Saturday, July 30, 2011

So Long...

Sold my first "grown-up" car today...11 years ago my great-aunt bought me a '99 Ford Taurus for my commute to school...that car has taken me far in life...back and forth to community college, the commute to 3 different jobs of mine, 4 different jobs of Firebug's, Pennsylvania for our honeymoon, Yellowstone, the Redwoods, Arizona, up north, through blizzards and heat and fog...it carried our first two babies home from the hospital (at about 15 mph). It came to me with about 30,000 miles on it, and limped away with 214,000. It was surprisingly hard to watch it back out of the driveaway for the last time. Here's to hoping a new owner and a new engine will give it a new lease on life...Thanks for all the miles burgundy Ford Taurus!





Friday, July 29, 2011

Aimless Rambling...

"Mama, I wish humans could fly...or I wish we were fairies...............are there real fairies?"

Just a snippet from today...as I sit here procrastinating on the mound of laundry to iron, fold, and put away, I feel I should share a little about what's going on in life.

Right now I'm supposed to be getting ready for a missions trip to Puerto Rico. But I'm having one of those moments where it all feels like too much...packing for 3 kids and the dog to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's, picking up all the last minute things Firebug and I need for the trip, packing our bags, getting ready for Hardware Hank's birthday party....right now all I want to do is sit on the couch enjoying the a/c...the humidity is definitely getting to me today. Don't hate me, but I am sooooo ready for summer to give way to fall. But I'm super excited to GET to Puerto Rico, to watch these 26 "kids" grow and amaze us...Firebug and I have poured our hearts into some of these students for 6 years and I can't wait to watch them put their faith into action.

Goldilocks and Addiecakes finished out the summer reading program and got their final prizes today...they each got coupons for free fries at McD's, free CinnaStix at Dominoes, and a free Blizzard and Sundae at DQ...plus a free book of their choice. Pretty sweet prizes! We celebrated by using some of those DQ coupons up:)

A minute ago Goldilocks and Addiecake were playing and having a blast....now they can't stand to be near each other...

Our dear friends are heading halfway across the world tomorrow to pick up their two sons...I can't imagine flying out of the country a family of 3 and returning a family of 5. It was surprisingly emotional to say goodbye, knowing that they'll be so far away for a month, then out of commission for a while as their boys adjust to a whole new language, culture, family, time zone, etc. Throughout the last 9 months, I've felt such a part of the process that it seems strange for them to take off without me! But the biggest emotion was the feeling of awe and thankfulness that God has seen fit to provide them with these two beautiful sons. That He has crushed seemingly insurmountable obstacles to get them to this point is such a picture of His love for us. For a couple who wouldn't give up on their dream of growing their family, for a 5 year old girl who will thrive on the companionship of younger siblings, for two brothers in Russia waiting for their forever family...I just can't wait to meet the little guys!