Summer Vacation ~ Day 43

Day 43 ~ Thursday, July 6th

Last morning of swim lessons!  LM was registered for two 2-week sessions (4 days/each week).  We missed one day when in WI, one day when it was cancelled due to poor air quality & we missed the app alert about the make-up lesson, and one day for 4th of July.  Instead of focusing on the days she missed, we'll focus on all the AMAZING progress she has made in such a short time this summer.  And! We're looking forward to two more weeks of swim lessons the end of July!

Hopefully we can continue with lessons after the summer.  It's hard to find lesson spots outside of summer, i.e., in an indoor pool.  Since the pandemic, there is a long waitlist.  But providing safety skills for a girl with no fear is important.

Jim stayed with the children half of the afternoon while I had a hair appointment and adult conversation.

Our calendar gained a few appointments today - my next hair appointment + an annual ENT appointment for BK around the time school starts.  And, after talking with the pediatric hearing clinic, I'll be mailing in (via insured mail) the hearing aid that was damaged at camp when another camper sprayed sunscreen on it... Thankfully it's under warranty.  Please pray it's repaired by the start of school.

We spent 5-7 PM at a local pool.  We've had swim lessons, swim team practice, swim meets, and afternoons at the beach, but this was our first time to just go to the pool.  Best decision ever for today!

BK had swim practice after supper. 

And our minds & hearts were in TN much of the day, after hearing that my mom had another fall... 

Summer Vacation ~ Day 42

Day 42 ~ Wednesday, July 5th

Today is the halfway point of summer vacation.  Thus far has the Lord helped us.  

It was a rough day, but ...

swim lessons ✅

grocery shopping ✅

school supply shopping ✅

housecleaner came ✅.

Summer Vacation ~ Day 41

Day 41 ~ Tuesday, July 4th 

Happy Independence Day!

At 9.30 AM, dressed in our red, white, and blue, LM & I dropped BK off by the water tower to ride on his swim team float.  We wove our way through the streets of the small town, parked in Grandpa's driveway, and carried two chairs less than a quarter mile to the spot where four generations of Jim's family sat to watch the parade together.  Jim came in from spraying in the fields to watch part of the parade. 

Afterwards, the children rode carnival rides with their cousins, we ate pork chops or hot dogs for lunch, they rode more rides, watched the softball tournament, & played on the playground.  Then they both competed in the kiddie tractor pull (BK won 5 free ride tickets for coming in 3rd place!), we split a lemon shakeup three ways, and they each rode one more ride, before coming home at 3 PM for a rest from the "feels like" 105*F temps and the constant commotion of being at a festival!

After a home-cooked supper, Jim took the children back for more rides, while I had an hour respite.  I met them at the park with red, white, and blue glow sticks and flashing necklaces and brought LM home, while Jim & BK stayed to watch fireworks.  

Another non-stop day with a late night. Thankful for our freedom, small town living, and celebrating with four generations!

Summer Vacation ~ Day 40

Day 40 ~ Monday, July 3rd

I woke up around 5.30, thanks to a blackout panel not hanging straight down. I came downstairs to condensation on our windows.  It's going to be a muggy one today!  And then I walked into the kitchen and came face to face with the fact that our dishwasher quit draining over the weekend ... the sink is piled with dishes.  The world is broken.  And then my mind went back to all my parenting mistakes (and sins) of yesterday ...  The world is sin-filled, and so is my heart. 

And then the Lord reminded me of the Scripture & sermon I heard yesterday and the hymns we sang and the Lord's supper which we partook of and the body & blood and new covenant of the Lord which we remembered.  And the conversations with fellow believers who are holding our arms up by their prayers and the example of fellow believers who are pressing on to know the Lord in the circumstances of this life and with the hope of eternal life. 

LM and I dropped BK off at the tractor pull in the park next to Grandpa's and went on to swim lessons. We were early, so I availed myself of a hot tea and gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffin at a coffee shop near the pool. :)  Back to the park, happy to discover that BK had found a family from our town with two children around the same ages as ours (& they had friends' 3 children with them also).  We stayed awhile, eating pork chop sandwiches & hot dogs, mostly so the children could be occupied and I could chat with the mom.  

Then to a CVS 20 minutes away, but it was closed for lunch, so we went to a playground near there.  A random mom (angel unaware?) came up to me and said, "You're a good mom. You're doing a great job." I dissolved into tears.  I told her of this prayer from "The One Year Book of Praying for Your Children" which I read today:

There we stood, two strangers at a playground, experiencing deep fellowship as we shared our confidence in our Lord and His grace and power, and as we encouraged each other with Truth.  

Around 4 PM we were back at the park for the softball tournament & a few carnival rides.  After Jim came home, I took a Tylenol and headed to bed early.

Summer Vacation ~ Day 39

Day 39 ~ Sunday, July 2nd

Our pastor opened our worship service with Isaiah 25.6-9:

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
8     He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Then he preached a hope-filled sermon from I Cor. 15.50-58.  (I even managed to hear parts of it [LM is in "big church" this summer], but hope to go back and listen to the recording so that I can hear all of it.)

After the sermon, we sang the John Newton hymn, "Let Us Love & Sing & Wonder!"  I first sang it at a winter retreat for Virginia college students held on the UVA campus in the early 90s and was stopped in my tracks by the words!  I think we sang it this Sunday to the Indelible Grace melody, but I can't say I'm familiar with either the old or the new melody. The words, though, are still just as rich!

We ended the day by visiting Grandpa & Grandma.  The children and women walked/ biked to the park, where we were caught in a torrential downpour.  We made it under the pavilion just in time! But then BK handed me his hearing aids and went out, riding around in the rain with a look of sheer delight on his face!  The noise on the tin roof brought back so many pleasant memories of the cabins at Bible camp, but was a little too loud for LM. Thankfully, Jim showed up with the van to take us back to Grandpa's house. :)

Another week has started. Another seven days of the Lord's new mercies. May they pour down like rain.

Summer Vacation ~ Day 38

Day 38 ~ Saturday, July 1st

The children and I were out and about here in our little village from 9.10-9.50 at the post office, library, and Dollar General. 

I started the mammoth project of going through BK's clothes - different seasons, different sizes, and preferred & nonpreferred.  I just dumped them all on our bed, with hopes of sorting to "current," "future," and "give away," and also hopes of finishing before bedtime!

LM and I read 16 books this morning! She has completed her basic 90 for the library program, but we're still plugging away on her last 100 for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge. (Yes, we're a year behind, but we're still celebrating!). And we're still focusing on reading as much as possible everyday just for the benefits of it, too. :)

Delicious lunch of chicken thighs, various vegetables (finishing up a bag of salad, some leftover roasted veggies, and some veggie sticks), and tater tots.  Dessert of ice cream. :) 

I took the opportunity to rest awhile before Jim went back to the farm.  Then the children and I played in the back yard for over an hour (with a real feel temp of 92*F with 80% humidity!), culminating with a haircut for BK, before screen time was earned. 

BK went to a friend's birthday party at 5.30.  Jim picked him up at 9.45.  They started at the boy's house and then went to a local pool.  If you think of it, pray for him & the boys in his grade at school.  As the teacher put it, "There's a group of boys that likes to make bad choices."  There are some great boys in his grade as well, but it's a tricky situation to navigate.  

Another late night. Sigh!

Summer Vacation ~ Day 37

Day 37 ~ Friday, June 30th

Morning came early after an exhausting night last night.  The children and I left at 8.30 for 9-10 AM swim practice for BK.  Swim team has been using small community pools this summer, but I am so impressed with how well the coaches encourage & instruct, and by the wonderful spirit among the team & team families.

From there, we went immediately to a 2-hour appointment at the Honda dealership... where we ate a yummy lunch of free popcorn and Coke!  :-)  

Thankful for another thunderstorm this morning. The crops need rain. 

It was a lazy afternoon. I had two long phone calls, so Right Now Media and Daniel Tiger babysat.  

We're almost to the halfway point of summer vacation, and we haven't even made an official bucket list yet.  We hit the ground running and haven't stopped.  The only thing we're consistently doing is LM's reading logs for the library and memorizing various Proverbs via the NIV Kids Club songs.

6-8 PM found us back at the ball diamonds for an end-of-season party!!  "Pizza, snacks, drinks, and games" is what the invite promised.  I ate another stellar meal of chips and a Capri-Sun drink pouch. :-o Dozens of children happily played wiffle ball, kickball, water relays, water balloons, and yard Jenga for hours!

Thankful for all the people who volunteer to run the league and coach the teams, and for the great community spirit!

Baths for all at 9 PM made for another late night... Sigh!