Paradise...

Sometimes it is the simple things in life that are the most meaningful. If you've been following my blog long enough, you've heard me talk about Lake Junaluska, where I spend a week every year for a Methodist conference. It is truly a holy place.

The last two years, though, have been bittersweet. In June 2007 I had been waiting for a referral from Russia for 6 months and was going nowhere quickly. Little did I know that in less than a month I would switch countries and accept Isabelle's referral...

In June 2008 when I was here I got word that Isabelle's birth mother was missing and my case could not continue unless they found her. It absolutely pained me to the core.

One of my very favorite things to do here is to get up early every morning (yeah, can you believe it?!) and walk around the lake. The last two years every morning I've gotten up wondering and praying if and when the day would ever come that I would actually get to push a stroller around the lake...

Today, that day finally arrived! Simple, but profound and extremely emotional for me. Oh, and the extra-cool God thing? The whole path around the lake has finally been PAVED! I had gone out with determination that I was somehow going to push 30 lbs of dead weight in a stroller through gravel for a couple of miles, but God was watching out for me!

The other news is that the house I have rented with friends is AMAZING! Here's how I spent the afternoon...

And here's what Isabelle thinks of the lake...
God is good. So very, very good.

PS I finally have a decent wireless connection, so I've been catching up on picture posts...scroll down for the rest of our beach trip...and check back for more mountain pictures! Life is good. I even splurged on a new Life is Good shirt to prove it :)