I Laughed, I Cried, I Gave it Two Thumbs Up.

Hello, friends.

I just finished the second book in Marta's Legacy, by Francine Rivers.  You must read these books.  They are beautiful...touching...maddening...uplifting. 

I've decided Rivers must have had some issues with her mom, or maybe it's the ones between her mother and grandmother, as she implies at the end of the books.  Either way, you see women - through multiple generations - being strong and making mistakes as they go through life.  It made me think about how, if I become a mother someday, I would want to treat my child. 

They were books that got inside my mind and brought themselves up when I had a few silent minutes to contemplate what the characters should do or how they must feel!  Go to your library's site right now and request Her Mother's Hope, the first one; you won't be sorry!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, enough is too much. 

My poor little car was sitting out in the parking lot when a nasty, horrible, no-good, very bad hail storm came up and decided to pelt it and create dents.  This makes me sad.

On the bright side, it didn't break any windows in the condo or the car like we thought it would...

But, sometimes, you just don't want to look on the bright side.  In fact, I'm going to let myself be mopey.  I don't usually do that.

I do usually let myself eat chocolate, though, and I now plan on eating copious amounts of Oreos. 

Or maybe just four, so I don't feel too bad. 

Curse you, hail!

Summer in a Bowl

You really must try this.

I like to call it "Summer in a Bowl".  Absolutely fresh and delicious. 

The recipe says to cook chicken.  Skip all that crap and use rotisserie chicken.  I mean, who are we kidding?  Summer in a Bowl would never even think to ask you to heat a pan or an oven or a grill or any of that nonsense.  It's just cool like that. 

I always prep it early to let the flavors get to know each other and then tear the ciabatta into it at the last second. 

You must make this. 

Whew.

We finally have tenants for the condo!!!  Shawn and I are sooooo excited to be settled on people, deposit in hand, "For Rent" sign removed from window!  They seem like good people.  I'm praying I can still say that when month ten rolls around. 

Now, we focus on the packing and prepping.  Shawn's packed a ton of stuff.  Including "my" fruit bowl.  The bananas are spread across the counter, the apples saunter around sometimes, and the oranges look just a little sad to miss out on the coolness of the bowl.  Oh well.  It's only two weeks until we unpack the bowl!!!!!  Two weeks, people! 

Back to the Present!

I am back from a longer-than-intended hiatus!  The last few weeks have been...intense.  Here are some events which have transpired:

* Vacation Bible School!  I feel our church always does a stellar job with VBS, and I've been honored to be involved for several years.  I get to run the games station!  It's a blast.  People say nice things like, "Wow - you are so good at planning games!" or "You have so much energy with the kids!"  Really, all I have to do is capture their attention (nose goes), explain a game (Run around until you fall over!  It will be fun!), and watch them go for it.  They're all such great kids, and they seriously would run in circles until the end of the 25 minutes if asked.  But that would be mean.  :-)  Anyway, the week was a blast, if a bit tiring, and I had wonderful helpers.

* My dad lost his job. I obviously feel sad for him already, but we had also just helped him move into an apartment with a 12-month lease. We're praying he secures another job quickly and is able to maintain the trust and peace he seems to have overall.  

* Renting out the condo.  Can't wait for that to be over.  I don't mind a nice, clean place.  I DO mind having it clean by a certain time to show it to a stranger who either will or will not show up.  I've had about four no-shows, which I think is incredibly rude.  I've probably shown it ten times, with two more tonight...

 * Get-togethers with friends have been refreshing and wonderful.  Some have produced sunburns...

* I have learned more about my personal friendship boundaries and how to recognize when someone is taking advantage of me.  That's not going to happen anymore!

* We've researched and purchased a new washer and dryer for the house!  We're trying to slowly hack away at the wish list for our house, but it will be gradual.  Here's the shower curtain for the hall bath.  I love it!

* The biggest, most exciting event was our 5-year anniversary on July 1st!!  I can't even believe it's been that long.  Crazy!  It's awesome to look back and think about all the different ways God's blessed us!  Shawn surprised me with a hot air balloon ride, just like the day he proposed!  He got a Groupon which ended up directing us to the same company from 6 years ago!  It was awesome. 

My ring is bigger than it was, and our love for each other has grown and developed into a richer, deeper one. I feel so blessed to have Shawn in my life!

Here are some shots from then:

Shots from yesterday:

* We move into our new home in 19 days!!!!

Sneak preview!  Please ignore the face I'm making...

I'll be back sooner next time.  Thanks for reading!