Mountains!

We're heading to Colorado to celebrate Greg's parents' 50th Anniversary! I can't wait. Pictures to come...

Trust

You have measured the waters in the hollow of Your hand,
And marked off the heavens with the breadth of Your hand.
You have calculated the dust of the earth in a measure,
And weighed the mountains in the balance
And the hills in scales.

You are the Lord, and there is no other;
Apart from You there is no God.
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
We know there is none besides You.
You are the Lord, and there is no other.

May I be strong and courageous; may I not be afraid or discouraged, for You, Lord my God, will be with me wherever I go.

(Isaiah 40:12, 45:5-6, Joshua 1:9)

NEWS

Just in case you've heard a rumor, NO, I AM NOT EXPECTING.


I really love the shirt styles for women right now: feminine, long, flowy, higher waisted. They're fun, but they do have a slightly ambiguous attitude right around the womb. I put on one of my favorite feminine shirts of just such a style this morning before heading out with Grace to run some errands.


We ran into at least four people we knew, not counting others we may not have noticed (I'm a focused shopper). One particular woman who is very friendly and I just know as an acquaintance visited with me for awhile, and I began to notice that her eyes were occasionally diverting toward that ambiguous area I mentioned. All of you women know how it goes: you CAN'T say anything, because what if you're wrong, but what if you SHOULD notice and it's actually at that point where NOT saying something could be perceived as unconcerned.


Now, if this sweet lady was someone I knew a little better, I would have outright declared to her that no, I am not expecting, to put her at ease... But it didn't seem quite appropriate at the time. If I were her I would have gone to someone in our very little town I knew who knew me and asked, to prepare myself if need be for our next encounter.


AND all of this, could perchance start a rumor that I would like to end right now. There, and now I'm trying to determine if these pretty shirts are worth it.


It is true however, that I have a VERY SHORT new "do." I picked Emma up from school the day I had my hair cut, and she got right in the van and said, "Nice hair, Mom. Dad's not going to like it."

"And why do you say that, Emma?"


"You know Dad likes your hair long."


"Well, for your information, Daddy knew all about this, and he's already seen it and he does like it" -- or at least he is a wise and experienced husband with the perfect first reaction.

So far so good

So far so good mostly...

With some normal bumps and foibles, Abby and Emma are finding their way around their new school and through their school day remarkably well. I'm so proud of them. Abby has started daily volleyball practice this week, and she's enjoying it so far.

As for me... Well, I'm having a bit of an extended identity crisis, but I'll get through. I find myself wandering around the house sometime after lunch looking in every room for my cue on what REALLY IMPORTANT thing I should do next. Grace and I are having a great time so far going on nature walks at the arboretum, playing at the playground at the end of our street, reading LOTS of books, doing puzzles... but this is the first time I have ever had only one 4 year old child at home; at some point each day I become completely boring. Grace seems to be enjoying the new look to our days for the most part too.

I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father's faithfulness to me. He is reminding me through little answered prayers of His Presence with Abby and Emma, of His involvement in their lives, and of His love for them. He is reminding me of His sovereignty, and I am so grateful.

The first day of school

Abby and Emma are currently in the middle of their first ever day AT school. They have both been pretty anxious about starting something so new, but within the last couple of days we have been overwhelmed by all of the love and encouragement we've received from friends and family.

We have had many phone calls checking in telling us we're being prayed for. We received a package in the mail from my sister with homemade super cool magnets for Abby's and Emma's lockers along with other fun school stuff. She also sent Grace a craft kit to enjoy at home when her sisters were gone.

Our dear friends, the Larson family, sent a perfectly timed Top 10 List of why GOING to school is cool composed by Logan and Alyssa. We just got it in the mail yesterday, and it is currently hanging on our fridge.

I was the backpack fairy last night, trying to sneak cards into Abby's and Emma's backpacks in their rooms while the were asleep. I was really terrible at it. They both woke up to ask me what I was doing.

"Nothing, you never saw me here. Good night."

By this morning, the anxiety was gone and Abby and Emma seemed mostly just excited.

And Grace and I went to our first "Mom of going to school kids" thing right after we dropped Abby and Emma off. We all met at the Donut shop and laughed and cried a bit and prayed and ate donuts and sat and talked for a long time until the jitters wore off a bit.

All good things...

And the fun has continued...

Emma's violin concert at a nursing home... Her instructor is on the left.

A captive audience

Mrs. Spencer asked Grace to come up and sing Jesus Loves Me while the violinists accompanied her. Our little born performer quickly and SUPER cheerfully agreed to the idea and charmed everyone. Ethan was invited up as well, but he wasn't quite as eager so he charmed from the sidelines with his sweet face.

The day of the violin concert also happened to be Grace's first ever ballet class which she has been waiting for her whole life. I had to snap a quick, blurry picture before she ran to join her circle.

We've seen the American Girl Kit movie in the theater, we went swimming at an indoor pool on a rainy evening, we spent all day today at The Exploration Place (science museum) in Wichita, and I'm feeling a little tired.

BUT, we have made fabulous memories and thoroughly enjoyed our last hurrah of summer. Tomorrow Hannah and Ethan head home, and something tells me the house will seem terribly boring as soon as we hug good-bye.

Cousin Camp!

Sorry it's been awhile - we've been fully enjoying our last few weeks of summer. I just enrolled Abby and Emma for middle school on Monday, and their first day of school is August 12th.

We went to Dallas last weekend to pick up cousins Hannah and Ethan who are staying with us for a week. We are having a fabulous time enjoying our GREAT LAST HURRAH OF SUMMER together.

So far we've been to a lake resort with a beach to swim, fish, and cook out. We hit our own Hesston splash park. Today we went to a zoo in the morning and a really fun water park / pool in the afternoon with a picnic lunch in between. We're grilling burgers, eating ice cream cones, and playing games.

Here are a few pictures of the fun so far...

Greg, Abby, and I were all praying that Ethan would catch his first fish without realizing we all were praying the same thing. He SO wanted to catch one and it was SO hot and seemed an impossibility...

Don't you know the Lord was tickled with that face!