Mini-update
It takes forever (and ever) to upload anything with the connection in my room here on post, so I am just going to provide a mini-update, for those of you who have been faithfully checking my stagnant blog.

This summer has been crazy for sure, certainly full of more unwelcome events than any of us anticipated, but God is faithful, and we are almost done! Graduation is on Sunday (July 27th), and I am very looking forward to my mom (and friend Sara Beth!) coming in to San Antonio on Friday night. Almost there! Then my wonderful hubby will fly in on Saturday, and we'll fly home to the kiddos Sunday night.

Since I last blogged, I completed another field training exercise, got attacked by more fire ants and contracted another case of cellulitis, which again landed me in the hospital. I survived, and even made it back to the field without missing any training time! Since our return from the field we have spent most of our time in the classroom and, of course, doing PT in the morning. (Who would have thought, by the way, that I would actually pass push-ups, which I did yesterday morning!)

I'm not the only one who has been tested this summer though. Mike has been put through the wringer, and managed to still be the amazingly supportive husband that he has been from the start. From having his wallet stolen at work, to waking to find our van rear-ended (hit and run in the wee hours of the morning), it's been a tough summer. He is now in California with his mom and dad, helping to take care of his grandmother who has been fighting cancer for the past 10 months. Please lift his family (my family) up in your prayers during this difficult time. Grandma will probably not make it but a few more days. While it is difficult for Michael to witness, he is grateful that he is able to be there to help and spend time with his parents.

This summer has truly been a reminder of God's faithfulness. Many nights, many of us in the Renfrow clan have hit the pillow (for fewer hours than we may have liked to) feeling like we had nothing left to make it through the next day, but Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING! (Lamentations 3:21-22) This has been a special verse to me and some of those closest to me (Laura and Mindy!), and I have thought of it and claimed it many times this summer. Laura and I were talking about this verse between field exercises, and she made the comment that it's a good thing His mercies are new every morning, because right now I don't have any "rollover mercies." I got a kick out of that one!

For those of you wondering what the kiddos are up to, they are spending a few days with some good friends in Nappanee, and this weekend will get to see "Uncle" Kevin and "Aunt" Mindy who will bring them to the airport to pick up mommy and daddy. At long last! Timothy has gotten trips to the library two days in a row, water gun battles in the backyard, and of course some quality video gaming with his buddy, and Madeline.....well, tonight she told me that she was having A LOT of fun and felt bad because she was happy, even though I wasn't there...but she did still love me and miss me....was that ok? I assured her that it was, and I am tickled that she is having a ball! (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LISA! You are a superhero!)

On that note, I will close with a couple of links to some albums I created on facebook. Some pictures have already been posted to the blog, but some are new. For some reason it is harder to upload the pictures here than it was to facebook, so if you're interested, check them out by clicking the links: OBLC I and OBLC II.

Thank you so much for everyone who has been faithfully praying for us this summer. I am inexpressibly grateful for all of the love and prayers we have received and I am absolutely humbled by everything we've made it through, and even accomplished, on God's strength and with your prayers! I look forward to updating you again soon, from the other side of OBLC!

-shannon

P.S. BONUS! I forgot that I had videos uploaded to youtube that haven't been posted here! So....

Here are the kids recounting some of the fun with Sang and Song:

Here is Madeline dancing the night away at Matt and Hannah's wedding:

Here are the kids getting soaked at Seaworld:

Here is....well, here it is...not sure how I feel about having this knowledge: (me clearing, disassembling, reassembling and performing a function check on an M9, in roughly 60 seconds)