Hannah is home and I am loving having another female around!  She had a wonderful time in Israel and learned much.  We will be having a picture viewing/birthday party for William on Friday night June 26^th  at 7:00 so mark your calendar.  She will be sharing at our house and we will have finger foods and a birthday cake for William.  His birthday is Thursday...16 years old.  This is kind of like our old movie nights, but with pictures instead of movies. She wanted me tell you that if you don’t want to see all the pictures she will not be offended if people mill around upstairs or come and go during the slides.  It is very casual, not a formal presentation.  That way it is more conversational, and every one can ask questions as she goes.  Besides the pictures, there will be food and fellowship going on all evening, so drop by for a visit or come and stay for awhile. Come see the "new" basement, we have a pool table now and all new furniture since the fire. We will be happy to have you.

    All is well.  My girl is back on American soil, no thanks to the storms in Atlanta Friday night.  After, an extended flight that took her to Columbia, SC for the night, Hannah arrived Saturday morning in Atlanta.  She was glad her long travel days were over, but not as glad as I was to see her smiling face.  She has only just begun to tell the tales of her journey.  We got about 1/3 of the way through her pictures last night before she started to fall asleep while talking.  I am awaiting the rest once she has had some time to recover from her jet lag.  Her plan was to go to church this morning, but when I called her she was still asleep…her alarm didn’t go off, either that or she cut it off in her sleep.  Today she is determined to go about a “regular” schedule in order to get reacquainted with US time. 

            Last night we had a home cooked meal as requested right down to the mac and cheese.  Next was a shower and then we made cookies for our snack during the picture presentation.  We have pottery shards from the 1^st century and salt balls from the dead sea.  The boys are fighting over the t-shirts and I have a beautiful antique bucket.  When you buy an antique in Jerusalem it is a really old one!  It is perfect in my dining room because it is very old copper with some reddish worn places and some green on it as well.  I love it.  Bill is playing Palestinian folk songs throughout the house.  It feels as if we have been transported to the middle east.  Hannah had a fabulous time and I am excited to hear more as she processes all that she learned.  Thank all of you for your prayers while she was away.  We will be having some type of picture showing event in the future.  I will let you know the details.

Okay…so I lied.  I thought the second one going off to school would be easier.  I am sure that I wrote that on one blog or another.  Now I sit in Nashville, Tennessee realizing that it is further than Rome…much further.  Belmont is bigger than Berry…much bigger.  The past two days at orientation my throat has closed with tears more than once as I find my emotions rising to the surface.  I know that my son is ready for this.  Right?  I know he can rise to the occasion and excel in college.  Right?  My head says all is as it should be.  He is going off to school at the right time, to the right place.  My heart on the other hand says I am not ready for him to go so far.  I guess every mother’s heart feels pulled at this time of life.  Mine is no exception. My role is changing yet again.  I am a consultant now. 

I wonder what it must’ve been like for God to put Adam in the garden.  They fellowshipped and had an intimate relationship communing together in the cool of the evening.  I can imagine that.  When I was sick Aaron would come sit on my bed and share his day “in the cool of the evening.”  It was part of what kept me going during a very rough time in my life.  A simple pleasure.  Now I am watching him grow into a man.  He is pulling away, as it should be, but still a bittersweet time for me. 

I don’t need to wonder how God felt as Adam pulled away.  I know.  Of course, it is different in that Adam made a choice.  That choice of his gave all of us our independence from God, and some of us have found that independence isn’t always such a good thing.  Yet God uses every choice to his advantage as well as ours. He draws us. Only God can use our free will decisions to glorify himself.  I know how I feel as Aaron takes flight.  It is a heart wrenching thought to not know what is going on in his life, not because I want to control it, but because I want to be a part of it. It gives me insight as to how God must feel when I pull away from him.  He so wants to be a part of my life, just to know me and be with me.  Yet I go my own way, do my own thing.  It is part of the human experience.  I am distracted by all that is around me in “the garden” of my life.  In the cool of the evening I am so tired I cannot hear much less commune with God. Today, I have a renewed sense of God’s desire for me, as I watch my children leave the nest one by one. I will choose to cling to him, knowing that once again, he knows exactly how I feel.

My son will now also be making choices that will affect the rest of his life, some good, some bad.  Choices that will in one way or another bring glory to God. This is what I have raised him for.  I will trust God with his future and cry many tears as I release my grip and open my hand.  I will watch from the sidelines, cheering him on all the way.

I love the rain.  Just sitting listening to it fall is soothing to my soul.  Tonight there is no thunder or lightning…just steady rain.  It kind of reminds me of camp when I was a kid.  I could listen to this sound all night.  Listen to drops of rain rolling down leaves and onto the ground.  The noise it makes in the woods is a constant shushing.  A gentle breeze blows that is a bit cooler than the earlier hot day.  Summer is here. 

Somehow the rain makes me want to sit and listen.  I want to hear what the Lord is saying this day.  The rain speaks for him.  It says wash off the grime and dirt of life.  Rest and let God cleanse your heart.  Be refreshed and revived.  It is a simple message really, but one I need to hear regularly.  Today the message is to sit and wait on him.  He sends his love through the steady pounding of the rain.

I sit in the silence.  All are sleeping but me.  I love the quiet mornings of summer.  After sleeping 3 ½ hours later than I normally do it is still only 8:30am.  The sun is up and the air is fresh and crisp.  Because of the recent rains, the vegetation is deep green.  The birds are calling to one another.  Soon the busyness of life will begin for the day.  Not that I mind, if I have learned nothing else over the years it is to enjoy every season.  These teenage years are the season of quiet mornings.  I remember the toddler season of quiet nights and the baby season of quiet naps.  Each season has its own joys and pains.

 I have graduated another child and that is both joy and pain combined. The second child is not as hard as the first.  It is no longer an unknown as it was last year.  I realize I do not have to say goodbye forever and that he will be back.  My heart knows that he will change, but that is the right thing for this season.  I have shed fewer tears, but tears just the same.  Again, I am trying to let go and embrace this next stage of life as I have the others before it.  I also realize my nest is not empty yet.  When the last one goes, my guess is there will be more tears because my mothering days…so much a part of who I am will be gone.  At least now, I know that I will always be mom, even when they are gone.  Maybe not as hands on as I am now but mom just the same.  I also know that God will have more for me. 

I think that God is so great to prepare our hearts for changes.  He allows us to draw close to him when we see that life will be difficult, then in that quiet place shows us what is next.  I am certain that for me, writing will be a part of that time.  He is preparing me even now to not shrink back from putting ideas on paper.  He has something there and it will take quiet time to find it.  Right now, quiet time is limited in my life, but one day there will be more.  I gladly accept both the quiet mornings and the quiet days yet to come.

Eighteen years ago, I gave birth to our first son. We did not find out before hand the gender of our baby, preferring instead to be surprised. We had a beautiful girl already so we hoped to have a boy, but would have been happy with either.  In my heart I was relieved when it was a boy because I knew that however many children it took, we would keep going until we got a boy to carry on the Gunnin name.  The labor was not so bad starting and stopping over a period of 24 hours.  The delivery, on the other hand was horrific…my hardest.  Aaron was 10lb. 5oz. and after my petite little 7lb. 5oz. Hannah, I felt as if I was delivering an adult.  The circumference of his head paved the way for his brothers.  It was traumatic to say the least.  However, he was beautiful and soon the pain of birth was a memory.  He has grown up to be a fine young man.  He is always challenging and questioning everything and has been that way from birth.  He is logical to the end and literal in thought.  As a small child that was what endeared him to many.  If Hannah had a forehead, then he must have a three head since he was only three.  He was always thinking even then and came up with some hilarious comments to prove it. His laugh always came easy, even after just a couple of days at home.  (I guess when you deliver an adult that it is to be expected.)  Compassion for others is something he possesses that is a gift.  Music is another.  Soon he will go off to college for more thinking, and probably some music too. I am teary eyed to think of it yet, it is time.  He is ready to enter the next phase of life as a young adult. I am ready to release him…kind of. I am trying may be a better way to put it.  Today we are proud of him and all he has become. Happy Birthday Aaron.  

I know you all think I have disappeared.  Unless you realize what time of year it is…end of school year.  I have simply been too busy to get anything of significance written. 

However, I wanted to update you on the fam.  Hannah is in Israel and loving it.  She is working very hard and finding that digging is very strenuous, but that it helps you sleep really well. She is not too thrilled with the food…mostly veggies she doesn’t like.  She found some pottery yesterday so she was excited about that.  They still have a day or two before they get deep enough to find more.  It is a lot of moving rocks, pulling weeds and briars.  Good experience.  She also did some conservation last week.  So she is getting to see different aspects of archeology and anthropology.  It is hot there over 100 degrees and no air in the hotel so that is not fun.  Over the weekend she traveled around the Sea of Galilee and saw some amazing sites…Peter’s house, Jordan river, mount of the beatitudes, the quiet place of Jesus, and a first century city that is almost intact.  So far she is really enjoying the trip and learning a ton. She will be looking for babysitting jobs when she gets back, to earn some money so keep her in mind.

Peter is doing better, though his stomach still hurts on and off.  It seems to not be a severe and he is feeling normal most of the time now.  It may have been a seasonal thing…not sure just glad it is better.

Aaron is graduating on Friday.  We are having a drop in party on Saturday for those who want to come by.  He is ready to be finished. College orientation in June so he is looking forward to getting to go to Belmont for that.  He will be 18 next Tuesday…am I that old already? 

William made the snare line again for next year in band.  He is excited to finally have a year at the high school with no siblings.  He is more than ready for school to be out for the summer. 

Bill is tuning pianos again if you know anyone that has that need let us know.  I am counting hours now until school is out.  Whew…I will sleep for a week after it is over then get into a summer routine…that WILL include writing regularly.  I have to get back to it or I will suffocate!  Love to you all.

            Hannah invited mom and me to a Mother’s Day tea at Berry.  We came up the night before to spend the night. Our adventure began after we deposited our luggage at a local hotel. As the three of us crossed the parking lot, we discovered a black sky to our left and a sunny one to the right.  Rain was just beginning to sprinkle on our faces when we got to the car.  Across the dark sky, about half way up there was a shelf of rolling white clouds.  Over the edge of the shelf tumbled a cascade of white periodically at random increments.  This caused a beautiful contrast between the pitch-black darkness and the white cloud “waterfall.”  Lightening highlighted the scene with regular intervals of dazzling light. Glowing jagged veins were freeze frames in the midst of the oncoming storm.  We noticed all of this, as we drove away in our car, into the calmer brighter skies to our right.  We were attempting to get Hannah back to her dorm before the storm hit.

  However, shortly after turning onto the highway, the skies began to battle between them.  The dark clouds were racing to overtake the light.  The line between the combatants was just above our heads.  The beautiful white cloud “waterfall” of before turned into a clawing hand, grasping at the light as if to destroy it.  The white fingers were grasping all around just over our heads.  The battle zone became an odd shade of green. It was an eerie, surreal sensation.  We drove faster, now realizing the danger that surrounded us. 

Out the car window, we watched the clash.  Rain so hard we had to slow to a crawl when we really wanted to fly, enveloped us.  We had front row sets to witness the fury of the storm.  The white fingers came together in a fist, and then began to rotate slowly in a circular motion.  The trees on a nearby hill were sideways within the force of the wind. Frantically trying to confirm what we were witnessing, we dialed our cell phones.  Family members in front of computer screens at home did not see anything but strong thunderstorm warnings, no tornado watches, or warnings.  Yet in front of our eyes and over our heads we were watching the white on black swirling fight.  A few moments later, as we were crossing Kingston Rd., a text confirmed radar had picked up a tornado just south of Rome Ga heading toward Kingston.  At home, still on the phone, family members said, a warning just came across the screen for Rome. The danger we knew was enveloping us was confirmed.

 We watched as the storm continued to move rapidly to our right.  Driving to seek cover, the rain was tumultuous which prevented us from gaining any speed.  Soon we were out of the worst of it, but did not know if more was following.  Nervous laughter cut the tension in the car as we talked of our adventure.  In the distance, we saw the school, whose rock buildings stood as an island of safety each time the sky flashed.  Once we arrived, we found hundreds of students crouched in the hallway on the lowest floor.  Curious looks found us as we burst through the door.  Before we could share our tale, or sit to duck and cover we had to find the bathroom…so we wouldn’t wet our pants.  This three-generation adventure will live on in our family history…the tornado-dodging women and the night they witnessed the battle of dark and light.

What a glorious day. The language of God surrounds me.  The birds have returned from wherever they go in the winter and they are singing to the sun as it rises.  Woodpeckers knock all around and their search for bugs echos through the valley.  In the distance, a rooster crows.  Day is breaking. I am here on my porch hoping the feel of the sun will elevate my mood.  My heart is heavy these days.  I know some of the reasons why, but it seems deeper than day to day life…not depression exactly, more like an impeding event ahead. It is similar to the way I felt before the election, an unidentified, strange feeling of uneasiness.  The birds around me today are oblivious and I will join them soon while working in the yard.  This feeling comes and then passes, it calls me to my knees and then releases me to go about my life.  God is drawing me near and whispering in my ear, “Pride comes before a fall.”  I know what that means…humility or humiliation depending on our response. Personal falls over many years have taught me that truth.  I choose humility.  So now…I wait, I watch, I pray, I listen to the language of God and in the distance, a rooster crows.

The biopsies results are in on Peter’s endoscopy, and we finally have a diagnosis.  Eosinophilic esophagitis. I know…I thought the same thing…what in the world is that? It is the inflammation of the esophagus, due to allergies.  I am including some info I got off the internet for those people who want more details.  I cannot even pronounce this so I am not of much help for the medically curious among you.  At this point, we will add a medicine for about a month to see if that can reduce the inflammation.  Then we have a follow up visit with the doctor.  It is a relief to finally know the cause of the pain…and that it is treatable.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  Continue to pray that this treatment will do the trick, because it gets more complicated if this type medicine doesn’t work.  Poor Peter, he always has the difficult allergic things to deal with, sinus, throat, and now this.  However, we are blessed that God provided a “smart guesser” and many faithful praying friends.  Thank you all.

 Internet Info on Eosinophilic Esophagitis (or the much easier EE for short.)

Doctors believe that eosinophilic esophagitis is a type of esophagitis that is caused by allergy just like asthma, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis even though the exact substance that is causing the allergy is not known. The hallmark of eosinophilic esophagitis is the presence of large numbers of eosinophils in the tissue just beneath the inner lining of the esophagus.

Eosinophils are white blood cells (leukocytes) manufactured in the bone marrow and are one of many types of cells that actively promote inflammation. They are particularly active in the type of inflammation caused by allergic reactions. Thus, large number of eosinophils can accumulate in tissues such as the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, and sometimes in the blood when individuals are exposed to an allergen. The allergen(s) that causes eosinophilic esophagitis is not known. It is not even known whether the allergen is inhaled or ingested. Eosinophilic esophagitis is more common among individuals with other allergic conditions such as asthma, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis affects both children and adults. For unknown reasons, men are more commonly affected than women, and it is most commonly found among young boys and men.