Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2025 Version

Places where I spent one (or more) nights in 2025:

Chicago 

Murfreesboro, TN

motel along I-75 on our way to FL

Madeira Beach, FL

motel along I-75 on our way back from FL

St. Louis, MO

Hudson, IL

Williams Bay, WI

Kingsport, TN

Lexington, KY

Orange City, IA

Rapid City, SD

Gardiner, MT

Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Jackson, WY

Cheyenne, WY

Omaha, NE

Georgetown, KY

Gray, TN

and home

(italics - stayed there more than one night)  
(* stayed there on more than one occasion) 

   
2025 travel ...

January 1st found us driving to Chicago for a doctor's appointment.  It turns out that hotel rates are low on the 1st of January, so we stayed downtown right across from the hospital in a corner suite on the 27th floor!  It was good to get away!

We drove to FL in February.

The first half of spring break we went to St. Louis, returning at 4 PM Wednesday.  (Post here.)  We were delighted to discover that spring had already sprung there! Redbud, forsythia, and cherry blossoms! Oh, my!

By God's mercy I was able to attend the church women's retreat ... the first one that had been held in 12 years!  It had been many years since I had slept in a camp setting :) but it was amazingly restful and relaxing not to be responsible for anyone! 

We were able to getaway to Wisconsin May 31 - June 3 and July 12-15.

Our late summer trip to Tennessee was moved up to June 25 - July 1, so we could take an epic road trip out west July 24 - August 1.  

A long weekend back to Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend (got to get to the County Fair!).  That seems like the fewest trips we have ever taken there in a summer.

Our year to be with Jim's side on December 25th, so we headed to Tennessee on December 30th for a New Year's visit.

 

Whew!! We certainly ramped our travel up this year!

Here's to even more exploring in 2026!  I better eat my Wheaties!

I added two new states (South Dakota & Montana) and no new foreign countries.

Where did you go in 2025?  Anywhere new? Any place we should put on our list? We're especially interested in national parks. :) 

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2009 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2010 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2011 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2012 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2013 version  
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2014 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2015 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2016 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2017 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2018 version   

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2019 version  

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2020 version

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2021 version

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2022 version

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2023 version 

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2024 version

One year

It has been a year since the farm auction in Tennessee.  The auctioneer said, "From the survey to the title, nothing has been simple." Praise God it is all finished!

I'm still a jumble of mixed emotions. And to be honest, my emotions are more jumbled now, possibly because it's final, or possibly because I had to focus like a laser beam to do the work last year, and now I can finally process.  

Text conversation ~ 

Friend: "Seems longer than a year in some ways when you were working on that project."

Me: "It's definitely one of those situations where you look back and wonder how you ever did it and the only answer is the Lord's enabling and lots of prayer." 

Friend: "Totally agree."

I found this on my computer recently, and thought it was worth preserving in my memories...

{written in October 2024, after I had flown to Tennessee, leaving the children with their grandparents, while Jim harvested}

Dear friends, 

We ALL were upheld by prayer last week. Thank you for praying!

BK & LM had a great week!  BK was a great help at their 94 & 84 year old grandparents', and got up without complaining at 5 AM Saturday for his swim meet, where he swam fast!  (He kept track and told me he rode in 6 different vehicles getting to & from his activities last week.) LM seems so much more mature & independent.   

I haven’t seen their grandparents yet. I imagine they are beyond exhausted!

Jim had a safe week of harvest, and we are all glad to be back together again as a family.

My first flight on the way to TN was greatly delayed, and I almost missed my (rescheduled) later connecting flight. One asthma attack later, I was on board just before the door closed, and I landed in TN at midnight Monday.  I really wanted to wake up Tuesday in TN to start working!

My cousin and I really sensed the Lord going before us in all we needed to do during our 4 days of working. We weren’t sure we would finish, but we did!! (Spoiler alert - I boxed up the last three boxes of archives, put them in a closet, and will bring them home at Thanksgiving to go through later.)

Answers to prayer:

* we finished!!!

* in the last box in the last closet, we found the things my mom had asked for from the house! 

* the antique company decided to do the private invitation-only estate sale (we were not sure until Friday noon that they were going to do so)

* a family friend came for three days to clean the house (my mom hadn’t been upstairs in recent years)

* the three of us worked together really well & enjoyed fellowship over lunch

* other friends brought us meals, took items to the UPS store to ship to cousins, took used clothing to be donated, took durable medical goods to a group that lends them out, etc.! 

* the Lord directed my steps (though really interesting ways) to three new archivists, and boxes of papers and books were able to go to places where they will be appreciated

* my mom came to see the “staged” house, and seemed okay with it. (She just wanted to sit on the porch swing one last time, which we helped her do.)

* I got more sleep than the previous visits!

* despite my loss of range of motion in my ankles (and pain from Achilles tendonitis), I got almost my double average number of steps every day with NO pain, and as soon as we were finished I was in pain again. God did a miracle!

* we found more treasures, including a prayer written by my father’s mother’s father (about whose spiritual life I did not know anything).

Every muscle in my body aches, and I assume it will take weeks to recover, but I want to give thanks in the congregation that the Lord helped us tremendously last week.  Thank you for being part of that through your prayers!

Now we pray for success of the private estate sale, safety at Thanksgiving when we empty the attic & cellar contents into dumpsters, and the Lord’s will in the farm auction on December 14th (specifically that the new owners will be good neighbors to those in the community). 

We are the recipients of much prayer, and we are thankful.

Love,

J~

Channeling Betty

Channeling Betty ... Betty Crocker, that is :) 

Written on the Monday before Thanksgiving.

This morning I dumped the ingredients for Cowboy Soup into the crockpot before waking the children. 

After they had left for school, I loaded the dishwasher and pushed "Start," and took my carefully written grocery list to Aldi. 

I had enlisted the help of ChatGPT (!) to make a menu plan for the week, and then placed a Walmart order for everything I needed from there.  I have not mastered the art of online ordering from Aldi, so went in.  I then grew in patience as the line reached a quarter of the way to the back of the store!

My sister-in-law had told me when we first married (and I was new to the USA) to make sure not to go grocery shopping the week of Thanksgiving. She's not wrong!

Aldi groceries in the van, I went across the street to Walmart, and practiced more patience, as I waited 30 minutes for my order to be brought out. Then I went down the road to Kroger, quickly picked up 3 cartons of peppermint ice cream ;) and utilized self-checkout & my digital coupons to get them for $2 each, and came home. 

Thankfully Jim brought the groceries in. I put them away, and made a gluten free hash brown casserole (so I could have some when the family gathered on Friday).

And then I partook of a bowl of DELICIOUS and hearty cowboy soup! 

This is not my norm, but it is Thanksgiving week.  I'm already looking forward to supper on Tuesday night ...  supporting a local community's fundraiser for Christmas gifts! 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #71

691.  laid back Thanksgiving Day with extended family

692.  day-after-Thanksgiving celebration Part 2 with two married nieces and their families joining us

693.  easy meal prep as the balance has shifted to more adults with whom to divide up the responsibilities :) 

694.  so much for which to give thanks!

695.  not having to leave home on Saturday when it snowed

696.  my dishwasher which got us through all the Thanksgiving prep :) 

697.  9 hours of sleep Friday night

698.  LM sleeping in until 10 AM (Monday morning might be rough)

699.  antibiotics (sigh...)

700.  Jim bringing home a tractor from the farm to clear our drive  - Yay! 

Thanksgivings I have known

Our small group was discussing Thanksgiving plans, and I mentioned that Thanksgiving was a great outreach opportunity in Japan, so we had many Thanksgiving dinners, luncheons, and tea parties throughout November, and often had a short-term team come to pull it off. 

That set me to reminiscing about my Thanksgivings in Japan.  

My first Thanksgiving in Japan I was 18 years old (during my gap year).  My team leader's family and I were the only ones on our team living in Chiba. It just so happened that a Japanese holiday in November fell on the fourth Thursday of the month that year.  Weddings are often held on holidays, and my team leader and his wife were invited to a wedding that day.  I am sure they took the 4-month old with them. I was home (in a densely populated city of 800,000) with the other five children (ranging in age from 3 to 12)!  I have no memories of the day, except I think we all went exploring around town. Did we have homeschool per usual? What did I serve for lunch? No doubt pb&j - ha! 

As time went on and team capacity grew, our team used Thanksgiving for good. 

"Thanksgiving, of course, is a uniquely North American custom. But it is a great event for us to use as a bridge uniting our neighbors' interest in Western culture with our interest in sharing the God of the Bible, and so our team has hosted literally dozens of Thanksgiving dinners over the years (sometimes a dozen in one season!). One memorable Thanksgiving Day, I taught English classes just like normal, and then in the evening went to McDonald's with an American teammate and her three young children, while her husband was teaching an English class.

We still celebrate, just not always on the designated day. In recent years, our team all gathers on an evening sometime in mid-to-late November. We pool our cornucopias and other decorations to create a festive atmosphere. Each person brings enough of one dish to feed all. And we feast, pause, remember, and celebrate God's abundance in our lives."

I found some of my other posts about Thanksgiving in Japan...

2008 Thanksgiving 

2008 Thanksgiving (actual day)

It felt like Thanksgiving

Decorating for Thanksgiving

The circumstances of my celebration will be different this year, though by now I have probably celebrated Thanksgiving with Jim's side of the family more times than I celebrated Thanksgiving in Japan. My new customs include making the sweet potatoes and pecan pie, and bringing my own cranberry relish to enjoy. 

But the heart is the same - Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dried Apple Rings & Filberts

I have heard stories of my dad's dad driving from Tennessee to Pennsylvania in the 20's (the 1920s that is!) to visit his sister & her family and taking all sorts of food from the farm. 

My aunt told of returning to college (Lees-McRae) in the 50's and taking butter and cheese from home and storing it on the window ledge out her dorm room. 

The same aunt, when she and her family came for Christmas in the 70's and 80's, would come laden with their own harvest and baked goods. 

My dad's other sister brought us marzipan from Cyprus in the 80's and one time even sent lemons from their yard back to the U.S. in the 90's in my cousin's suitcase (!). And after they moved back to the States, she would bring fig jam from the fig tree in her backyard. 

Jim's uncle always used to bring HUMONGOUS (& delicious) sweet potatoes to the family reunion that happened in the fall and the every-4-years extended family Thanksgiving. 

When Jim's dad's cousin flew from Oregon a few weeks ago, he brought dried apple rings and filberts (some raw & some roasted with butter) to share.  

(The filbert tree is a close relative of the California hazel and a variety that is native to Oregon. Nearly 99 percent of the nation's filbert crop is produced in Oregon and often marketed as hazelnuts, to avoid confusion.)

Do you have relatives who always bring produce? At this point, I'm just in the observation stage. I haven't figured out how to interpret it (or to apply it, since I grow nothing). :)

 

Extrovert Day

Goodness knows, I don't have room in my schedule for an extrovert day! :) 

A few weekends ago, I was gone on Saturday from 6 AM - 6 PM to a swim meet (think: sensory overload, starting whistles, starting buzzers, constant splashing, lots of cheering).  

Then Jim was out of town 24 hours Sunday midday to Monday midday.  So I was on my own Sunday afternoon/evening ... and it was a doozy! 

I don't sleep well when he's gone, so did not really wake up rested. I was looking forward to enjoying an introvert day completely alone during the school day. :) 

I had arranged to talk with my matron of honor for the first time in well over a year, and it was very hard to end our conversation.  

After we hung up, I was working on IEP research & emails for an upcoming meeting, when an alert went off on my phone. I had forgotten that I had signed up for a Moms in Prayer call over lunch. 

In hindsight, it wasn't necessary that I attend that, and I hadn't RSVP'd or anything, although it was encouraging. 

Then I had a 50 minute phone call about upcoming IEP stuff.  

And by then it was time to go pick up LM. I had agreed to supervise a play date at the park with her and one of her friends.  But, the Lord took pity on this tired mom, and I received a text that the friend's mom had forgotten they had an appointment.  

Home for a restful afternoon! Thank the Lord that we had no afternoon activities; only swim practice 10 minutes away from 6-7.30 PM.

I slept well that night! :) 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #70

681.  the sun came out today

682.  a few hours alone in our quiet home

683.  Dwell Bible app

684.  a list (overambitious though it probably is)

685.  9 out of 16 things crossed off

686.  delivery people!!

687.  swim team friends & camaraderie

688.  prayer meeting - solid devotional, heartfelt prayer

689.  modern conveniences such as running water, dishwasher, hot water heater, washer/dryer, etc. (LM & I spent time this morning looking at photos of friends' home in Africa, where those things are absent)

690.  looking back at some major answers to prayer this past year

'Tis the season!

'Tis the season! Thanksgiving is a week away! Christmas lights are already up around town.

How are you preparing? 

Today I "ate my Wheaties"!! Or, in my case, eggs with havarti cheese and toast with fig jam.  (Truth be told, it was after 9.30 when I sat down to eat, so I could take my pills "with food.")

I washed a backlog of dishes and unloaded & loaded the dishwasher so that I have a clean kitchen to prep a meal I'm taking a family from church this afternoon.   

I'm updating the file folders (finishing filing for 2025 and preparing the files for 2026) for the farm.  Tax appointment season will soon be here! 

Yesterday I spent over an hour on the phone learning more about our insurance options for 2026. Today I did a live chat and figured out how to print out all our prescription claims for 2025 (gathering info to hopefully make a more informed choice as we see how much coverage we need for 2026 insurance).  And I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with my specialty pharmacy ordering next month's infusion drugs and figuring out some problems there (the third person I spoke with said he would call me back when he figures out why the cost went from $5,400/month to $23,600/month - !!).  

I have also alternated between the app-version and web-version of the company where we are (hopefully) ordering Christmas cards. I'm not sure I'm smart enough to get those ordered! :) 

We might enclose a letter. A friend looked over my draft, but I may not have bandwidth to follow any of her suggestions. It truly may be a proof of life letter. 

So, while I would like to be in full-on preparation mode for the holiday season, the dishes and laundry and bookwork and {fill in the blank} do not take a break. (I blacked out my December calendar, so the children & I have no extra appointments other than my infusion x2 and my hair appointment.)

Oh, but the school scheduled an IEP, so that has involved research, phone calls, thinking, and praying!

IF I were preparing for the holidays, what would I do? Change the lightbulbs in the pillar candles on the mantle and top of the bookcase and prepare to turn them on at dusk, so they will come on automatically for 6 hours of darkness every eventing, and get out my collection of winter-themed candles for my kitchen windowsill to add more light. 

I should probably also make a grocery list for Thanksgiving and purchase groceries. :) 

I skipped my online Advent Bible study today, and may take a nap.   

What time do you start driving today?

This question by Jim proves that he understands my second shift job. :) 

He needed me to help him with a ride from a distant field, and wondered when I was available. That is how he chose to ask it. 

On that particular day, I started driving at 1.40.  And except for about 30 minutes at home, 15 minutes at my in-laws', some time ordering a to-go order at Subway, and prayer meeting, I was on the road until 8.45. 

Lord, give strength!

1.40 - pick up BK early from school

2.10 - drop him off at the grandparents'

2.25 - pick up LM

2.40 - 3.15 - at home

3.15 - take LM to tutoring

3.45 - drop something off at my sister-in-law's

4 - visit the grandparents & pick up BK

4.15 - leave to pick LM up from tutoring

4.30 - pick LM up

5.02 - get to Jim's field

traditional family end-of-harvest meal at the Subway in the town closest to that field

5.40 - drop Jim off at the farm

6.20 - arrive at church for Awana & prayer meeting

8.45 - arrive home

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #69

671.  re-arranging my Japan wall (I need to straighten the fan and find a mat for the postcard taped to the wall

672.  the carpet of yellow in our town between the time the leaves fall and the leaves are raked

673.  making progress on little jobs around the house

674.  getting back in the habit of making our bed ~ one oasis of calm & order

675.  watching leaves fly through the sky

676.  friends who encourage

677.  friends to encourage

678.  splitting the leftovers for lunch with Jim

679.  swim team!!!

680.  school days for my respite - Thank you, Lord!

Second Shift, part 7,385

Well, this may turn into a second shift contest. 

Tuesday October 14

2.20 - pick up LM

2.40 - arrive home

deal with the window guys (a full crew was here that day and boy, were they talkative!)

3.10 - leave for the city

drop off materials in the library drop box

drive to the university speech clinic

4-5 PM - speech therapy (I read and did some business)

It was 5.10 before we pulled out of the parking lot

head to Grandpa's to pick up BK

En route, field (see what I did there) a phone call from Jim that we need to pick him up first in a distant field

Pick Jim up

Backtrack to Grandpa's, arriving around 6.20, to pick BK up

Drop Jim off at the farm to pick up his car

home (Jim followed in his car)

6.45 PM - I left for parent teacher conference

Fall in our yard

The original owners of our house planted a row of evergreens along two sides of our yard.  But I'm very thankful we planted two maples when LG was a baby!

I grew up with four stately maples flanking the corners of our yard, so I am partial to maples.  

I am enjoying the variety of a yellow maple (sugar maple) and a red one. 

Jim walked in for lunch and was awestruck by how ablaze the sugar maple was.  I can't tell if part of it were truly green a few hours earlier (see last photo) or if the lighting makes it look that way.  

We're thankful for evergreens so we have some color (ha!) during the drab winter, but during fall, I'm thankful for our maples! 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #68

661.  morning light coming through the windows

662.  Maple Street in our village lives up to its name! Every morning I drive down Maple Street after dropping the children off at school and I wish I could take photographs, though I doubt my iPhone would do the beauty justice

663.  knowing that I still have the gingko tree on my route to look forward to in coming weeks! 

664.  a drainer full of hand-washed dishes (fewer things in life give me as much satisfaction!)

665.  freshly laundered sheets & blankets 

666.  my alarm going off at 9.38, stopping to pray, and knowing that hundreds from our church are doing the same

667.  the last of this year's crop harvested!!

668.  health insurance agents and people who remind me to trust in the God who unravels mysteries [absolutely no good solution for our health insurance for 2026, that we can see]

669.  the thrill of watching a beginning reader find verses in her Bible and read (as much as she can) for Awana homework

670.  seeing firsthand the good providence of God

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #67

651.  beautiful fall weather, beautiful fall skies, and beautiful fall fields!

652.  a Sunday afternoon picnic with new friends and a short hike in the woods

653.  running into a friend at swim practice and walking with her for 30 minutes or so

654.  nearing the finish line of harvest

655.  good communication with medical professionals via portal messages

656.  a warm house, warm clothing, etc.

657.  grace to forgive

658.  grace to be forgiven

659.  thoughtful questions

660.  collaboration with speech therapists

A recent Thursday

I left at 9 for a gathering of four Moms in Prayer leaders at Panera. 

Afterwards, I sat in the parking lot and called the specialty pharmacy to order my infusion drugs, called a provider to schedule appointments four months out, and called three places regarding dyslexia tutoring. Next I left a message with my immunologist about a question for an upcoming appointment. 

While in Walmart I had a text conversation with a friend who works at a testing center and a long conversation with a dyslexia tester and tutor. 

After running 3 errands including making myself sit still to eat lunch, I picked LM up from school, swung by the post office, and arrived home at 2.45 to one of the window guys leaving. So he wanted to talk...

I spent too much time on the phone with a medical billing place asking them to update my insurance and resubmit the claim. 

At 3.35 we went to pick BK up from the bus that drops him off at the elementary school. By 4.15, we were on the road to an appointment in town. But first, BK ate a hamburger on a whole wheat bun and had a 14 ounce smoothie (homemade by yours truly), and LM ate a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread. 

While waiting during the appointment, I had multiple back and forth messages with an educational advocate. 

At 5.50, we walked in a Casey's and got two slices of pizza and a container of popcorn chicken. Obviously I underestimated my children's hunger. 

At 6.30, we pulled up in front of the door to the high school pool.  

I came home and ate (part of) a BBQ chicken ranch salad. Yum! And arrived back at the pool by 7.30 with a grilled cheese sandwich for LM ... and when we got home, BK had another smoothie. 

Zzzzz.

Weekend dilemma

What does the word "weekend" bring to your mind?

Jim works 6 days a week.  Weekends are not restful, and, in fact, can feel long. 

On a recent Saturday, we all slept in.  I awoke naturally at 7.35.

The children and I then scrambled to leave at 8.30, dropped BK off at 9 to be in a parade with Trail Life, and then LM and I turned around and repeated our route, stopping at the ATM in a nearby farm town briefly, and then continuing on to her 9.45-10.45 tutoring in another nearby farm town.  

I went home for about forty minutes. When I picked her up, we headed straight to the end of the parade, arriving at 11.30, which is when I estimated Trail Life would be reaching the end of the route. (They were #60 of 90+ positions in the parade.) Float #30 was passing us - !! 

At noon, we pulled out of my parking spot (with BK), and went through the festival's drive-through food lane, getting pork chop sandwiches for our family & the grandparents + pumpkin doughnuts for Grandma.  

We dropped the food (& BK) off at the grandparents' at 12.40, and I took LM to a cheer clinic at the middle school, went home, took a shower (!) & rested a few minutes before picking her up at 2.30 and then picking BK up at 2.50.

I was S.P.E.N.T! After supervising the children removing all their belongings (from school & activities) from the van, I was ready for a nap.  They had 25 minutes of "educational" screen time, I did my nails, and then LM made slime.  

Obviously it was an exhausting day with lots of moving parts! (And there was not even time to drop off my trunk full of donations at the thrift store or pick up the veggies for a veggie tray I'm taking to a cookout tomorrow.) 

But the alternative would be harder.  And so I often drive all over on weekends. Want to come ride along? :) 

And our district has 10 long weekends this year!!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #66

641.  beautiful October scenery - blue skies, bright sunshine, and golden stubble as fields are emptied

642.  two Saturdays in a row at swim meets - a combined 24 seconds dropped by BK & LM in four events

643.  answered prayer in so many areas that are not mine to share publicly

644.  a church that believes in prayer & lives as if we do

645.  Scripture journals (Seriously, check them out as a Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.) Link to ChristianBook.com (The full set is 54% off for $125.)

646.  completing some home projects 

Still waiting on one item to be framed.  I was so happy to find the bamboo frame at Hobby Lobby!
I love reading Scripture in Japanese on my walls!

 

A variety ... our home states, a barn Jim's aunt painted, and one of my dad's barns that someone painted. A fort my great-great-something-grandfather built or lived at, and some photos taken by Jim's cousin.

647.  parent-teacher conferences

648.  opportunities to serve (albeit food; not classroom volunteering) in our children's schools

649.  an after-school club for BK

650.  options for so many services our children need; I keep thinking of the desolate places we drove through in Wyoming this summer, and while I know the Lord would provide, I'm thankful I only have to drive 30 minutes for services :) 

Time Audit

I'm always intrigued, when I read old CIM (China Inland Mission) missionary biographies, by the logs they kept of how they used their time. That's great accountability when you're on a remote mission station with just your spouse or a co-worker. And I imagine it was helpful for many reasons.

How did I spend my day yesterday? 

7.45 - 8.30 tidied the van, kitchen table area, living room, and TV room [Note: none of the items lying around were mine...] and put 3 boxes for the thrift store & 4 boxes for the homeschool resource center in the van

8.30 - 8.55 - got ready for the day

8.55 -10.05 - Zoom with a U of I Ph.D. student interviewing parents of children with IEPs [Truly exhilarating stuff!]

10.05 - made our bed, did DuoLingo, and then pulled everything out from my two bathroom cabinet drawers and my medicine bin & sorted and organized (one huge trash bag later...) [and I did something else I can't remember...]

12.30 - ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with yogurt when Jim came home for lunch

1-1.45 - on phone with insurance [There are some things that just aren't right, and despite at least weekly phone calls for the last 6 weeks, I finally reached a CSR who will not stop until she gets to the bottom of it.]

1.45 - 2.10 - swept the kitchen, vacuumed our bedroom, the upstairs hall, and the living room [This is the most housework I have been able to do in 4 years! Thank you, Lord, for medicine and answered prayer!]

2.10-2.20 - find, address, and stamp a 99th birthday card and three sympathy cards [all of these were quite overdue]

2.20 - leave to pick up LM, drive to the next town to get a prescription, 

2.40 - our 18-month old Honda Odyssey turned over 55,500 miles [No, that is not a typo.]

2.40 - field a 10 minute phone call from insurance, stop by DG, they didn't have cottage cheese, so we drove back to our town 

3.05 - a few big fat raindrops hit my windshield and I exclaimed, "Praise the Lord!" [Still praying for a gentle rain]

3.10 - went to DG in our town, to the post office, & to the park to wait on BK's bus [LM played & I wrote the messages on the cards] 

3.40 - picked up BK, drove by the post office to drop the cards in the box

3.50 - help each child in turn with their Awana homework, scan & e-mail LM's audiogram & APD test results to the school IEP team, and sit down to rest

4.50 - wash the airfryer basket & cook supper (pork chops, mashed potatoes, and frozen vegetables)

5.40 - leave to drop the children off at swim practice 

6-7.15 - unload & load the dishwasher; make a dozen egg bites for breakfasts

7.15 - leave to pick the children up from swim practice

8.30 - ZZZ

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #65

631.  protection during the drought & heat & all the combine & field fires in our part of the state

632.  precious prayer by Jim's dad for his sons as they harvest

633.  Friday night gas station pizza with the grandparents on a night during harvest 

634.  hope of some new treatment that might help some pesky symptoms

635.  hope of some answers for my fatigue

636.  progress on the window project ... sigh!

637.  getting some long overdue decluttering projects done since the house is in disarray anyway

638.  my mom's great progress - daily hour of PT or OT + seeming back to herself after her June 5th fall & two surgeries (& accompanying anesthesia)

639.  ice cream :) [It helps on a Saturday night during harvest when children miss their dad & a wife misses her husband.]

640.  networking in the Body of Christ to help meet a need for a loved one a couple states away ~ The Body of Christ truly is a small world!