wednesday without words

summer art projects

so I sat down at my computer and googled "homeschooling trends in July" ... curious what I discovered?

no problem, you can either do the same thing yourself, or you can go here and read all about it (just don't forget to have a jubilant july!

thursday throwback

this picture was taken at my mom and dad's place, in my hometown (but not one of the houses I grew up in). I cannot seem to remember the exact day I was told my dad had cancer. I think it might have been February or April. I do remember that my dad was the one comforting me. the day of this particular photo had us going to a picnic for neal's mom's side of the family. we thought we had best stop by and see my folks first as this was one of those visits that had us wondering just how many more we would get. I want to say that I hope you don't know that feeling, but wisdom and experience tells me that is virtually impossible. I have no idea what the statistics say about your chances of knowing someone with cancer; I stopped counting a long time ago.this picture was after a fabulous lunch, the day of my dad's baptism. I was privileged to sing with some great friends. they know and love my dad dearly, their children calling him granddad. it was a great day; one I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined becoming a reality. some days you will still hear mom and I saying "this is so weird. dad is praying. dad is reading his bible. dad counsels us. this is so weird." all in a good way, of course.I guess it is usually july that has me reflecting on a LOT of things in my life. the operation that didn't quite seem to accomplish what we were praying it would
the little boy we tried to adopt who turns another year older
the dad who almost left us then hung stubbornly on to bless us with more life than ever
the summer I left church and wondered if I would ever remember how to pray again
the dream of a lifetime coming true but ending differently than we had hoped
the finding that perhaps, just maybe, plan b is really plan a ...

yep, I'm proud!

monday madness

though I truly love my life right now, I am thinking that it should slow down a little. maybe.
it is only 4:46pm and I have already:
attended an Art in the Park meeting where I am secretary
did a small grocery shop so the kittens don't starve
ate lunch
drove to pick two flats of berries, realized I was dressed completely stupidly for said task but did it anyway ... picture to follow because now you are curious
(the donut preceeding the berry picking helped)
drove home
changed clothes so I could mow the lawn
got caught in the rain
noticed grass plastered to my legs so I showered
gathered laundry to start load
sat down to realize I haven't blogged since wednesday.
honestly wondered how many things other bloggers leave undone (again or still, however you want to look at it)
realized I should be making supper, not blogging ...

wednesday without words

monday musings

what a wonderful week, or at least that is what the weather man is predicting. it has been unseasonably cold around here. makes me confused as to what season we came back home to. still winter? did we skip summer and go back to spring? not clear.

the boys are having fun working in our friend's garden, pulling weeds, dead-heading, weed-whacking and mowing the lawn. at least the youngest will, now, since his partner can do a whole lot of nothing since his surgery. his recovery seems slow, but sure. we are very thankful.

I am studying like crazy. reading copious amounts of psychology text, taking notes and formulating papers in my mind. time to formulate a diagnostic plan and get it down in writing. kind of scary but mostly thrilling to finally be doing that "thing" that I always wanted to do but couldn't quite put into words. didn't even know it was an option until about a month ago. the countdown is very "on". I am going to view a life therapy session, as part of my pre-course requirements, on thursday. should be a real highlight of this week.

library visits, soccer, mowing our own lawn, gardening, weeding, transplanting, planning for the backyard and studying then a visit to my parent's home on saturday to kick off Canada Day (which is actually on wednesday this year).

but there is always time to soak in the splendor of a luscious garden.