The Beach and the Hospital . . .

. . . that is pretty much where we have spent our time this August!

The Hospital:
It seems that the Linscott family just can’t get enough of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital complex. Obviously, Luke is employed there, and I have to report every couple of weeks for OB appointments. But lately Abby has been dragged into the equation as well. Most of you reading will know that Abby was born with a heart defect (small right ventricle) and had surgery at age 2 weeks, then again at 6 months. She has done fantastically well since then, bouncing off the walls like any other preschooler, but her healthcare team feels that she should have the third surgery of the series she has started. So, after many trips downtown to the hospital for tests and check-ups, we finally have a surgery date of September 2. We will have family from both sides coming in shifts to help us, for which we are so grateful!
We would appreciate your keeping Abby in your thoughts and prayers as she enters this critical time. We feel that so many prayers in her behalf have already been answered, and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for watching over her thus far. She really is amazing—smart as a whip and full of energy, which we could scarcely hope for when we first heard her diagnosis as a baby. We’re truly blessed.

The Beach:
On a lighter note, we recently returned from an awesome week with the entire Boyer clan in Outer Banks, North Carolina. All 24 of us (my parents, their 8 kids, our 6 spouses, and 8 grandchildren) stayed in an enormous, gorgeous beach house, just a 2-minute walk from the ocean. We gathered there from Utah, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, and it was great to be together! It was a blast. Here are a few pictures from our week.

The four of us at Currituck Sound


Katie loved the sand and the water!


Abby with Cousin Lizzie


Abby with Cousin Josh


Luke and Abby tearing it up on a race car track in the nearby town


Abby with "The Triplets"--Marian, Lucy, and Katie, all born within a few weeks of each other. They played so cute together all week, except when they got into jealousy spats over Grannie! (Grannie ate that up, of course.)


Daddy and Katie building a sand castle


The whole crew! . . . in front of the beach house