Getting Current so We Can Get to the Beach!

I know, I know, I'm behind...

But, guess what! With this post we are going to get current! (For the most part.)

Here is a summary of all the big stuff that took place towards the end of our summer. We have quotes and moments and stories and ponderings all here and after this post we will almost be up to our time in Maui (where we are currently). Also, at some point, I will tell all about my time at Summit Ministries, which is where I was when I was out of town for two weeks.

*Flips back to July in my planner*

*Checks previous post to see where I left off*

*Tries to get oriented*

*Begins the long process of uploading tons of pictures*

*Decides I have done enough outlining of my actions*

The remainder of our summer from the end of July through the first two weeks of August looked a lot like the rest of our summer.

I had work those three weeks and Chloe, Christian, and I all continued finishing up our college classes. For me that was Art Appreciation, and for Chloe and Christian that was Public Speaking. Gabe continued going to the gym 9 hours every week and Mia had her own gymnastics class on Wednesdays for about an hour or so.

I was so excited to go back to watching just the three children, instead of all five (including the cousins). Everything was so quiet!! Caring for five was still fun for the most part, but I enjoyed being able to give more individual attention with just three to care for.

I'm pretty sure that every time I finish a book five new ones appear on my "to read" shelf.

Towards the end of July was Mom's birthday and it just so happened to fall on our engagement group night so we threw a pool party and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and invited other friends from church and family to join us that night. We ended up having 49 people at our house! 

Dad did a great job manning the grill.

Don't Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil look like models? #stunninglygorgeous

The adults visited both inside and outside, and most of the kids swam. A favorite game was keeping beach balls in the air, but the challenging aspect was also keeping them in the pool... The sunset was stunning and Mom felt well celebrated. 

The last time I blogged *hides face* it was cold and rainy (what???) so I made hot tea and curled up in a blanket to write. (Totally July in Texas...) 

Our pool was finished and everything was looking beautiful...except that we had no grass... (Which of course made chasing balls at the pool party so fun... Rocks, weeds, stickers, oh my!) 

So Mom and Dad decided, "Why pay for someone else to lay sod and deprive our children of the opportunity to learn how to do it themselves?" 

It's not technically that difficult, but those blankets of grass are heavy, especially after you've already laid two pallets worth of sod. And, since this is Texas we are talking about, it was 90+ degrees outside and humid. Chloe and I only almost passed out a few times. Being Linn girls, though, our mentality is "don't take a break until you can't see or hear anything anymore, or until you are actually on the ground." 

The whole project only took us about 3 hours, I believe. Mia and Ava ran around on top of the grass to pack it down and Mom and Gabe didn't have to do anything because Gabe was at the gym. 

Once we finished it was great to jump into the pool. The dirt and mud was so caked into our skin we had to use a pressure sprayer and scrub hard with our hands to get it mostly off. Also, sod is very scratchy, side effects may include irritated skin and bloody cuts on arms and legs. 

One of my assignments for class was to go to an art museum and then write an essay. Gramma and I decided to spend the day together and after lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (with cheesecake, because why else would you go there?) we explored the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth. 

This Japanese screen was my favorite piece.

The two of us had a wonderful time together finding art, discussing architecture, sharing quilt ideas, and catching up on life. 

As my weeks with these beautiful children came to an end I soaked up every minute. By the end the baby was walking (my back was very grateful, that child is solid, aka, he weights 25+ lbs) and the four year old was potty trained (the three year old was already good in that area). They also figured it out, "Uoo yike worship music a yot, Yidia." 

Sunday afternoons...

One Sunday evening we invited high school and college kids from our church to come swim and eat pizza at our house. I think there ended up being 16 (ish) of us and everyone had an absolute blast! 

The ones of us who stayed in the pool late into the night:

I love snuggling with precious baby Blaire! 

Kate has the cutest little sister ever!! 

My last day of work: 

Mom and Dad went out on dates several times and enjoyed staying connected with each other, sharing ideas, and making plans. I got to spend time with several of my friends and attend times of worship and encouragement a couple of times with young women in our church. I also got my shopping done and had my car inspected (the guys at the shop still remember me from all the other times...) and had my hair cut trimmed. Chloe and Christian finished their classes when I did (the same time I finished work). Ava, Gabe, and Mia were pretty self-sufficient with their schoolwork and are amazing students. 

I've been pondering...

*My thoughts on my last day of work and classes.

When Summer began this day seemed so far away. Now it's here and I still feel like graduation was last week. 

I have two college classes completed and two CLEP tests passed. I finished my 12 weeks of work and have started some new ventures. 

Tomorrow I leave to spend two weeks at Summit Ministries in Colorado Springs. 

Last year at this time I was finishing my nanny job and looking forward to seeing what God was going to add to the pages of my stories in the coming year. That day also seems like yesterday, but so much had taken place and I have learned so much. It has been a wonderful journey, one that is continuing on, and I'm so glad He is my guide. 

As a nanny this summer it was very different watching three children instead of just two, which is what I did last summer because the baby stayed with his mom. But it was tons of fun. For three weeks I also watched their cousins and that was...a lot. It's amazing how much easier everything seems when you go back to watching just three. 

The four year old is completely potty trained and the baby started walking about three weeks ago. I sang a lot apparently, because they figured out worship music is my favorite. 

Most frequently asked question: why? 

Most frequent response to my answer: why? 

Second most frequently asked question: how old are you? 

*cue the following daily discussion on how some teenagers are also grown ups as they insisted I am still a kid* 

These are precious children who have given me many fun memories and hilarious stories; caring for them was a privilege. 

Also, it really is a wonderful day when the 25+ lb baby learns to walk...

That Moment When...

When you start playing "nothing" (not a song or anything played before) on the piano and make yourself cry...

Christian finds a rat swimming in the pool. 

Mia is reading "The Greatest Shark Attacks of all Time" before bed. 


The Herd: Quoted

"This is less humiliating than when the backhoe almost hit our house." -Gabe
"Less nerve-racking, maybe?" -Dad

"Thank you so much for not letting us play video games, Mom." -Ava with all sincerity

"The longer we do it, the harder it gets!" -Me to Dad while laying sod.

"Do I use it? Do I need it?" -Gabe evaluating the things in his room to get rid of stuff.

"Who wants pity money?" -Christian while playing poker with the littles.

"People walk off cliffs while they are on their phones?" That's just dumb! How could someone miss a cliff?" -Gabe while discussing the dangers of "Pokemon Go".

"Sometimes the grass just needs water, sometimes it needs to be cut, and at times the grass needs to be burned before it can grow back green. " -Chloe

"What's a serial killer?" -Gabe
"It's someone who murders Cheerios boxes." -Mom
*Gabe dies laughing once he realizes she is joking*
*Mom then writes out the two words and begins explaining the difference*
"So it's like a series of books or movies." -Gabe beginning to understand the origin of "serial."
"Yes!" -Mom
"So a serial killer is someone who kills books and movies?" -Gabe

"My hands are suffering a great deal." -Gabe showing us his gymnastics battle scars.

Weddings, Birthdays, and Bachelor Parties

I'm so behind on here it's almost funny, but it's really not, because I have a whole lot of writing to do and y'all are probably wondering if I gave up on blogging...

I did not.

But it might take a while to get back on track... Also, there's no telling how much I'll remember of what has taken place the past *gulps* 6 ish weeks, so I'm sorry if you are sad to miss details. I'll try to hit all the big stuff.


Days in the Life...

Monday (in mid July) I was surviving working my last week watching all five children, the oldest of the bunch being six. Ava went with me to help and it was awesome to have another pair of eyes.

A typical day with all of them looked something like this:

Ava and I arrive at 8:30
Everyone goes outside
She watches the bigger kids play
I chase the baby
Snacks at 9:15
Baby to nap
Everyone upstairs to play
*Insert a lot of yelling and bouncing and mostly pleasant playing*
At some point we all play a game
At another point I read aloud
Lunch is anywhere from 10:45 to noon
Baby is awake
Big kids go outside with Ava
I feed the baby
Everyone settles down to read
Mom finally returns about 2:00
Ava and I race home to take naps.

The lunch scene

On this Monday I went home to clean and do laundry and exercise and shower and leave again. 

I played with Kate for an hour or so and fed and bathed her while her mom finished things up in preparation for their small group. After Kate went to bed I got to hold Blaire for a while and then babysat for the group.

One of my very top favorite forms of therapy.

I'm sorry, I have no idea what the others did that day. My guess would be that Chloe and Christian had class and Gabe likely went to gymnastics. 

This post and the ones to follow are all based off of whatever notes I took in my planner so unless something interesting happened, all I can give y'all is what my weeks looked like for the most part. But, the good news is, everyone had a pretty similar schedule all summer, so nothing super different took place. 

Tuesday I had a whole bunch of assignments to complete for my Art Appreciation college class.

I did most of my reading by the pool and got in the water whenever I got too hot from the sun. It was a good system. Mom and Dad swam some too and the littles were in and out between swimming and playing legos inside. (Chloe and Christian had class.) 

Art Appreciation assignment- draw a head of lettuce. 

I have not missed my calling, I much prefer portraits!

My day was broken up between studying, swimming, running errands, and making dinner. I finally finished all of my assignments after dinner and headed out to visit a dear friend before she left for college. *Tear* 

Wednesday Ava and I went back to work. In the evening we had friends over to swim and eat dinner. 

Thursday Chloe and Christian finished their class for the week and Ava and I finished work for the week and we all went out that evening to go see "The Jungle Book." 

Friday Chloe and I got up at 6:00 to attempt to run in the neighborhood. The sunrise was gorgeous, but it got hot fast! I think we made it about a mile and a half before we were beat. 

I worked on assignments and did some stuff for Dad and finished things up as best I could. I didn't get as far as I hoped in some areas, but as an UGS (unrealistic goal setters) member, I'm used to it. 

I had a wedding to attend in Dallas that evening and so left mid-afternoon to try to miss the traffic. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil offered for me to have dinner with them beforehand and it was fun to get to visit. 

Happy to be representing my family at our friend's wedding.

The wedding was so so so beautiful! All glory and honor was given to the Lord and I cried plenty.

Reception room and dance hall.

It was fun to visit with other friends at the reception and get dragged into some dancing even though I had absolutely no idea what I was doing... 

I stayed the night with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil as the reception was not over until 11:00. Don't worry, I had someone walk me to my car.

Saturday I drove home and got to study until time for church. 

We all got to ride in the same car for the first time in a long while! 

Sunday we all got up a little earlier (earlier than we usually do on the weekend...) and prepared to celebrate Mom and Gramma's birthdays with Dad's side of the family. We decorated a little and welcomed the Mexican feast that Grandpa, Chloe, and Christian went to pick up from a restaurant. Then everyone visited and enjoyed the pool late into the afternoon. 

After the party we cleaned up, rested, and made our brunch meal. 

49 pancakes, 10 eggs, 6 large sausages, 

and two skillets full of vegetables

We finished the weekend by watching "War Room." SO GOOD! 

I've been pondering...

Every week God blows me away; He meets me where I am and gives me exactly what I need. I can not imagine living without Him and not meeting with His body weekly. 

Church is not just for me, though. It's not about, "What can I get out of this tonight?" But rather, "How can You use me to serve and minister to Your body?" 

I don't want to be a consumer. I don't want to go to church to benefit me and serve me and get me what I need. I don't want to drop God and pick Him back up whenever He fits into my schedule and it's convenient for me. Nor do I want to treat the gathering of His body that way. 

I don't want God to be a part of my life. I want my life to be consumed by Him. 

I don't want to "have Him around sometimes". I want to live every moment aware of His overwhelming presence. 

I don't want to approach His body with the attitude, whether conscious or unconscious, of "How can you serve me?" I want to allow Him to use me to serve His body.

That Moment When...

This happens at lunchtime... *cue the outside voices, a little less than perfect table manners, and ineffective pleads for a little less noise* "I bet babysitting kids is hard for you. I bet sometimes you wish you could quit. I bet you wish that you could quit right now." -the six year old.

When you are finally getting take your socks and shoes off after 7 hours. 


The Herd: Quoted 

"I hate to tell you this, Lydia, but one of the guys in the truck was staring at you." -Ava

"Did your groomsmen keep you up all night before the wedding?" -Me
"Yup. None of us slept, the bachelor party lasted all night." -Dad
"Yeah, single men think that's funny." -Mom
"But how many of your groomsmen were still single?" -Me
"All of them." -Dad
"Oh." -Me
"That's why it's called a bachelor party, no one is married yet." -Mom
"...oh." -Me

Don't Worry!

I promise, I will blog again, and I will get all caught up. I have quotes and moments and ponderings all to share, but they will have to wait a while longer.

I am leaving town for two weeks, but when I return my schedule should be much more open.

Hang in there, it will be worth the wait. *wink*

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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Getting Back-sided, Surprise Children, and a Late Night

We still exist! We have not disappeared for forever! Just for most of July, but...  Allow me to now begin to catch you up on all that has been going on with us.

Days in the Life...

Monday was the Fourth of July and we didn't do that much...

I had off of work, Chloe and Christian had no class, Gabe did not go to gymnastics.

So I did a full day of studying and chores and ironing (I was sooooooo excited that Dad had stuff that needed ironing) and other stuff that needed doing.

Here I am sporting red, white, and blue. 

I recommend alternate methods for sporting red.

Dad worked and tried to fix our septic system as it was clogged and about to overflow. Of course, no plumbers were answering their phones and Dad could not figure out how to fix it. So we began conserving water. 

We all took turns going next door to beg to be allowed to use Nana and Grandfather's shower. 

In the afternoon Chloe made an apple pie and after a non-typical Fourth of July dinner, Nana and Grandfather snuck in and swiped the pie joined us for ice cream, pie, and "Tammy Tell Me Truly." 

The others stayed up to watch the fireworks again, but I was exhausted and went to bed. Mom and Dad tried valiantly to get to sleep before they started, but it was too late. 

Tuesday was another more laid back day for the most part. The plumber came to fix our septic tank and Chloe and Christian went to class. My car needed some work so Dad and I took it in to the shop in the morning and then went back to get it before dinner. 

In the evening I went to babysit a little girl. 

We played dress up. 

It is actually very hard to see through those glasses. 

Wednesday it was back to work, back to class, back to gym, back to normal. 

Gabe actually spent 7 hours at the gym, though, and after I got home from work we all got to have an adventure. 

Mom had just left to go get Gabe from the gym and I had literally done 30 seconds of my workout when Christian called Dad from Chloe's phone about 5 minutes after they had texted they were on their way home from class.

Right away I could tell something was wrong.

They had just been involved in a hit-and-run accident and Chloe "was in no condition to make the call to Dad."

Dad made sure they were okay and that they were not still on the highway. Christian said they were not hurt other than both their necks being really sore from being jerked. They had pulled into a gas station and the back bumper was still on the highway.

Dad told him to call 911 and then called Mom to reroute her from the gym to go be with Chloe and Christian.

The girls and I then left to go get Gabe after running next door to let Nana and Grandfather know what had happened.

Ava and Mia ended up giving me directions to the gym since I had never been there before. We found it just fine and got to watch the end of Gabe's practice. Then in the car I carefully worded the story of what had happened and why Mom was not picking him up. (Gabe is our worrier and can get very worked up about things. He was okay once he knew they were not hurt and that Mom was with them.)

Gabe lined up with his class. 

(He is the one in navy.) 

Back home I was able to read all the text updates. Grandfather and Dad had left to go get the car and Mom was driving the kids to the chiropractor. 

Christian had made the 911 call just fine and the police officer arrived sans sirens. Once Mom arrived a bit later, they all went in to the gas station to talk. 

Christian was able to tell the officer the make, model, and color of the big pickup truck that had hit them at a red light. The bumper had not fallen off the car and the reason Chloe was not able to call was because she was so angry and was still yelling at the long gone driver. (Christian was yelling too, but he calmed down first. Also, he is a bit dramatic and so the ordeal ended up sounding much worse than it actually was when he first called Dad.)

What happened was they had stopped at a light and were waiting for the cars in front of them to start moving as it had just turned green. The truck that hit them apparently missed that the light had been red .46 seconds before and so never slowed down but rammed right into the kids just as Chloe took her foot off the brake. Christian had been leaning forward when they got hit and so was slammed into his seat which hurt his neck and shoulder. Chloe's neck was also so violently jerked that her sunglasses flew off her face, all the stuff in their laps and on the dashboard got thrown on them and the floor, and the sunroof cover (which is nearly impossible to open) was shoved open a good several inches. 

Chloe drove through the light and then tried to move over a lane because they were in the middle of the highway. As she began moving over the truck that hit them swerved around them and almost hit the driver's side, then raced off. Christian missed the license plate, but was able to collect all the other information. 

They pulled into the gas station and then "let it loose." (To quote them both.) Christian calmed down first and tried to comfort Chloe who continued yelling and threw her phone at him saying, "call someone." 

So he called Dad, Dad told them what to do and called Mom, then called them back and made sure they knew they were to just sit tight and wait for the police and Mom to arrive. 

By the time I got home they had reached the doctor's office and Dad and Grandfather were on their way home with the car. (They were driving a 20+ year old Honda Civic so no airbags went off.) 

I was supposed to get dinner with one of the ladies in our church, but I wasn't sure if Mom and Dad would want me to stay home. Mom said I should still go, though, so I rushed to help Ava make dinner and then showered and raced out the door myself, passing Dad on my way out. 

The others arrived home and rested and ate dinner and watched a "Tammy" movie. 

I had a really nice time at dinner and enjoyed finally getting to relax and breathe after such a long, crazy day. (Work had it's "fun" moments too... Like arriving and finding out that in addition to watching the three I usually nanny, I would be caring for their cousins. So, the ages of my charges for the day, 6, 5, 4, and 3 years old, and 18 months. One girl. Four boys. One me, who was not freaking out externally. Six loud hours.) 

Back at home I got to hear the whole story from Chloe and Christian. That's when details like "no we weren't crying, we were yelling" came out. They were both already joking about it and seemed in good spirits. Chloe was excited to write a blog post about the adventure and I highly recommend it! Her post is here. 

Thursday I was already planning to take Mia with me, but adding her to the five I already had was.....interesting. The day actually went relatively well and Mia had fun. 

And yes, that would be Mia reading to them. 

Meanwhile, at home, we finally had concrete poured!!

Chloe got right back on that horse and drove our truck to class. It was her and Christian's last day of their Learning Frameworks class and they both finished with solid As. 

Mom and Dad went to dinner with Aunt Cendei, the kids watching a movie after dinner, and I had an adventure of my own. 

I was planning to finally put up my feet and do something that did not require much brainpower or energy, but I felt like I should at least log onto my college class and make sure I didn't have any emails. 

Well, I had one. 

And it said that, surprise, all the deadlines had been moved from Sunday night to that night and I had less than 5 hours to write three 300 word essays, two 250 word posts, and six comments, do a "dress for success" type assignment thingy, and take the final exam. (I had blocked off all of Friday to finish all those assignments.) 

So I took a few minutes to freak out. 

So I prayed, settled down, and got to it. Trying not to cry. 

I ended up having a few small issues like, "Oh, you no longer have any available space and so we are going to delete your essays," and "We'd rather not convert your pictures to an acceptable format," and "Now we won't allow you to submit your assignment because it's going to take 45 minutes to upload," and "Well, now you have nine minutes to take the final." (That would be my laptop and the class site talking. *wink*) 

But I made it!

I turned everything in and was able to complete 2/3 of the final before midnight. Because I didn't finish the final my grade went down by 2%, but that just meant I finished with a grade that was slightly better than Christian's. I'm not complaining! 

So that's how I finished my first college class! According to all those who have been through college, having that late night meant I am officially in college now. Afterwards I was very glad to have it done and my Friday was way more relaxed, but I was excited about not cutting it that close again. (Pay attention to that key word "was", it's important for reasons revealed in coming posts.) 

Friday I slept in. 

Then spent the day catching up on random little things I needed to do before leaving for Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil's place. 

Chloe and Christian got to work on their other school and enjoy saying that they now have college credit! 

The rest of the week I'm not entirely sure what everyone else did. I know they went to church on Saturday, but other than that, I have no idea. (Or memory.)

I beat the Dallas traffic and arrived safely for my birthday weekend. Aunt Lauren and I got to visit until Uncle Phil got home. Then we went to dinner and returned to watch the first half of a BBC period drama called "North and South." In case you were wondering, that is not a comedy. At all. You will cry. A lot. 

Saturday we all slept in. Then Uncle Phil prepared a yummy brunch meal for us. Aunt Lauren made chai tea lattes and we had our quiet times until she and I could leave to go get pedicures. 

Upon our return, we had orange smoothies and sweet maui onion potato chips. Then we all went to a thrift shop. 

We felt like crying some more (not, but we were anxious to see what happened) and finished "North and South" with popcorn. 

After dinner and deep conversations we voted (unanimously) for a comedy and selected "The Glass Bottom Boat". 

Sunday Uncle Phil left early to go practice with the worship team and Aunt Lauren and I went to Starbucks until it was time for church.

After church we got burgers and returned to their place to read for an hour or so and then watch "Sweet Home Alabama."

We thought the pool was going to be finished by that afternoon so Aunt Lauren and Uncle Phil could come swim with us, but it was not. I returned home late afternoon and got to catch up with everyone and watch more Olympic trials.



The Herd: Quoted 

"They got back-sided?!" -Gabe

"I feel like this is the week of year of accidents." -Gabe 

"For the record, being rear-ended is not a pleasant experience." -Chloe 

"Last I checked, I am still an animal-loving bookworm." -Chloe

"Story of my life: 'No, I wasn't slowing down so you could turn, I was anticipating your foolish decision to turn in front of me at the last possible moment.'" -Chloe 

Note- Chloe was wondering why she wasn't being quoted as much. So I stalked her records to find some quotes because I can't remember any other quotes from four weeks ago. Hope y'all enjoyed! She is a very cleaver one that quiet girl. *Smiles with sisterly pride* I did not teach her everything, y'all know... 

"That's not my mom, that's my sister!" -Mia to the kids I nanny.

"I am made of frenchies and frost-eyes." -Me trying to say frosties and french fries. (That's what Mom craved when she was pregnant with me. I have only actually eaten that myself a couple of times.)


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Heartburn, the first was good, wait until you see the sequel!

Days in the Life...

Monday Dad worked. I went to work. Chloe and Christian went to class. Mom and the littles had a movie marathon all afternoon and evening. Don't worry, no one was sick. Gabe did not have gym and the pool was still not done, so they decided watching three movies would be fun. I think the only time I ever maybe remember having a movie marathon as a child was while I was sick.

Mom and the littles did some productive stuff in the morning, then put together snacks and created a bunch of comfy spots to sit in the living room. After the first movie, "Follow Me Boys", they worked together to make pizza to go in the oven later for dinner.

Chloe and Christian arrived home and finished their work quickly to catch the next movie, "The Thrill of it All."

I got home and exercised and did laundry and cleaned and studied until I left to go babysit.

Kate's little sister has arrived and I got to hold her for over an hour while babysitting! Baby Blaire has already stolen my heart. I wondered how I would be able to love her as much as I love Kate, it's not hard.

The sunset was absolutely stunning! 

The others completely missed it because of their movie. 

When I got home there was some yummy pizza left for me and they were finishing up the last movie. I did more class work, then went to bed not too long after the others, although we all ended up having a late night.

Tuesday I was the first one up by a long shot. After the later-than-usual night, the others ended up sleeping in past 8:00! 

I spent pretty much the entire morning working on my class and Chloe and Christian left for their class as usual. 

In the afternoon I exercised and then left to go get coffee with one of the ladies in our church. 

We had a really good visit and then I stayed to write at least something in my neglected journal. Throw a new nanny job, college class, 5-day workout routine, and a load of stuff to process all at me at once and something's going to fall by the wayside, even if that thing ends up being something I love.

Writing, even just for 15 minutes, felt so good.

Back at home we worked on preparing for engagement group. This time it ended up just being us and one other family! We still had an encouraging time together and received reports from others so we could pray for them. 

Mia dressed up and requested a picture go on the blog. 

Wednesday all the usual things took place, except that Gabe was at the gym from 9:00 until 4:00 to make up for no class on Monday. Mia still had her class around lunchtime after she and Mom went to the library and Seven Mile Cafe. Ava stayed home. 

For the rest of us it was a normal day. 

In the evening we watched men's gymnastics and Gabe, who had spent 7 hours at the gym already and had come home exhausted, dropped down to do 52 good form pushups. 

After the competition was over, we spent some time in prayer for a family we know whose son was care-flighted after a terrible car accident. 

Thursday I went to work, Chloe and Christian went to class, Gabe had gym, and the wifi went out. 

The wifi went out in the morning and was still out when Chloe and I came home both needing to turn in projects for our classes. 

So, around 5:00, we gave up and headed to Starbucks to get our assignments submitted, because, of course, the deadlines were for that night. Thankfully we were able to get everything done pretty quickly and by the time we got home the wifi was back on. 

Because the first movie was so good...

*drum roll, please* 

Friday morning Mom and the littles went to the hospital to visit the family we are praying for. Then they met friends at Chick-fil-a for lunch and finished by going to Costco. 

I had coffee with a friend in the afternoon and Chloe met Gramma to work on a project. 

Saturday was very quiet for everyone as far as I know. 

We finally had work done on the pool again! Because it rained so much weeks and weeks ago the patio guys got super backed up. We kept getting pushed further down the list of jobs and so it was over a month between the last time we had anything done and when they arrived to get everything set to be poured. 

It was so hot for the men. When we cut a watermelon and set it on the porch for them they were so grateful. 

Ava and I left to go to church early. The worship and prayer service was wonderful, as was church afterwards. We all stayed pretty late after church to eat and visit, then to help clean up everything. 

Sunday everyone slept in (there was actually a lot of sleeping in that week) and then we worked on brunch and listened to the CD done by our favorite live singer in Maui. 

Pretty quick after the kitchen was cleaned up everyone except Mom and Chloe loaded up to go swim at Gramma's. 

Meanwhile Chloe got a roast in the oven for dinner and and Mom napped. Then they both read to their hearts' content. 

On our way home from swimming we stopped to see the progress on The Dream House. It is gorgeous!! 

Everyone showered and we ate dinner, then watched "Tammy and the Bachelor." 

As the movie finished, the fireworks began. 

The others went onto the porch and I went up to sit in my room in the dark. The fireworks were good; we could see at least 3 or 4 different groups setting them off in different areas, but the lightning was even more impressive to me. 

I sat for over an hour and eventually forgot about the fireworks. The lightning was going off on rapid-fire and was all across the sky. I could see bolt after bolt touching down on the horizon. God's creation is far more impressive than anything made with human hands. 

Dad's toe is lovely- ahem- a lovely shade of blue, black, and ouch. He can walk and drive fine now and the pressure is pretty much gone, but it would not be pleasant if it got bumped or stepped on. (Although if anyone steps on your toe, crushed or not, it still hurts.)


Also, at some point this week, a snake got in and ate our duck's beautiful nest of 14 or more soon-to-hatch eggs. Chloe wondered all week why eggs were slowly disappearing from the nest, but didn't know what was getting them. Well, she finally saw the snake (not until after it had gotten the last of the eggs, of course) and instead of running screaming for Christian to save her kill it, she marched over to the tack room herself to get the killing instrument shovel. But the snake got away. Chloe is now on the watch for revenge.


I've been Pondering...

I'm at 5 weeks of weightlifting and the calluses are beginning to form again. 

Sometimes the hard things that make us stronger also give us rough spots. 

I don't mind rough spots on my hands, but I would mind rough spots in my spirit. 

When God allows me to walk through something hard in order to make me stronger, I want to remain soft. 

It could almost be thought of as the opposite of forming calluses. Instead of those hard things working in my life to form rough spots in my spirit, they are working to soften me and rub away the calluses that want to make my spirit rough. 

Reverse callusing. 

Lord, please continue sending me the hard things so that as I lean on You, walking through them, I can be made stronger in You, and the rough spots can be smoothed over for Your glory.

That moment when...

You receive a Facebook message from a foreign man saying, "You Babe beauty, little rose."

You are trying doing a side plank and your braid falls off your shoulder completely knocking you off balance.

Three children are sitting in your lap at the same time, telling you you are "squishy," and pulling on the end of your braid to tickle their faces.


The Herd: Quoted 

"My hair comes like all the way to here." -Christian pulling his hair over his forehead after the girls were saying how far down their backs their hair falls.

"Oh, I think I remember this!" -Ava about a dish at dinner.

"Well, that would be interesting since I've never made it before." -Mom 
"Oh. Never mind!" -Ava

"We will have a paper to write about what we learned. I can say, 'Well obviously nothing from you!'" -Chloe joking as she told us about her online professor who has not responded to any emails or provided any lectures.