Back from vacation

We are back...from vacation.  

 The house we were able to rent this year was pretty cool.  It had that cabin feel to it, Seeing as how it was all wood inside.

Someone loved exploring all the rooms that first day.

And...hey, life is just so much more interesting when you put your glasses on.

Those glasses made their rounds on EVERYONE.

I will post more pictures and adventures later.  But my son in law thought it would be a cool idea to buy this puzzle of the island and spend the whole week doing it together.

We did it in less then 24 hours.  Puzzles are terribly addicting.  And when the whole family gets involved...forget it.  

It was cool though, we used it for directions and ideas.

I was really not looking forward to the end of this vacation.  Not because I didn't want to come home... I missed my puppies and routine of home in general.

But this year, the end of vacation meant that that beautiful baby boy and his parents, also known as my grandson, daughter & son in law, were leaving for VA Beach for his last year of law school.  It is hard, having that baby boy for 3 months, and now he is gone.  :(

And now it is time to open those boxes.  You know...the ones that have your school year.  The ones that used to be fun to open, back when the older kids were little.  Now it is exhausting to think of planning the next school year.  

But no.  

Ok, it may be exhausting, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

SO, off to open the boxes, even though they have been sitting here for over a month.  :P  Off to plan lessons, trips, extra credit, look forward to teaching one peanut to read, and the other one to tackle algebra 1/2.  

Its' good to be home.

Kind of.

Hurry Up and Say Something.

I found this somewhere.  

It hit me hard.

And truly, Mom could be substituted quite easily.

I have seen this be the case WAY TO MANY times.

And can someone explain to me how this happens?  When did we become so self righteous as Christians, that we can deem who is worthy of our love??  And the moment we start this thinking, we truly become grumpy.  Mean.  Hateful.

Useless to the kingdon.  

Dear readers, I pray this never happens to any of us.

On another note...

Who needs to buy a gun, when your own garden can provide weapons.

REALLY??!!??!  Who grows a gun-shaped zuccinni??!!??!

Me.  :P

Anyway...

We had a garage sale this past Saturday.  I am truly fascinated by people.  The vast array of people who stopped and bought, or didn't buy... WOW!!!

Thinking about it...it still cracks me up.  My daughter & I were very amused.  Like the British lady, who is from Manchester, but doesn't watch soccer.  Or the guys who jumped out the car before it had a chance to stop.  And how about them Egyptians??  Or the Indian couple who were so delightful, and in whom the husband was wanting to buy this crystal horse, and his wife said no.   Only he came back and got it anyway.  Who can say no to a dollar?  I mean, if you regret the decision...it was a dollar for crying out loud!!!

And hey, how about the Haitian lady who almost bought us out.  Thankfully.  

And yes, how could we forget my nieces stopping by, and Alexis wrestling with the Ab-Master, and never really figuring out how to use it.  

It almost eat her.  

For lunch.

And to end this long enough post, that beautiful boy who calls himself my grandson...(did I mention he is beautiful?  He is.)

Well he & my mom have this long standing relationship.  She talks and he cracks up.  Everytime.  Not smile, not make funny noises.  C.r.a.c.k.s-u.p.

It works for both of them.

We are off on vacation back to MV on Saturday.  Oh the drama. lol.  

There shouldn't be drama for vacation.

Should there??

Faith

I was talking to this young man I know, and he asked if he gave something up, would GOD give it back to him.

Of course, I couldn't believe that the only way he was willing to give something up was hoping/having some kind of guarantee that he would get it back.  I mean...come on.

He told me that GOD gave Abraham his son back, it was just a test.

To which I replied, " Abraham walked up that mountain fully knowing in his mind, heart and soul that he was going to come down by himself. There was no doubt in him, for he was grieved, yet fully obedient."

Someone pat me on the back.

But then I got to thinking about me.

Oh.my.word.

How many times have I walked up the mountain, and have already figured out all the possible ways GOD could change His mind for my will?

How many times have I walked up a mountain, and looked for my goat?

How many times have a walked past the mountain, making believe it was not there, even though it was as big as....a mountain?  I thought maybe if I went around it, I could avoid it.

WAY too many times.

Even though I know the Sunday School answer, I need to start walking the everyday walk of what I believe.

Will it be easy?

No.

Will it be painful?

Probably.

Will it be good?

Totally.

So, GOD has put my favorite people in the whole wide world, the youth of our lives, to remind me, I am but a babe, trying to make believe I am a giant.

HE is so good to me.

August 1

This is my son. Well, one of them.   :D

He is 12.

A few weeks ago, I felt compelled to encourage my son to do a fast.

And as I was praying about it, before I went to him with it, I thought maybe, that if agrees to do this, then I would do it along side him.

He agreed and we decided that August 1 was going to be our starting date.

We are both pretty excited about it, and at the same time, we know it will be hard.

What is the fast, you ask?

We are going to not listen to ANY secular music for ONE year.

I KNOW!!!!

I love my country music, my U2, The Killers, well I could make a list that is way too long.  He has just discovered his music likes, and is willing to put it on hold for a year.

I just discovered a new favorite song.  ( If I Ever Leave This World Alive)

Oh well.  

OH!

He did request one day off.  And I agree.  I told him I would take the same day off.  

The day he runs his first 8K, and I do yet another 1/2 marathon.

Our day off.  It is next Spring.

On other news, have I mentioned that our gand-baby-boy is just so beautiful in so many ways.  He just doesn't stop being beautiful.

He can't help it.

The kids and I wne to Cape Cod for a few days to visit my sister.  She lives right near what they call a 'pond' which is bigger then a few lakes.

And here is my son,  I don't know why he is so whacky, but he is.  I will keep him anyway.  

OK, the family is jumping around like maniacs, I should go watch the Mets win.

The Dogs Do Not Wish to Have These Days Named After Them Summer

It is hot.

In fact, it is so hot, it is insulting to all those hot days we have had, to call this hot.

It is sweltering, disgusting, hot, humid, I-am-melting-before-my-very-eyes 100+ degree weather.

And today is no different.  I think we are looking at 103.

Remember that community garden plot we have?  I have been enjoying it very much.  Except this week.  Who wants to go and water that thing, in full sun, in 92 degree by 8am weather??

NOT ME.

The dogs don't even move.  They just plop down and give me that look, as though I made this happen.

And have I mentioned I do not have central air?  Because I don't.

Never mind that the love of my life is a contractor.  We will not talk about that.

Nope.  We won't.

ANYWAY.

Today, the son of one of my dear friends is getting married.  ( outside)  It is odd, to be in that time of your life when your kids' friends are getting married.  I know that I should be okay with it seeing as how my daughter got married 2 years ago.  And I am a grandmother.  <3  But it is still a weird feeling.  Like...I am not in my 30s anymore, even though I still feel like it.

I am looking forward to this wedding.  The two of them are so perfect for each other.  You can't slap the grins off their faces, if you tried.  And this started the day they met years ago.

The only bummer thing about today is...that he is marrying a hispanic girl ( woo-hoo!!!) whose parents came here to America for the wedding.  I am translating the ceremony ( woo-hoo!!)  but I still have this crummy summer head cold. ( not woo-hoo) So hopefully, I can still think fast on my feet even though my head is cottony.  :P  Pray it goes really well.

And now...off to the garden before the wedding.  To water my dying, we surrender under this heat plants.  And be back to shower all the sweat ( I better lose some weight because of this) off.

GOD is good.   All the time.

Summer in the city/beach/mountainside

I am always in the illusion that things will slow down in the summer.  No more chaotic schedules to be tied down to, and I have come to realize, no schedule means anything goes.

And anything does go.

Being in Jersey gives us many opportunities to do, truly, whatever we want.  

Like go into the city just to watch street performers.  Granted if we wanted to we could eat food from anywhere in the world, go to museums, see sights that are truly amazing to behold.  Or just go watch street performers.

And even though we have seen this lighthouse for about 30 years, I don't think we have ever taken a picture of it.  It is the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse.

Or we could go down the shore.  I am not a shore fan, but everyone else in my house is, so...

Or go on hikes...

Or jump off bridges.  

Do you remember when your mother ( or maybe you say this, too) used to say " Well, if everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it too??"  I can never use that on my son.  He would be the one to jump first.

Or jump off cliffs.  

Jersey has a lot to offer.  It is truly an opportunity state.  It is an expensive state, but one can kind of see why.

So why have I wanted to leave this great state?

I think I was born for island living.  Or country living.  Or foreign land living.

But here I am.  To GOD be the Glory.  Let me bloom where HE planted me.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

We got a picture of Audrey that was taken on Wednesday.  And PRAISE GOD, truly, she looks so much better and healthier.  And can I say...beautiful.  <3  

Funny story:

When we got the pictures, I first sat and stared in awe for a few minutes.  Then I called Elly over so she could see her little sister.  She came running and she was about to say " AAaaWWwwww..."  It started as and " Aww..."  But finished with, "  MOMMY!!!  CAN I HAVE MY HAIR LIKE THAT??!!??!!??"  

See, Audrey has all sorts of braids and beads weaved in her hair.  

And now my little chinese daughter, with hair as straight as a pin...wishes she could do the same.

These 2 will be interesting together.   :D

The Pool

We joined the pool again this year.  We didn't last year because Samuel opted to join several camps, and since we couldn't financially do both, Elena missed out, without knowing it.

Well she is loving this place.

And I am loving her face.

Chloe & Josiah went with us, and This Beautiful Grandson of Mine was trying to figure out what he has done in his little life, that would cause his parents to torture him by putting him in cold water while all he really wants to do is eat.   Can I interject here and say  HE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!

And Samuel?  When asked to get out of the pool, this is his response.  He loves being in the water.  Pool, beach, lake..it is always the same...impossible to drag him out.

Well...since we are talking about pools and such, I am going to put in a plug for all you out there who are still trying to find a modest bathing suit.   I had been searching for a long time for a bathing suit that I would feel comfortable with, and actually like enough to wear it.  I came up with ...nothing.  I have a Land's End suit, that according to the world is pretty modest.  But it just didn't do it for me.  I wore it, but kept looking for somehting better.

I found it!!

I got it in the mail and I LOVE IT!!

The company was founded by 2 Conservative Jewish women.  The suits have been approved by a rabbi before they go into production.  They basically cater to to Musilm & Jewish law.   I am neither Mulsim or Jewish, but a Christian, who desires to be more modest then the norm.  Personal conviction.

Anyway, I bought this skirt!!

It was pricey, but then when I look at the regular well made bathing suits, it was compareable.  Next year, I am hoping to buy a top, but for now, this will have to do.

And now I am comfortably ready for the pool. (Or the beach, Or the lake.  My husband & children are water nuts.)

And when I am there, I may have to eat this peanut for lunch because she is too cute for her own good.