Test Day, Take Two

Wednesday morning Chloe worked at her new job with a local photographer and Mom, Christian, and I went to find Christian a suit for Speech and Debate Tournaments and a few other things like fall/winter shoes for Mom, some makeup products for me, etc. 

We ate at Five Guys for lunch I know, I just shocked 99% of you reading this because we ate somewhere else besides Chick-fil-a and then kept shopping. We were supposed to only be gone for a few hours, but we ended up not getting home until almost 5:00 pm. 

At home I convinced Dad that we should go eat dinner at Babe's so that Mom didn't have to cook. It was also my idea to invite Aunt Cendei to go with us. She then tried to surprise us kids by showing up at the restaurant, but word got out in the car. Gabe was a little late catching on to it. There is always at least one person who is not paying any attention at all. Those people vary at different times, however. 

We had a very pleasant dinner and got home in time to greet Uncle Adam and his daughter who is close to Mia's age, Geneva. 

Thursday morning I left at 9:00 to go take my first CLEP test at UNT. The test was scheduled for 10:00 and I arrived 30 minutes early so I would have plenty of time to find parking. I was told to go one place so I could park for a few minutes, go get a day parking pass, and then go park across the street. 

Well, when I got there, the parking was blocked off with cones and the other parking lot was full. So I drove around for a while to see if there was a parking area that was not reserved. There was not. An hour later I was lost, my GPS was taking me to the wrong places, the testing office was not answering the phone, there was no parking anywhere, I couldn't find anyone to ask for help, I was very much regretting my big cup of coffee before I left, and I was crying. 

I pulled over and called the testing place to reschedule because I'd missed my testing time. I think it was probably pretty evident to the guy on the phone that I was crying.

Two hours after leaving home I was heading back having taken no test. I wasn't exactly feeling all too joyful about the situation and I had no idea why, but it was very evident that it was not a part of God's plan for me to take that test that day. In that I had comfort and later found joy. It was hard nonetheless especially since I'm the type of person who likes to get things over with as soon as possible. (Like taking tests.) 

Mom made me a yummy hot drink to cheer me up at home and I moved on with my day. 

Dad took us to club that afternoon and evening. Chloe and I got final feedback on our duo before our first tournament and Christian got more help with his speech. (It is still being written.) I know we will all be ready when the time comes and we are so grateful for the help we get at club. 

Chloe and Christian debated that night, but I decided to watch a different debate. It went a little long with Chloe and Christian, but as always I think it was good for them. 

While we were at club Grandfather hung out with Gabe and Ava while Mom, Mia, Nana, Uncle Adam, and Geneva went to Medieval Times in Dallas. (It's a show that is set in the medieval time period and has jousting and other fighting and all this other stuff. The audience is assigned different knights to cheer for, etc.) 

Mia and Geneva were really, really, really excited to watch the handsome men fight. And they both were thrown carnations. We will never hear the end of it. 

Mia and her favorite knight.

Friday morning was test day, take two for me and this time Grandfather offered to drop me off and pick me up for my test so I would not have to be anxious about parking. 

For those of you wondering, no, I was not nervous or stressed and I don't know why. I just wasn't. Was I concerned about not passing? YES. 

I was plenty early again which gave me time to ask five different people how to get to the testing center. I did find it eventually. 

There was only one other person testing at the same time that I was and the two guys running the place were very patient with me. (I could not for the life of me figure out how the locker worked.)

I was taking the CLEP test for Analyzing and Interpreting Literature. It took me about an hour and I did pass! I was so relieved. 

Late afternoon and evening was birthday party time for Nana at our house. We made taco salad bowls and then had ice cream and cookies for dessert. 

Dad had finally gotten a call from the Doctor's office saying that his first heart tests showed nothing to be concerned about. That was very happy news to share with everyone. 

After dinner Chloe and I performed our duo and then Uncle Adam sampled for us some of the songs he will be singing when he stars in a musical this winter! 

Saturday morning started at 5:30 for Mom and us four older kids. We left at 6:00 to take our two truck loads of stuff to the house where our church garage sale was to be held. Chloe and I went to get everyone breakfast from Chick-fil-a and then met the others at the house to unload and finish helping set up. 

Other church people arrived to help and brought more things to sell. We had people beginning to come by as early at 7:30. 

When doing a huge garage sale someone has to do the Starbucks run!

Chloe and I were not really needed any more by 8:30 and so volunteered to go home and take naps for everyone else. Naps never happened, though.

At home the other kids were playing with their cousins outside and Dad was working. Chloe and I both did some writing (we are extremely behind...) and I worked on laundry and made chili. 

About 3:00 Gabe and I left for church to go work on Operation Christmas Child boxes with some other families. 

The other kids were helping Aunt Cendei with different things, Mom was with a friend after finishing the garage sale, and Dad was still working. They all arrived at church in time for the service.

The box packing went very quickly and I think we did 52 boxes. 

After church we visited for a bit and then went home to eat and go to bed because everyone was very tired. 

Sunday was very slow and restful. (The dreary weather set the stage really well for that.) We had our brunch meal and then the afternoon saw most people in their rooms being quiet reading, or resting, or listening to a story, or playing quietly. The boys also watched some football. 

In the evening after dinner Aunt Amy and Rowan came over to visit. 

This was eaten for dessert.

The Herd: Quoted 

"I want my usual, eat off the table." -Gabe on the way to Babe's

"Yup, that's my usual too, I eat the table." -Mia

"That would make a very solid meal." -Chloe  

"I'll drive with you." -Chloe

"No, I will drive by myself and you can sit in the seat next to me." -Me 

"Whoever is still downstairs in 5 minutes has to pay the next mortgage bill." -Mom at bedtime 

"We don't  have a mortgage." -Me

"Oh yes we do!" -Dad

"But it's exposed to the elements!" -Christian 

"Yellow mints?!" -Mia 

"Its the table of yellow mints!" -Me 

Exploding Barn

Saturday was pretty slow for most everyone, I believe.

I think Dad worked on budgeting and exercised and worked. Mom sewed some on the quilt she's been trying to finish for a long time. The kids played together. Christian and Grandfather went down to the woods really early to hunt. Chloe did some writing. I caught up on a bunch of stuff and nailed down plans for the coming week.

We left early for church to go to Costco and one other place on the way.

Nap time!

It was Aunt Cendei's birthday so she threw herself a party for the church! It was so wonderful to worship with our church family and then celebrate her afterwards. And I love church meals. They are a lot of work, but so fun and I actually enjoy working with everyone to clean up. (And helping with all the kids is my favorite of course.) 

We got home pretty late and the littles were all asleep. (As was Christian.) The rest of us were about to turn the lights out when Mom and I both heard what sounded like an explosion. It was too loud for a gun, we thought. Mom speculated that maybe it was fireworks at the racetrack or a plane crash (because we felt the whatever it was as well as heard it). We decided not to worry about it.

A few minutes later Chloe came into my room and said to look out the window. I joked and replied, "What? Is the backyard on fire or something?" When she said, "Actually, yes" it took me .3 seconds to get to the window and look out. We could see a glow behind our barn and smoke.

As quietly as we could, we ran down to Mom and Dad's room and told them to look outside. They told us to run and get Nana and Grandfather. Meanwhile Dad got on jeans and Mom called 911. 

It took a lot of ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door to get Nana and Grandfather up. Grandfather went straight to their back porch. 

It was our neighbor's goat barn, right down the hill in the woods. And it was big. 

The emergency dispatcher was asking Mom if she saw firetrucks because the neighbor had already called in the fire, but the trucks were having trouble getting access to it. 

Once they arrived we could see all the lights from Nana and Grandfather's porch and Grandfather took off to go see if he could help. 

Mom and I were transformed into leaves caught in a hurricane. We were shaking so, so bad. Not from the cold (even though we were in our pajamas and barefoot), but from the ginormous adrenaline rush we both got. (Believe me, when I was told to go get Nana and Grandfather, I ran faster than I have ever run.) 

We couldn't see the barn, but we could see the huge glowing ball in the woods and we could see smoke. We could also hear the metal of the barn creaking and then finally the water spraying on the fire. Because there had been so much rain a few days ago the trees were safe and the fire did not spread to the gas well 200 feet away. 

Grandfather came back with the report. The barn was full of hay and goats and tractors. The fuel for the tractors was all around the barn. Somehow a spark caught the fuel and there was an explosion. Our neighbor was down there very quickly but the barn is gone and several goats were killed. 

On the left are the firetrucks and on the right is the fire. 

It's pretty hard to see, but it was huge. 

Nana, Mom, Chloe, and I all went to the neighbors' house to see if there was anything we could do, but there wasn't. 

We heard the explosion about 11:30, woke up Nana and Grandfather about 11:45, and it was all over about 12:15. I know this will come as a surprise to most of you, but going to sleep after that was not easy. 

Sunday morning I was the first one up, at 8:00. I made coffee and then went back to my bed to have my quiet time and rest. 

I've been Pondering...

This has been a week... 

• We started it with Dad's follow up doctor's appointment after he blacked out driving and had to go to the ER. Neither him nor Mom have been sleeping well. Gabe got strep throat. I had a lot of late nights and early mornings which translates to less sleep. We lived through yet another tornado a few miles from our house. The storm brought hail and pounded our new roof. And then our neighbor's barn exploded during the night. 

  
  But in all of this we saw blessing upon blessing pored out on us. 

  
  The doctor saw nothing in Dad's initial tests to be alarmed at. Mom, Dad, and I were all given grace and strength for each day. Only Gabe was sick and his recovery was so fast. The tornado passed over us twice. Our roof was protected from the hail and does not need any repair. The fire department arrived so quickly and the fire did not spread. 

  
  But on top of all those blessing in the midst of the crazy someone brought us dinner. Some of the elders in our church came one afternoon to pray over us. Encouraging messages and prayer were constantly coming to us. God's grace was all over each situation and we saw His love for us in new ways. 

  
  So we rejoice and be glad. Not because everything is going well and we are well rested, but because in each thing we saw a clearer picture of Him and in Him we found rest and peace and joy.

All of Dad's family showed up at our door came over for brunch and part of the afternoon to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Gramma brought the new puppies, Royce and Ranger. 

In her happy place.

Taking stock of the feast.

There was plenty of food; pancakes, skillet vegetables, french toast, sausage, egg casserole, muffins, fruit, and more. 

Opening his gifts (with his personal gift un-wrapper assistant). 

Dessert was (of course) cake and Blue Bell Ice Cream. (It's a Linn thing.) 

The kids played outside with the puppies while everyone else took a nap visited in the living room. It didn't take long for Thanksgiving to be all planned out with an email sent too. 

After everyone left we all had some rest time and then welcomed Aunt Amy and Rowan who are here for the week! 

The rest of the evening was pretty typical of Sundays around here. 

Monday morning Chloe and I left at 8:00 to go to a friend's house. From there we went with them to a mall in Dallas to find Speech and Debate tournament clothing. The dress "code" is work professional and, obviously, modest. Mom would have taken us, but they offered and it was decided that since they knew what they were doing, we'd be more efficient going with them. 

They made us coffee, really good, coffee with their espresso machine and we formed a plan and headed out. We mainly looked at things in Forever 21 and H&M. In the middle we took a lunch break in the food court. (Anyone want to guess where we chose to get food?) 

All of us that went found what we were looking for in good time and it was so fun to do it together. 

After we finished we got more coffee, but this time in the mall. 

An amazing caramel latte. 

We got home just in time for me to turn around and leave with Nana and Grandfather to babysit for their small group. I was worn out, but definitely ready to snuggle babies. I even got to rock myself baby Kyle to sleep! 

Tuesday Mom and the littles left for Bubble Land and then Town Talk. They were gone most of the day. 

Kate came and did take her naps! 

Sleepy me and giggly her. 

Faces when playing with ice

Baby Tips-

When a baby is teething they usually drool more than usual. They can also be more fussy and tend to put their fingers or toys in their mouth. Sometimes they will have a slight fever, but it is nothing to be concerned about. An ice cube to suck on can feel really good to them, just make sure they don't choke on it. 

That moment when...

Kate feeds Gabe her carrot.

Your next door neighbor's barn explodes in the middle of the night. Now sleep.

You get to find out what a huge adrenaline rush is like.

You decided you'd rather not have to call 911 again too soon.

You wake up Monday morning and decide that if would be nice if it was just Saturday already.


The Herd: Quoted

"Your hair is too long. You are almost sitting on it!" -Gabe to me 

"So that guy I just met next door is single..." -Mom to me 

"I don't want North Korea to do anything, we are debating about Taiwan." -Christian during cross examination in debate  

"...And I never started the timer." -Christian mid-debate speech 

"I'm so hungry I could eat a bear!" -Gabe at breakfast  

"Well, we are out of bears, but let's see what we can find." -Dad

"I sat in the tree blind and froze my patootie off." -Christian  

"Aww I liked you patootie... Will it grow back?" -Mom 

"I was thinking we might schedule a pregnancy massage for 'so and so'." -Mom

"I'm happy to get one too. A massage, not a pregnancy one, that is not one of my current conditions." -Dad

"Dad, you are really doing well at being funny these days!" -Me 

Blessing Upon Blessing

Tuesday I was up before Kate arrived. *Wink* She was so cheerful all day, but decided she wanted me to hold her, a lot. But she didn't just want to be held, she wanted me to work, while I held her. I'm sure all the moms understand even better than I do, but I'm getting to where, whenever she is here, doing stuff with two hands seems too easy. Or maybe that's just me. 

So we had lots of quality snuggles and my arms got a really good workout. 

Baby tips: 

"Lady Rides" is a perfect thing to do with one year olds. And you will get a really good workout. If you finish the song and the child proceeds to bounce on your legs, that means do it again. This could continue for up to 20 rounds.

Also, baby drool is 100% sanitary. Probably. 

That night we had small group at our house. Actually we had "group" at our house. Having 32 people over (which equals close to half our church) is not really small... 

My favorite color is sunset. 

Wednesday morning Ava and I babysat for Nana's Bible study. We had 5 children 5 years and below and then 3 babies. It was so fun! The more the merrier, in most cases. By the end I think Ava was not liking babysitting quite so much anymore, but I love it all the more. Without the bumps and tears and tiredness it's not real life. 

In the afternoon a couple of elders from our church and Grandfather (who is an elder in their church) came over to pray for Gabe (who had strep throat) and Mom and Dad (who have been, obviously, having some health issues- not sleeping, blacking out while driving, etc). 

They talked with Gabe a little and then prayed over him. 

The whole time they were here was anointed with prayer, throughout the conversation and the actual prayer time. We were so incredibly blessed by them coming all the way out to us. It was a very special, God-ordained afternoon. 

Thursday morning I had coffee and study time with my friend again. 

Dad and Chloe left early afternoon to go to Costco and then to the doctor for Dad to have a heart monitor thingy put on for the next 24 hours. 

I drove Christian and myself to Speech and Debate club and Dad dropped Chloe off. Gramma came to watch us this week and it was really fun to have her there! 

Christian has continued to work on his persuasive speech and Chloe and I on our duo. Our first tournament is coming up so it's time to finish fine-tuning everything. 

During the middle of speech time we were all moved down to the church basement while a tornado blew over the area. Then we resumed activity. 

Chloe and Christian got to debate our friends who are brothers, that night. Those brothers had just been to a tournament and got second place! We were super excited for them, and I was thrilled to get to watch my siblings go against them. Everyone did a great job and Chloe and Christian got great feedback. 

During debate time Mom and the littles were in the closet at home waiting out a tornado warning. (Dad was still en route.) Thankfully they just had hail, rain, and lightning. And praise the Lord, our roof survived!! 

Before the storm.

Only took me three weeks... 

Friday morning Mom and the littles had "coffee school." 

I left pretty early to go to my nanny job and then after that to babysit for a family in our church. It was one of those days that I kind of forgot about food. But everything with the kids went really well. 

The little girl I nanny for took a four hour nap which was awesome! 

Then the other family with 5 boys and 1 girl were super good for me. Minimal tears and lots of energy. I did not fall asleep on the couch.

It was 11:30 pm by the time I got home. I was so grateful that it was not raining. 

That moment when...

You watch two 18 month old twins happily playing together and think "so this is what having twins is like."

You get to change one child's diaper while holding another child.

You are holding two wailing babies and think "so this is what having twins is like."

You and your sister finish babysitting 8 children and you leave with tears and drool and...other wet substances...all over your shirt. 

You finally realize what the expression 'waste not want not' means,

You're so tired everything is beyond funny.

A random older gentleman comes over to tell you and your friend that you both have beautiful hair.

The Herd: Quoted 

"Your hair is too long. You are almost sitting on it!" -Gabe to me 

"So that guy I just met next door is single..." -Mom to me 

"I don't want North Korea to do anything, we are debating about Taiwan." -Christian during cross examination in debate  

"...And I never started the timer." -Christian mid-debate speech 

"I'm so hungry I could eat a bear!" -Gabe at breakfast  

"Well, we are out of bears, but let's see what we can find." -Dad

"I sat in the tree blind and froze my patootie off." -Christian  

"Aww I liked you patootie... Will it grow back?" -Mom 

"I was thinking we might schedule a pregnancy massage for 'so and so'." -Mom

"I'm happy to get one too. A massage, not a pregnancy one, that is not one of my current conditions." -Dad

"Dad, you are really doing well at being funny these days!" -Me 

The ER

You are the light of the world, a city on a hill, a cup of coffee 

in the hands of one who is cold.

You spread light and love and warmth to those around you.

Friday after morning family prayer time I went to work at my new nanny job for a majority of the day. The moment I got home Mom and Dad were walking out the door. I didn't take it personally. They were headed to Dallas for the evening that extended to be most of the early morning too. 

I asked for a few minutes of time by myself in my room after giving a little direction. Of course at least three different children then came to my room with questions during the next five minutes, but... 

After dinner the littles set up their movie in the schoolroom, "A Cinderella Story." And, at the recommendation of a friend, the rest of us settled in the living room to view "Stardust." I love both movies, "Stardust" is probably more of a bigger kid movie, but it's really good if fantasy and crazy plots are your thing. And "A Cinderella Story" is adorable for anyone. 

Because it was storming, we live in the country, and both movies required wifi, we ended up having to pause our movie so the kids could finish theirs in time to get to bed. It was worth the wait and I got to make Trim Healthy Mama Hot Chocolate (aka, guilt free hot chocolate that is actually full of good protein). 

Mom and Dad were going to be late because of the rain and having such a long drive so everyone except me went to bed. I stayed up to wait for them, obviously. By 11:00 pm I was getting concerned. 

I was about to call and check on them when Nana knocked on the back door. Of course I immediately thought Mom and Dad had crashed or something. Thankfully they had not. They were about 1/2 a mile away, but Dad had started to feel lightheaded and pulled over. He promptly blacked out. 

Mom was able to call Grandfather to come right away and sent Nana to me. 

Mom and Dad had pulled over in front of the house of one of our neighbors who lets Chloe ride their horses. Within a few minutes those neighbors got home and had Mom and Dad and Grandfather go inside with them. The Husband called 911 and while they were waiting they were able to check Dad's blood pressure. (He was awake by the time they were going inside.)

The Ponder Chief of Police (whom I'd met the day before...) was the first one there and the ambulance arrived soon after. They checked some things and recommended that Dad go to the ER with them. 

Mom got to ride with him and Grandfather followed them. The rain made for a very slow and not fun drive. 

They were seen pretty quickly at the ER. (So, if y'all ever need to go, 3:30 am isn't very busy.) The doctor ran some tests and everything came back negative. Dad was cleared to go home and was encouraged to follow up with his own doctor on Monday. 

Saturday had been a fully booked day, but when Mom and Dad didn't get home until early in the morning we canceled our plans in favor of resting. 

Mom and Dad called a meeting in their room to tell the rest of the kids what had occurred during the night and then we all did whatever we could to let them rest. Dad was tired, but especially as the day went on he felt better and mostly normal. 

Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil picked up things to make us dinner and brought it out so they could spend time with us. Uncle Phil had lots of little helpers getting dinner ready and Nana and Grandfather joined us. It almost felt like it was a holiday or birthday or something, it was fun to be together. After dinner we all watched "New in Town." 

Sunday we had our brunch with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil and a lady Mom and Dad had met Friday night. Uncle Phil got to learn some new games. 

Sunday was the first of November which meant that National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo began. Chloe and I had heard about it from a friend and both had been thinking about participating, though neither of us told the other until a couple of weeks ago. So that afternoon we both began our stories. 

The basic idea is that you start writing a novel and work on it until the end of November. The rules; it has to be 50,000 words long and you can do no writing until November first. Both of us had basic plot ideas and a little bit of characterization thought through. 

Essentially you have to write about 2000 words a day to complete this. 

That night we got Pizza from Papa John's (Dad's favorite) and watched "First Knight." This movie has been called "The First Knight," "Last Knight," "The Last Knight," "Last Night," etc. I was positive it was called "Last Knight." It's not. Anyways, we enjoyed it and Mia's commentary especially was humorous. All movies we watch come with extensive commentary. 

Country Sunset.

Monday Mom and Dad went to a doctor's appointment for Dad and they didn't find anything alarming. At this point they are doing a few heart tests. We are so grateful. 

Chloe had a job interview with a woman that works locally as a photographer specializing in senior and family pictures and horse photography and she got the job! We are all thrilled for her. 

I went out to run some errands thinking I'd only be gone a couple of hours. I was gone for four. But I found what I was looking for, namely, speech tournament clothing and shoes, and Blue Bell Ice Cream!! 

She is so excited that she can "finally" read her Bible! 

This is not normal for Gabe... 

When I got back Aunt Cendei was at our house. She had delivered dinner from another family in our church and we invited her to join us. Gabe wasn't feeling well, but after we all laughed with Aunt Cendei (because she brings laughter with her everywhere) and watched "Zookeeper," he was perking up.

His Fingerprints

Dad and Christian were supposed to leave for a missions trip to Haiti next week. But, they could not go because Christian's passport application process hit a snag right before our Maui trip. At the time we were upset, but trusted that God had a plan. After Dad's incident, we are so grateful they are not leaving. We were content to never know why the passport issue occurred and trust God, but knowing what we do now, we see His hand so clearly.


That Moment When...

You change out of jeans into pajama pants. 

Dad gets to meet the Chief of Ponder Police and the Ponder EMTs. 

Gabe falls asleep in the middle of the living room floor in the middle of the day. 

The Herd: Quoted 

"Hey! I have curls too!" -Mia

"You did, but they were wilted in the shower." -Gabe 

"He didn't give me a ticket, though." -Me telling my story about how I learned that turning left on red is illegal. 

"Of course he didn't!" -Dad

"He was old!" -Me

"Yeah, old, not dead. He probably felt sorry for you too, since your response was 'you can't do that?'" -Mom

"If you took out all the romance-" -Christian 

"-And all the battles, there would be no movie." -Me 

"I found my scarf! It was inside my coat like a liver." -Mia

"What?" -Me

"You know, it was inside my coat like the insides of a body." -Mia 

"How are you surviving, Lydia?!" -Christian during our cold photoshoot. 

"I'm not." -Me 

"I got some great shots!" -Chloe

"It's a good thing your model didn't freeze... All the way." -Me 

"Yeah, that's always good." -Chloe 

"So, Dad, funny story... It's not just construction workers in Maui that like me..." -Me

"Funny? Why don't you tell us about that." -Mom

"Well, I was in traffic and the truck next to me rolled down the window and looked over at me. I glanced over and someone in the backseat was violently waving. For a second I thought it was someone I knew, but then I realized the entire truck was full of guys checking me out. I looked away pretty fast..." -Me 

"We are going to have to start sending little children with you!" -Mom 

"I've been trying to think of signs I could hold up like, 'My Grandfather has a gun.' or 'My uncle just got out of jail for taking out the last guy like you.'" -Me

"Or you could make one that says 'I'm visiting my husband in jail.'" -Ava

"What?!" -Mom

Slowly dying the next three days

Tuesday morning my alarm was Kate's mommy calling me to say she was at the door. I have no memory of the sound of my alarm or my turning it off. So I got to literally start my day with wide-awake Kate. (I loved it!) 

Mom heard her fussing and took that to mean that Kate wanted to see her and so came up to please her. While Kate played with Mom and I was able to shower real quick. 

After breakfast Mom, Chloe, Ava, and Gabe went to Bubble Land and to run other errands. 

Mia took her sweet time doing each task as slowly as she could and stopped to smell all the flowers. Dad was ready to leave for a meeting before Mia was dressed, or had her hair done, or had a bag packed so she could accompany him. So Christian and I became "quick-change assistants" and had her ready to waltz out the door in record time. 

Long story short, only Christian, Kate, and I were home for a better part of the day. 

Christian did school. 

Kate decided that naps were over-rated and skipped them for a majority of the day. She is starting to "talk" a little and kept throwing her pacifier out of her bed, saying "uh oh," and then crying until I picked it up, and laid her down again with it in her mouth. 

When she is supposed to be asleep. 

During the 30 minutes she actually slept. 

Covering me in cracker crumbs.

The others arrived home later in the afternoon, and had rest time. 

Kate didn't want to be put down or held by anyone except me, so I got to make dinner with one hand. (It's a great workout! Also, it is possible to peel and chop a cucumber with one hand and to cut grape tomatoes in half.) 

After dinner was ready, I left with Kate to take her home. I bathed her (she is so cute soaking wet with bubbles in her hair AND she is the perfect bath-taker, no fuss what-so-ever) and had her all ready for bed by the time her mommy arrived. 

Wednesday Mom got me up at 8:00. (I had my alarm set for 6:00....) 

Most of us actually ended up having a sort of slow day, but we were still productive. 

In the afternoon Mom and the littles made cinnamon rolls to sell in the neighborhood via Facebook in order to raise money for Samaritan's Purse. The house smelled amazing!!! 

I went to Staples to get house plan copies for Dad and Christian ran some errands with Grandfather. (Pretty sure that involved a treat at Starbucks...) 

Thursday morning I changed the sound to my alarm and relocated it. I got up at 6:00. 

Dad and I have both been getting back into consistent exercise since the trip. It's hard! I much prefer to get up early and get it over with, though. 

After I showered, I had my Bible time as I do each morning. I love early mornings when it is completely quiet and I can fully focus and listen and read and pray and meditate. It's something I look forward to and long for each day. I just finished a study on the Holy Spirit and now I'm reading a psalm and a proverb each day as well as a chapter from "Let Me Be a Woman." 

His mercies are new every morning...

Not just January 1, not just Monday morning, not just anything. 

EVERY morning, His mercies are new.

Today is a new day, this is a fresh morning, 

live it as you are, forgiven and loved.

Coffee, half an avocado, two eggs, sausage, and a cinnamon roll

After breakfast and prayer time with the family, I left for coffee and study time with a friend at Zera's Coffee and Tea. The guy who made my coffee wanted to make sure it was clear that he'd made a perfect heart design on top of my mocha... My friend had a "baby frog?" 

We had a great study time and then I delivered her to the park where her family was. We didn't get lost and we were on time. 

Not too long after I got home, Grandfather left with Chloe, Christian, and I to go to Speech and Debate. 

There is a tournament this weekend out of town, so not as many people were at club. We didn't have to set up because of that, but we were still early. 

According to our coaches, Chloe and I are way ahead of schedule with our duo. Now we are to the point of refining it all, and adding in additional humor and fun blocking, etc. 

Chloe and Christian did part of a debate with another team and probably won. 

That moment when...

You do a workout and slowly die the next three days. 

Your brother brings you a rose and says it's from a boy whose name you don't need to know.

You meet the Chief of Ponder Police. 

The Herd: Quoted 

"Don’t you have to take an adult with you?" -Me about me going somewhere 

"You are an adult." -Mom

"Oh yeah..." -Me 

"I always have such great quotes." -Mom 

"Why do you guys always gather here?!" -Chloe in her room

"Dad said this was a good place to hang out." -Christian 

"Well I was planning to take a nice shower and read my book and have a quiet evening all to myself..." -Chloe  

"Hello Introvert, we are your two extroverted siblings here to crash your party." -Me laughing  

"My legs look better than your jeans." -Chloe 

"Underneath my jeans looks before than your legs." -Christian  

"My legs are smoother." -Chloe 

"Mine are hairier!" -Christian  

"Mine are more filled out." -Chloe  

"Mine have more bruises and blood on them!" -Christian 

"All you are doing is discrediting your legs." -Chloe

"I'm leaving to write this all down!" -Me laughing  

"You just missed the man who brought his gun to get the cinnamon rolls!" -Me
"Nice..." -Dad

"What?" -Christian 

"You missed what I said because you were fan-girling over your football." -Chloe 

"Hey, nobody's here! We could do cartwheels down the hall!" -Me 

"That's your first response to nobody being around? Be my guest." -Chloe