Aspen Leaves to Acacia Trees: An Answer to Prayer?

Our absence from the blog has been due to a teacher's favorite thing... spring break! But before we get to the good part (pictures!), let me tell you about the blessing in disguise that was our spring break.

I was talking with a good friend of mine the other day about sick kids. She has three little boys, and I think they have run the gamut of childhood illnesses in just their first few years of life. It's a big difference from our kids. We have been blessed with two seemingly illness-resistant children (at least the more serious stuff). I was telling her one of my worries was my kids getting really sick for the first time when we are in Kenya, in unfamiliar territory. Well, Faith did get really sick last week, and I am relieved that gap has now been bridged somewhat.

She started complaining of some tummy troubles two weeks ago, but nothing seemed to come of it. A week later, on Sunday, we headed down to Death Valley National Park for Jim's spring break. Monday she wasn't feeling good-- to the point of screaming about her tummy pain. We took her to urgent care near the park, but didn't really get any answers. Tuesday, we started to realize what was wrong. She started with the runs (in Kenya, you would say she was "driving") and didn't stop. Thursday we decided to cut our trip short and make the 11 hour sprint back home. This was definitely her worst day, and it made us grateful for the choice we made to head home that day. It is scary to see a seriously dehydrated child: sunken dark eyes, lips so dry they are just flakes, and not much energy to stay awake. She threw up in the car all the way home, but before bed seemed to turn a tiny bit of the corner. We have slowly but surely gotten better.

As funny as it sounds, and as scary as it was for a bit, we are grateful that God tested our mettle last week instead of a year and a half from now. The kids will probably get sick in Kenya with some weird bugs, but we've seen at least a bit of how far a kid can go and come back again. Amidst the circumstances today of coping with a recovering child, I find myself praising God for this experience.

So without further ado, a few photos of our time in the wonderful warm weather!

The park is full of awesome canyons to explore

And we arrived during the wildflower season...

'Manly Beacon'--the geology of this park is incredible

A good moment for Faith...enjoying the view with Daddy

At an overlook

This is from a 5,000 ft elevation viewpoint: you can see the highest and lowest points in the park. Telescope Peak is 11,049 feet, Badwater Basin is -282 feet. Pretty incredible creation!