the waterpark.
And Ella liked the baby slides- especially with Grandma Irene.
We cherish these memories!
2 comments:
Me too & love you all, Grand Mama Irene
Praying for Irene, and you all!
It looks like Silver Mountain is really fun! We're thinking about taking a trip there next year. Was the water warm? We did Triple Play (same type of place) and we were all shivering too much to enjoy it. The girls lips were blue the entire time.
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