Summer is in official HIGH swing around here. The kids are almost finished with summer school (yes finished! can you believe that, they don't waste time around here) and we will be in high gear for summer activities. Its been nice to sit around in the afternoons and enjoy the air conditioning, because let me tell you it may be June on the calendar but here in the Midwest it feels like August already! Can't imagine what August is gonna feel like when we get there.
Next weekend starts our son's Scout troops annual Fireworks tent here in town. That adds up to about 8 days of working that tent 24/7. My hubby even takes to staying nights up there rotating with the other adults in the troop. It is a long, tiring, hot week let me tell ya. Then the good stuff happens in the middle of all that. No not the fireworks themselves, but our youngest son (our baby, at least at this point ;) ) will turn 16 on the 4th of July! He has loads of ideas he wants to do for his birthday but its always hard because of the holiday so we have to do one of those "mom maneuvers" and plan around the actual holiday when it comes to friends. We have not nailed it down quite yet because he has given me too many options this year. AND since it is his 16th it needs to be special!
I am sure the permit/driving thing will play in there soon, he has one thing he has to do before he gets to actually go take the test. See when our boys joined scouts they were gung ho about the whole thing, well they always have been. So a goal they set and we are encouraging them to finish what they start, is to get their Eagle Scout before they get their drivers license, because once the license comes into play then they get distracted and do not finish this wonderful achievement. He is ALMOST there, just needs some paperwork finished up. The hard stuff is done, the project the rank advancements all that stuff he has worked on since he was 11 well actually since 1st grade, is done!! So he is really close! We are really proud of him and admire him sticking in there, Now the ceremony it self does not have to be done to get his license, just the requirements met and the council approval. He is just waiting on a couple letters from some adults that are recommending him for this award and then he'll have to go to the council and the Eagle Board of review and present the whole thing to them and he should be great!! So the license will wait just a bit longer, not to terrible long though.
In the coming weeks is camps galore! Youth camp for church starts July 9th and then they will have guard camp (for sis) and then band camp hits and that takes most of the whole summer and then Scout camp for the guys. Sis and I get 10 days to ourselves together!! :) We may go visit a certain nephew of mine! :) that is if she is not exhausted from band camp. Then before you know it school starts back up right after that. We'll have to get the college boy back down to school and get school shopping done. It just never ends. We were hoping to get a family weekend mini vacation amongst all that but just not sure if everyone schedules will work together. I am sure I will find time somewhere to actually take the kids swimming, we hope anyway. Maybe this week before the crazy month of July starts.
In the midst of all this my mind wanders to the final weeks of summer and the beginning of our daughters Senior year. How will my heart handle another one leaving "the nest"? It is bitter sweet. I am sure I will blog about that later but I can't help but wonder. We already had to do the traditional Senior yearbook picture with the black velour wrap around the shoulders. I just popped over to the website that has the proofs on them (wish I could share with you but am unable to) and she looks BEAUTIFUL!! I don't know if you know my girl, but her smile can light up the room. OK now I just MIGHT cry. Where does the time go??? I still remember kindergarten, with her long hair and missing tooth and how she smiled at me, told me she loved me and headed off to hug her teacher and had a wonderful day! WOW! Pretty soon she'll be donning that cap and gown and my heart will sink once more. I am done with that subject for now otherwise I will melt into a puddle. My sweet Princess (we call her that because when she was little she found a t-shirt that said "I am a princess, because My Father is the King of Kings and it just stuck! :) ) will be headed off to culinary college before I know it.
Please keep us in your prayers as all these transitions take place. When change happens it can be good, but it can also be painful. But in the midst of change, one thing is true. God never changes and He always walks along beside us, sometimes even carries us, through the changes. He is faithful and will never leave us. Thank you Lord for your love and faithfulness. Watch over all our kids, including our Ladybug!!
Blessings
Hi!!! Thank you so much for the sweet, sweet comment on my blog! If you ever want to talk about adoption (especially the financial stuff), you are welcome to email me! Jesus has truly provided in a way that I can't even describe. Another challenge we faced was the net worth requirement. And honestly, when we submitted our application, we still weren't sure we met that requirement. However, when we sat down and figured it all out, we had like $81,000! LOL! You can count everything you own. We do own our own home, but we had NO equity built up, so we couldn't really count that. We also have older cars that are paid off, but aren't worth much. So it is still possible! We used our home owners insurance statement (can use renter's insurance as well) to "prove" we had assets. They never asked to even see it. I will pray for you guys! I just want you to know that sometimes things seem like obstacles, but that is exactly what Satan wants you to think. Once you take a step of faith, those things you thought were obstacles are non issues!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to getting to know you better!!