Well, the girls are off.  Half my “Europe team” is taking off from Intercontinental right now—headed for Canada, then London, then Scotland.  *sniff*  I already miss them even though I’ll see them in a week.  I’ll tell ya it’s weird saying, “See you in London” to your friends. 

 

Wait!  That means I only have a week to finish getting ready!  aaaaaaa….. *runs off screaming*

 

I’ve had way too many nightmares about not being ready.  I can just seeing me trying to finish up laundry on Monday morning and not having anything done.  I suppose it’s that feeling of terror that will get me packed by Sunday afternoon.  :-Þ  I’m so glad Hannah is flying with me.  I have a feeling she’ll be prepared early and something about that will settle me down.

 

Went to a wonderful wedding on Saturday.  It was sweet and simple, very personal.  I loved watching Heidi and Will together.  I hope I have fun at my wedding like they did. 

 

Hannah H. and I danced a little bit.  Jitterbug, some swing.  She taught me a move she does with her brother.  Neither of us is very good, mostly due to lack of practice, but we laughed a lot and that’s what matters.

 

Weddings are getting harder.  I like them, but I cry more.  It doesn’t help that the brides I know keep getting younger and younger.  Now we’re marrying off the ones I can remember as babies.  *sigh*  I suppose I’ll get used to it; it will never get better an’ I ain’t gettin’ any younger. 

 

Maybe someday, many years from now, I’ll sit in a wedding and watch somebody I babysat say her vows (or his vows) and smile and pat my husband’s hand and think, This is sweet, but I liked mine best.

 

 

 

 

if all the griefs i am to have

would only come today,

i am so happy i believe

they’d laugh and run away

emily dickinson

 

 

 

 

That is, by the way, a picture of Gracie at her birthday party – eyeing her first doll.  Isn’t she cute?!  I miss her… *wail*

The family is in Austin this weekend.  I decided that I needed to get some things done before my trip, so I got left with the dogs (and the neighbor’s dogs, too, now that I think about it) and the fish.  Playing house.  It’s kinda fun.  The house is just s’dang quite today….

 

 

YES! Home alone at last!  I feel like putting on some music and singing into my hairbrush.  *grin*  Responsiblities first…gotta go grocery shopping.  Can you believe they ate everything up last night??

What an awesome weekend! 

Flying on Friday.  I was so thrilled that we made it down to Galveston…took pictures of our beach house…  It was cool that my dad and little brothers could go, too.  Friends and cousins at the house for pizza and then a late movie.  Everyone said it was better than the first–which is unusual for sequels.  I liked both, but this one was able to deal with more issues since they didn’t have to set it up.  I liked it that he ruined his whites by washing them with his spiderman stuff.  LOL  Very clever.

I also got to talk to a very old friend (no pun intended, bro) and wish him an early happy birthday.  It was cool to hear his voice after all these years.

Saturday I worked on my room and the big kids (that would include me) went swimming just before dark.  I love having brothers and cousins…they all did tricks and poses off the diving board for us.  Even the lifeguard was laughing.  The rule was “more-pain-more-points.”  We watched Paycheck after the children were in bed.  I was actually surprised at how good it was.  I’m always surprised when I enjoy a Ben Affleck movie (like Bounce), and I’m not sure why.

Sunday after a Bible study with Dad (he also read a thing about the Fourth of July by Ronald Regan) we set up a picnic out back.  Mom and Dad bought all kinds of soda and stuff–filled two huge coolers.  We went off to the pool again.  My six-year-old sister has just started really swiming (underwater, no floaty…you know) in the past two weeks and she was everywhere.  She even went off the diving board for me–did a tiny little cannon-ball.  Then we walked home and cooked up the burgers (nothin’ better than a Mac burger–and I don’t mean McDonald’s), hot dogs, chicken–yikes! what a lot of food.  The weather was perfect.  Our deck is very well shaded in the afternoon/evening, and the breeze comes straight through our backyard.

Oh, and Dad put some shelves up in my room for Shelly and I to put our stuff on–makes a lot more storage space.  Hurray!

Cousins leave today (except Kat), but I think we’ll be going up there next weekend to help them blow up their money (fireworks) since it’s not legal at our house. 

Goin’ flyin’ today… Hurray!  And later my cousin is coming down to go see Spiderman 2 with us (and his sister who is living with us) and Abby and Jonathan.  Promises to be good–Jonathan says it’s better than the first.  Jon, my cousin, thinks it’s a girl’s action movie.  Hmm… 

As Stephanie says, funny who you don’t do anything for a while and then BOOM – lots of stuff in one night. 

God is so faithful!  Details later.

Thanks for all your prayers–it means a lot.

 

 

Guys, I need prayer for my upcoming trip to Europe.  Several of us girls are frighteningly short of funds, including myself—to the point of wondering if we’re even going to make it.  We need to be wise with our spending and creative with our earning ideas.  Lots of prayer would be much appreciated.

 

 

 

edit: In the mist of all the planning, packing, buying, worrying–worrying?…I am also trying to get my stuff cleared out of my room so my sister Shelly can move in with me.  It’s a major project, and I would be eternally grateful for prayer on that, too.

 

Arise my soul, arise

Shake off thy guilty fears

The bleeding sacrifice

On thy behalf appears

Before the throne thy surety stands

Before the throne thy surety stands

My name is written on His hands!

 

My bleeding wounds He bears

Received on Calvary

They pour effectual prayers

They strongly plead for me

“Forgive him, oh! forgive,” they cry

“Forgive him, oh! forgive,” they cry

Don’t let that ransomed sinner die!

 

My God is reconciled

His pardoning voice I hear

He owns me as His child

I shall now longer fear

With confidence I now draw nigh

With confidence I now draw nigh

And “Father, Abba, Father!” cry…

 

 

 

That song is not the same to me after the play that Stacy and Michelle wrote.  I keep thinking of how Prince Liam and the princess were pleading for the king, and how the mark of the traitors had been branded on the Prince’s hand.  *goosebumps*  I’m glad we sang that last night. 

 

And, Jonathan, thanks for playing “Israel is My Vineyard.”  That was a great ending.

 

We leave in exactly one month…

 

I think this may be my favorite movie.  My best friend has a hard time with it since it’s all based around stealing.  But it redeems itself with the fact that he went back to get his wife.  I love that.

I also love the color, the script, the characters, the music…oh!  the music!  It has to be some of the best I’ve heard in a movie.  I love how Clair de Lune ends the heist.  And you think it’s the end.  And then—oh!  they surprise you with “3 to 6 months later.”  And the piece at the end credits…I think I need to get the soundtrack, and my Passat with a moon roof and going drivin’.