This Weekend.

Wow.  This is one packed weekend.  Tomorrow morning, we watch my dad get married to a woman we met on Monday. 

Yes, we decided to go.  No, we're not excited or approving.  We do, however, love my dad despite some choices and know the hurt we felt when someone chose not to go to our wedding.  We're praying this ends up being good someday.  Praying often.

Tomorrow night, we get to relax with friends and stop thinking about all the stressful stuff for a while.  There may will be wine.

Sunday is the tenth annivesary of 9/11 my birthday!  We're hanging out with my mom, which will be great. 

So, yeah.  That's the weekend. 

It's been really, really, really sad not to have Rocket around.  That cat was so crotchety sometimes, but so stinkin' awesome the rest of the time.  While I feel relieved that he isn't uncomfortable anymore, my heart still hurts.  I've gotten past the part where I walk in the house and start crying because he doesn't come out to say hi, but it took a while.  Onyx is more verbal and much more lovey-dovey since Rocky's been gone.  I think he misses their playtimes and cuddling. 

One of Rocket's few aggressive-play days!  Love the fluffed tail...

It's weird to feel this loss more insistently than, say, losing my grandma.  I've decided pets are just...different.  I talked to my grandma every so often, but Rocket was waiting for me to get home; he yelled at me when I didn't go to bed quickly enough; he purred really loudly in my face when we cuddled while we fell asleep; he needed his special food and his blood testing and his shots, and we were the only ones who could do that; he hid in so many spots in the new house, I can't help but feel a little twinge when I open a cupboard or closet door. 

It's just amazing how much of an impact an animal can have on a life.  That's all. 

During this season of life - especially this weekend -  I sure could use his sweet presence and crotchetiness to help lower my blood pressure.

Back from Hiatus

So much has happened since I last wrote. 

I scrubbed that condo to pieces, wondering how we lived with all that dust in that one spot, and those smudges on the door, and how did this wind up here?

I spent time with precious friends who are "way up north", since we were heading "way down south."

We closed on the house but wouldn't get the key for a few days.

We kept packing.  And packing.  And cleaning.  And touch-up painting.

Rocket started taking Valium a couple of day before the move, and then we placed the two of them in a bathroom at the condo with a "DO NOT ENTER" sign and a bottle of whiskey. 

While we waited for the movers, my dad told us he was dating someone with the intention to eventually marry.  I had a breakdown and tried to get over it to participate in the move into our new house.
We watched the movers carry three or four boxes behind their backs from the condo to the truck.  Scary and cool.

We arrived at the house to get the key at 11:00, cats in the car, their dog running around.  We wanted to say, "Get out of our house!"  :-)
We ordered pizza and ate while couches appeared and we directed boxes to rooms.

Over the next two days, with help from friends and family on Sunday, we had unpacked all the boxes except the books (we need shelves first)!

Onyx was NO help at all...

We now have as much up on walls as we can until we find wall art for a couple tougher rooms.  It feels SUPER good to be settled in, especially because I love the house SO much I can't believe it's ours!  At first, we felt like we were renting a VRBO house and would have to pack up again. 

Oh, and there's more about my dad: two weeks after we moved in, he came over to tell me they set a date.  He's getting married on September 10th.  Yeah.  Please pray for all involved with that.  It's been very hard to start processing.  We have yet to meet her.

Last Friday, Shawn's parents showed up on our doorstep!  It was an awesome, wonderful, splendid surprise that really helped us focus on a positive thing.  Thank God for great in-laws who will drive 12 hours from Missouri to make our lives that much brighter. 

While they were here, we went and toured a cool castle in Colorado Springs, which we all enjoyed.  Shawn got to ignore work for a while, I got to ignore that work starts this week, and we were blessed by their sweet presence. 

They left a couple of hours ago, and I'm putting off going in to school to do prep stuff for orientation.  Maybe it's because it's the last day I can choose my start time...

On the docket for this week and next: meetings every day, dentist, haircut, all-nighter with my Link Crew kids to train for orientation, 10-year high school reunion (yikes!), orientation, first "real" days, sub at the end of my first work week so we can go to my cousin's wedding in Minnesota.  Yeah, I think that's it...

In other words, I babbled because you won't have to listen to me babble again for a while.  :-)

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!