So...Mom was gone...

Days in the Life...

Monday was so exciting I have no memory of anything significant taking place. Aka not very exciting...

I went to work and Ava went with me since I was still watching all five children.

Chloe and Christian had class... Oh yeah! They started a new one! Chloe and Christian are now taking Speech. I also started a new class, Art Appreciation.

Gabe had gymnastics.

I came home from work to exercise, shower, do some cleaning and laundry, and then leave to go play with Kate and hold Blaire until time to babysit for the small group. I love those precious girls so much...

At home I logged on to my new class to discover I had deadlines that night!! (So my resolve to not cut it that close again...yeah...out the door in less than a week.) So I spent the next three hours meeting those deadlines to save myself from literally being kicked out of the class. (Another welcome to college event.) I made it, though, and then gratefully went to bed.

Okay, some stuff did happen on Monday, I just had to get going... 

Tuesday we all had a sort of slow morning. Chloe and Christian went to class and then I took the littles to Chick-fil-a for free food day Cow Appreciation Day. It was busy, but we arrived a little before noon and were able to get in before it really got slammed.

After lunch we ran a few errands and then went home to check on the filling pool that was still not full. Every day we went to bed saying, "Surely tomorrow we can swim," only to wake up to "Nope, not until tomorrow," once again.

Mom and Dad were still walking around the house in their swimsuits and spending time on the patio (no kids were home, so...). They told us just wearing swimsuits made it feel like vacation.

We all had things to work on during the afternoon and then prepared for engagement group.

Everyone knew the pool was getting close so they brought us a cake:

It was a good cake. 

Group was really good. There was lots of admiring the so-close-to-finished pool, sharing of praises and prayer requests and encouragement, as well as laughter and fun conversation. Just another night at the Linns' group. 

Wednesday was a normal Wednesday until about 4:00. At that point I was laying on the floor Mom was coming up with a plan to get me off the floor for the evening that involved reviving me with water our first swim!! (All this took place while I was on the floor after my workout.) Chloe and Gabe went to Walmart to buy cheesecake and strawberries, Christian went with Aunt Cendei to get Babe's for dinner, and the rest of us got ready to swim as soon as the food arrived and Dad returned from his meetings. 

Finally!!!

As soon as Aunt Cendei had the video camera going everyone except Mom and Dad ran and jumped into our pool! It was rather cold since the water had not sat for long, but it felt so good and we were all very excited. Then we got out and ate our yummy dinner on the patio and swam and then finished the evening with cheesecake and strawberries and showers. 

Everyone else went to bed to sleep really well after the good swimming workout and I prepared for another close call with deadlines. (So apparently it's just a fact of college.) 

Thursday I left for work and Dad took Mom to the airport to leave for her high school reunion and weekend with her two closest friends. 

Chloe and Christian went to class and finished their first week of Speech class strong. They both did well with their first speeches and Chloe actually said she preferred this class over the previous one! 

I got home and decided to try that "feel like you are on vacation because you are wearing a swimsuit" thing. It's true! 

After a bit I took Gabe to his gym class and ran a few errands with Ava. 

At home we eventually made it into the pool for the rest of the evening. 

In case you were wondering, 

if you get less than 6 hours of sleep, 

4 nights in a row, by the fourth day 

you will be pretty sleepy.

Dad picked up Gabe and came home to swim until it got dark. 

Friday we all slept in.

Beautiful stormy view to wake up to!

We all had a slow morning. 

I finished this book and was so blessed by it. It took me less than two weeks to read it and I have not been reading things very quickly lately. I would definitely recommend it.

The littles were a little at a loss of what to do until I set them up with a story and coloring books (adult ones). They spent several hours doing that until it cleared up outside and they were able to then spend 6 hours in the pool. (Without sunscreen.) 

I worked really hard the rest of the day meeting school deadlines so that I could NOT have another late night. 

At 5:00 Chloe and I rushed to throw dinner together for the others and then raced to meet friends in Roanoke to see "Finding Dory" and eat dinner at Chick-fil-a for not free food day. 

We had SO MUCH FUN!! 

The movie was really cute and we had a blast at dinner talking about all sorts of random things until 9:00 pm. 

Saturday we all slept in and then the littles eventually found their way to the pool again (with sunscreen) despite their burns from the previous afternoon. 

I ended up spending a solid block of time working on my class before leaving for church.

The others went to Costco while Christian did computer slides and I played the piano. 

After church and visiting for a while (and answering everyone's questions as to the reason for the sunburns and where Mom was) we all went to see the latest showing of "The Secret Life of Pets" in 3D. 

Sunday we all REALLY slept in and had a late brunch. Everyone wanted to swim (I can't imagine why...), but we had some rest time first. 

After rest time Dad gave us cake left from engagement group. 

Dad is great,

He gives us chocolate cake.

When Mom is gone,

We don't put sunscreen on.

We swim all day,

And our tans aren't spray.

(Except I have obviously not swum enough 

to have a tan 

and we really miss Mom. 

We also had M&Ms.)

After a couple of hours in the sun...

(I am NOT the darkest, I just don't have pictures of the littles...) 

Everyone came in before it got terribly late and took showers. Then the others watched...something. I have no memory of what... 

We went to bed a little earlier, but not really. Remember, Mom was gone. 

That Moment When...

That moment when you are playing the piano and out of the corner of your eye you observe the little boy next to you lick his finger and then, before you realize what he is doing, he has wiped his finger on your face saying your face was dirty.

The Herd: Quoted 

"Let it be known that writing an entire research paper in one afternoon/evening is a really stupid idea and will leave you feeling cranky and in need of chocolate." -Chloe finishing her class the previous week. 

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