What a weekend.

This weekend was a very trying couple of days. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, but Betsy and I had a seven-hour training session for the daycare, so we got to spend the whole day inside. I won't go into details about how informative the training session was, but it certainly left us feeling bitter about the whole affair. Then we went home, fed the kids and had a fairly relaxing evening.

While we were relaxing and feeling sorry for ourselves for having missed out on all the sunshine, some folks from church were dealing with a far more serious set of issues.

Scott and Rachel Amstutz saw their third child born a week ago. I don't know any of the details, but I assume things went well. Saturday was their oldest daughter's sixth birthday. I may be wrong, but I heard that they went to the Fort Wayne children's zoo, which I am guessing was lovely on such a day. That night, after the kids went to bed, Rachel was feeding their new daughter and began to feel ill. A few minutes later she stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital where she died. Apparently there was blood clot in her lung. (I don't have nearly enough details to be calling this account "fact," so if you would like more info, I would suggest not asking me.)

Anyway, I've known Scott since the eighth grade, I think, and I first met Rachel when she worked with my friend, Joe, at Chic-fil-a. Scott is an amazing guy and Rachel was always very nice. It's an awful tragedy and it left Betsy and I feeling very upset.

One thing that amazes me in this is Scott's attitude. He has shown nothing but gratitude to God for the time he spent with his wife. He has been encouraging and faithful and set an incredible example of how a Christian faces loss.

Betsy and I are praying for Scott and his kids, and we're trying to appreciate every minute that God gives us.