Summer Vacation ~ Day 68

Day 68 ~ Monday, July 31st 

BK and I stealthily left the house at 7 AM and headed 70 miles away to the pediatric hearing clinic.  While we were gone, LM spent some time with Jim and some time with her aunt before Jim took her to swim lessons & on some errands. 

In our hour & 45 minutes at the clinic, we accomplished a lot!  Hearing test - stable.  Aided hearing test in noise - 99% accuracy.  Learned about new hearing aids and ordered them.  Discussed so many possibilities of keeping one pair at school & one at home, which one where, and then which receiver to have in which pair of hearing aids (one receiver goes to our FM microphone and one goes to the school's).  Still lots of questions. 

Had the most delightful conversation with another mom who was in the waiting room.  3 of her 4 children have some combo of hearing aids and cochlear implants.  We had an instant bond. 

Drove-through CFA to get breakfast just before their lunch rush. Filled up with gas at Sam's. Home by 11.40.  

Several business phone calls.  Several! 

Catan Jr. with BK.  Pool from 5.15-7.  (Well, truth be told, I was poolside.) LM was asleep by 8. 

Sorted through so many papers, trying to find what I need for some paperwork to get on wait lists.  Threw away a ton!  (Motivated by reading the book, "Downsizing the Family Home." HIGHLY recommend! I want to downsize our house!)

We only have 7 more days at home before school starts, but tonight I wondered if I can make it those 7 days.  We're so close to the finish line of this summer marathon, but I am hanging on by a thread.  God knows, and He will provide.

Summer Vacation ~ Day 67

Day 67 ~ Sunday, July 30th

Sunday School, worship service, 5th Sunday lunch at the picnic pavilion (with a foam party!!), and home.  LM took a l-o-n-g bath.  I read.  Jim napped.  Eventually we went to the park, ordered Casey's pizza, and ate it at the grandparents', coming home at 8.30 PM.  

Summer Vacation ~ Day 66

Day 66 ~ Saturday, July 29th

Our day was pretty uneventful.  Post office, library, & Dollar General in the morning. Delicious lunch of chicken patties, farm fresh corn on the cob, and salad.  The children both took long baths (one at a time, so it took most of the afternoon).  I divided up & labeled all their school supplies.  Same menu for supper.  

Good morning!

When LM has had 11 or 12 hours of sleep, she clomps down the stairs and turns the corner into the kitchen with a grin from ear to ear.  She comes right to me for a morning hug, sometimes singing the BSF song, "Good morning, God! This is your day. I am your child. Show me your way."

She says excitedly, "I not wake you up [in the middle of the night]" and we celebrate that (on mornings it's true). ;)  And she makes a beeline to the corner of the living room where the bookshelves are. On her way she calls over her shoulder, "May I please have a sausage wrapped in pancake and a waffle?" 

And she settles down on the floor, looking at books, asking questions, announcing, "I found a wombat," listening to the Usborne classical music books, pulling more books off the shelves, "reading aloud" some with a sing-song voice that mixes I love you's and Amens, exclaiming about a certain handful, "I love these books!" And on it goes. 

The trick is getting those 11 or 12 hours of sleep! :)

Summer Vacation ~ Day 65, Part 2

Day 65 ~ Friday, July 28th

Can we go one day without swimming?  Hmmm...  Keep reading to find out.  

I remember telling Jim last summer that there's no way I would take both children to a pool by myself (although I did it once).  We have come a LONG way!! So, I'm celebrating that!  And thinking that next year we need to purchase a season pass to a pool. :) 

I was awake again at 4, but fell asleep soundly until after 8.  My body needed that! 

A leisurely morning before leaving at 11.15 to take BK to an appointment.  While he was there, LM & I attempted to get his eyeglasses repaired & successfully purchased a pair of sandals for her to wear to her cousin's wedding.  After picking BK up, we ate a very late lunch at CFA, and went to the city library to stock up on Playaways (audiobook on an MP3 player) for our road trip to TN.  

Then we tried out a city pool we had never been to! 5-7 PM for $5/person.  It is now the top pool on BK's list and has his vote for where we buy a pass next year. :)  (Disqualified because it's 26 miles away.)

No swim lessons today. No VBS. No working on the farm (for BK).  Every day of this summer has been different.  We are all ready for more structure in our lives. :)

Summer Vacation ~ Day 65, Part 1

Day 65 ~ Friday, July 28th

Almost 90 years ago on this day, a baby girl (the third of five) was born to a poor country preacher and his wife in rural New York State.  Her career opportunities were teacher or nurse, and she chose nursing.  

After living at home 5 (?) years while working at the VA, she responded to an ad, got the job, and moved to New Mexico where she worked in a small mission hospital for a number of years.  Those years were full of a multitude of adventures with her two housemates.  The three J's camped under the stars all over the southwest! And even flew to Mexico City and from there on a MAF plane out to a village where they spent Thanksgiving with a woman they knew who was translating the Bible. 

Eventually, she made her way to Cleveland to earn her BSN and enjoy lots of new experiences - the symphony, a very organized housemate situation, Nurses Christian Fellowship, and then a new job.  A year into her new job, she met a man (at a Christian camp) ... and the rest is history.  

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Summer Vacation ~ Day 64 (19 more days)

Day 64 ~ Thursday, July 27th

If I had ever read a blog post by this title 5 or 10 or 20 years ago, I would have been very judgmental.  But I had not walked a mile in these moccasins at that point.  We are in sheer survival mode.  

I was up again for 1.5 hours in the early morning hours ... 

Today's complicated scheduling was eliminated when a 9.30 AM appointment was canceled.  BK went to work on the farm.  I took LM to swim lessons.  Stopped by to see the grandparents for 10 minutes.  Had a 10 minute phone call with my own mom.  And FB memories showed a precious photo of BK walking with my dad in the (Tennessee) barnyard 6 years ago. ❤️

Lunch of chicken thighs, hash browns, & various veggies (instead of the cooler I had packed for our complicated schedule).

After Mom's quiet time, we went to the pool (on this Real Feel 122* day!) for a couple hours, came home, changed, and the children were off to the final night of VBS.  

I am enjoying a decluttered house (thanks to the accountability of having a housecleaner), the station "Old Christian Radio" on the Tune In app, anticipating upcoming opportunities to pray with others, air conditioning in this heat wave, and the blessing of sharing unneeded books, activity books, sweat pants, suit ties, and even Flintstones vitamins with friends!

What are you enjoying these days?