Here we are at the end of June, heading into the final weekend of the month. June is pretty much my favorite month of the year. There is no school this month, and at no point are we "weeks" away from the next school year either. July has no school either, but it often feels just around the corner.
Our sweet pup is doing better. There has been significant improvement, although we know that her healing will be measured in weeks and not days. While there is still limping, she is moving around better and just feeling like herself again. It's wonderful, and we are so grateful!
We've also made a point to "live" this week and enjoy our summer together. Monday was an icky day, but we paid a family game of euchre in the afternoon and another game of Uno after swim practice that evening. Tuesday afternoon I took the kids to visit my mother and grandmother, and there was more euchre that day. Wednesday Andrew took the kids to the pool while I stayed home with the pup, and more euchre! We are trying to keep at it so the kids don't forget how to play. Yesterday Andrew and I decided to visit a nearby antique mall, and Thomas wanted to go along. He had a blast looking at everything, and I wasn't sure we were ever going to get him out of there! We found a couple of small things to bring home, hit a farmer's market on the way home, and then the kids had a swim meet last night. We allowed ourselves to sleep in this morning, and then we are headed to the pool again this afternoon.
I am more grateful for these days than I can put into words!
Friday, June 28, 2019
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Prayers needed for our sweet pup
Starting Sunday afternoon, our sweet Abby began to show some signs of distress. By Monday morning we decided to take her to the vet. It turns out that Beagles are prone to disk issues. We received an anti-inflammatory and some pain med, and were told to keep her down for two weeks. Andrew explained that the situation could become serious, but the vet felt it had been caught early enough and she would be fine. She clearly felt better yesterday morning, and attempted to scratch. Something happened that caused her to yelp, and she disintegrated throughout the day. Andrew took her in this morning, and honestly, it could be better. It could be worse, but it could be better. She was given a cortisone shot, and sent home with some prednisone. They hadn't done this initially because of side effects, and she just wasn't as serious Monday. If she isn't better by Friday, she is in serious trouble. We would appreciate some prayers for our sweet girl. She has been the best dog ever. She doesn't jump on people and she doesn't lick people. She doesn't bark, and she loves, and loves unconditionally. She snuggles with us and is so good with our cats...even helping our fat cat clean himself. We've had her less than two years and that just isn't long enough. I know that there are far greater problems out there, but if anyone has a prayer or two to spare we would appreciate it!
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Rethinking life
Sounds a little dramatic, doesn't it? Honestly though, the three days we spent on that island in the middle of Lake Champlain has changed our perspective. Granted, we were there to relax, and since it was a short trip, our hosts joined us in doing so. When we aren't there though, there is yard work and other general maintenance that is required at times. There was also nothing but absolutely gorgeous blue skies and calm waters while we were there...not always the case!
Life can't be like that all year, or even all summer. We know that. Life has schedules. We are very blessed to have our eleven weeks in the summer that do not have serious job and school responsibilities. And Andrew and I have decided to really be mindful of how we are spending this time. It's always been so easy to be staring at a screen of some kind...the TV, a computer (sometimes necessary), a phone. We want to read more. Just last week I finished reading my May magazines that arrived at the end of April. I'm now onto June, but July is already arriving. I miss out on things because I am so behind! We've decided to spend more time reading, playing, or just being...but less in front of a screen.
We are off to a decent start. Sunday evening Andrew and I sat outside and read on our back patio. I couldn't remember the last time we did that. I remember the first year we lived here and how I would just sit and stare at our backyard. I couldn't believe we had a yard that size. Then time passed and I began to take things for granted. While reading I began to really look at our back yard again, and be grateful for it.
Our family has always had a "no electronics" rule during summer afternoons. However, what were we doing with that time? Nothing necessarily. Yesterday we played a family game of euchre, and today I am taking the kids to visit my mother and grandmother. Tomorrow we plan to hit the town pool. After swim practice last evening, we played a game of Uno. We are having a blast, and the kids are enjoying it too! I am so grateful for these days!
Monday, June 24, 2019
Baseball Hall of Fame
This is the next part in our vacation trip...
We left the island Wednesday morning. The waters were the choppiest they had been during our entire trip, and we had been told that at higher winds we wouldn't be able to leave. I was concerned when I saw some white caps on the lake when we first awoke, but was told it would be no problem. It was a rough ride off the island, and I'll be honest, I prayed almost continuously. The kids didn't mind getting wet though!
We loaded our vehicle and drove to his aunt's house. She was on the island with us and Andrew offered to drive her vehicle to her house. I drove our vehicle and picked up Andrew at her house. We were then on our way south, and driving through Vermont was absolutely lovely. It is all rural driving, but the weather was awesome. We stopped at a small country store and did a bit of shopping, and we just really enjoyed the trip...until we hit a glitch. We had basically just crossed into New York when Andrew realized he still had his aunt's keys! Ugh! He called her right away and fortunately she had another set so we were able to express mail her keys back to her. The post office was right around the corner from where we stopped for lunch, then we were on our way again.
We arrived at our motel late afternoon. The thing we were all most excited about was a shower! We hadn't showered at all while on the island, and while Thomas didn't seem to mind one bit, Catherine was practically desperate for a shower. We drove into Cooperstown (about 5 miles) and enjoyed dinner at Doubleday's Cafe. The food was awesome! We checked out some of the cute little shops and had some ice cream for dessert of course! Why does ice cream always taste better on vacation? 😁
The next morning we hit the Hall of Fame mid-morning (after breakfast and re-loading the car). The kids really enjoyed getting to see the displays. I was somewhat disappointed that there was definitely less Reds stuff there then last time (we were there 15 years ago), but we suspect that has something to do with the fact that the Reds have their own team Hall of Fame. My favorite part of the hall is always the plaques of the inductees, and the Reds have no shortage of representation! Because Thomas received his late uncle's baseball card collection, he was also excited to see players from other teams. We checked out the shop, then decided to walk around and visit other shops. We had a very late lunch, and Andrew and I were especially pleased to eat at the same restaurant we had 15 years ago. A couple of more shopping stops led to some purchases, specifically a Griffey jersey for Thomas and a Larkin jersey for Catherine, as well as some other memorabilia. We left late afternoon. Originally the plan had been to spend two nights in Cooperstown and drive the ten hours home on Friday, but it didn't work out that way. Lodging was ridiculously expensive there, so Andrew and I decided that we would begin the drive home that evening. We didn't care how late we left town, because each minute that we drove was one closer to being home. If it was only an hour, so be it.
We ended up driving a little over three hours before stopping. We grabbed a quick dinner and turned in fairly early. We were all tired. The next morning we set a 7:00 alarm because we were all anxious to get on the road to our sweet Abby pup. We ended up arriving back at our house in the middle of the afternoon. Our sweet pup was so excited to see us. She had a housesitter while we were gone who adores her, but it just isn't the same.
We really, really loved this trip. We couldn't believe how well Thomas and Catherine got along during the entire trip, and how laidback everything seemed to be. I am so grateful that we had our vehicle that was so reliable and surprisingly spacious. It was very much a special trip for our family!
We left the island Wednesday morning. The waters were the choppiest they had been during our entire trip, and we had been told that at higher winds we wouldn't be able to leave. I was concerned when I saw some white caps on the lake when we first awoke, but was told it would be no problem. It was a rough ride off the island, and I'll be honest, I prayed almost continuously. The kids didn't mind getting wet though!
We loaded our vehicle and drove to his aunt's house. She was on the island with us and Andrew offered to drive her vehicle to her house. I drove our vehicle and picked up Andrew at her house. We were then on our way south, and driving through Vermont was absolutely lovely. It is all rural driving, but the weather was awesome. We stopped at a small country store and did a bit of shopping, and we just really enjoyed the trip...until we hit a glitch. We had basically just crossed into New York when Andrew realized he still had his aunt's keys! Ugh! He called her right away and fortunately she had another set so we were able to express mail her keys back to her. The post office was right around the corner from where we stopped for lunch, then we were on our way again.
We arrived at our motel late afternoon. The thing we were all most excited about was a shower! We hadn't showered at all while on the island, and while Thomas didn't seem to mind one bit, Catherine was practically desperate for a shower. We drove into Cooperstown (about 5 miles) and enjoyed dinner at Doubleday's Cafe. The food was awesome! We checked out some of the cute little shops and had some ice cream for dessert of course! Why does ice cream always taste better on vacation? 😁
The next morning we hit the Hall of Fame mid-morning (after breakfast and re-loading the car). The kids really enjoyed getting to see the displays. I was somewhat disappointed that there was definitely less Reds stuff there then last time (we were there 15 years ago), but we suspect that has something to do with the fact that the Reds have their own team Hall of Fame. My favorite part of the hall is always the plaques of the inductees, and the Reds have no shortage of representation! Because Thomas received his late uncle's baseball card collection, he was also excited to see players from other teams. We checked out the shop, then decided to walk around and visit other shops. We had a very late lunch, and Andrew and I were especially pleased to eat at the same restaurant we had 15 years ago. A couple of more shopping stops led to some purchases, specifically a Griffey jersey for Thomas and a Larkin jersey for Catherine, as well as some other memorabilia. We left late afternoon. Originally the plan had been to spend two nights in Cooperstown and drive the ten hours home on Friday, but it didn't work out that way. Lodging was ridiculously expensive there, so Andrew and I decided that we would begin the drive home that evening. We didn't care how late we left town, because each minute that we drove was one closer to being home. If it was only an hour, so be it.
We ended up driving a little over three hours before stopping. We grabbed a quick dinner and turned in fairly early. We were all tired. The next morning we set a 7:00 alarm because we were all anxious to get on the road to our sweet Abby pup. We ended up arriving back at our house in the middle of the afternoon. Our sweet pup was so excited to see us. She had a housesitter while we were gone who adores her, but it just isn't the same.
We really, really loved this trip. We couldn't believe how well Thomas and Catherine got along during the entire trip, and how laidback everything seemed to be. I am so grateful that we had our vehicle that was so reliable and surprisingly spacious. It was very much a special trip for our family!
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Three days on an island
I have to backup a little...almost an entire year. When Andrew's brother passed away, only one of the northeast cousins was able to come down for the funeral. He is the youngest of Andrew's four cousins, and therefore the one closest in age to Andrew. I've only seen him three times in the last 15 years, including almost exactly 15 years to the day when Andrew and I visited them in Boston with their then four-month-old twins. They visited my in-laws over ten years ago and we made the trip over, but the twins didn't come along. So their kids had never met our kids. However, when we saw Tom at the funeral, there was much discussion and we learned how much Ryan and Thomas had in common, and they are only six weeks apart. They began to communicate over text, then eventually conversations, and we knew we had to get them together. Tom and his wife Stephanie invited us to their family's island in the middle of Lake Champlain. The other twin is a girl and much in common with Catherine, and we decided we needed to make it happen!
We arrived Sunday afternoon and were picked up by boat (the only way to access the island). It was only a ten minute boat ride, and then as soon as we stepped onto the island, the stress of everything began to just lift away. It was amazing how the kids interacted as though they had known each other forever. Tom and his wife could not have been more gracious hosts. They took care of all the food for the days, and honestly, most of the time we just sat and enjoyed the gorgeous view. The kids did some reading, played some volleyball, worked on some projects, helped out some neighbors, went kayaking, had a boat ride, sat around the campfire, helped get the boat up and down on the lift...it just goes on and on. The shelter we were in was very tiny. It had a functioning kitchen and room for all of us to sleep. It has a bathroom and shower, but they don't really use it. Their septic system is fragile and they prefer the outhouse. I have to say, it was pretty impressive in terms of design, functionality, and not too icky! The weather while we were there was beyond ideal. In fact, it was chilly enough that pants and even sweatshirts were necessary. They owned a half acre on this island, and we could all spread out while relaxing outside. There were times I would just sit there and take in the view. One time I was so relaxed I actually fell asleep. Andrew and I loved the fact that there were games to play and books to read, and just visiting with each other.
Three days was exactly the right amount of time. We were ready to move on when it was time to leave, but we loved our time there. Andrew and I admitted to each other that we were both hesitant and apprehensive about certain aspects of this trip...not the least of which was the isolated time spent with family we didn't really know very well, with no TV or internet. It really was awesome though. I don't know how we will ever be able to repay their generosity!
We arrived Sunday afternoon and were picked up by boat (the only way to access the island). It was only a ten minute boat ride, and then as soon as we stepped onto the island, the stress of everything began to just lift away. It was amazing how the kids interacted as though they had known each other forever. Tom and his wife could not have been more gracious hosts. They took care of all the food for the days, and honestly, most of the time we just sat and enjoyed the gorgeous view. The kids did some reading, played some volleyball, worked on some projects, helped out some neighbors, went kayaking, had a boat ride, sat around the campfire, helped get the boat up and down on the lift...it just goes on and on. The shelter we were in was very tiny. It had a functioning kitchen and room for all of us to sleep. It has a bathroom and shower, but they don't really use it. Their septic system is fragile and they prefer the outhouse. I have to say, it was pretty impressive in terms of design, functionality, and not too icky! The weather while we were there was beyond ideal. In fact, it was chilly enough that pants and even sweatshirts were necessary. They owned a half acre on this island, and we could all spread out while relaxing outside. There were times I would just sit there and take in the view. One time I was so relaxed I actually fell asleep. Andrew and I loved the fact that there were games to play and books to read, and just visiting with each other.
Three days was exactly the right amount of time. We were ready to move on when it was time to leave, but we loved our time there. Andrew and I admitted to each other that we were both hesitant and apprehensive about certain aspects of this trip...not the least of which was the isolated time spent with family we didn't really know very well, with no TV or internet. It really was awesome though. I don't know how we will ever be able to repay their generosity!
Fear in the night
Last evening our family was in bed by 11:00. Catherine had to work today and the rest of us had church this morning. We were tired and ready for bed.
I had just begun to drift off when Catherine came into our room and was very upset. She told us she had heard knocking on her window and had seen a white light in the yard. She was also convinced she had heard walking. Andrew grabbed a bat. I grabbed another and followed behind. Andrew determined no one was in the house, and didn't see anyone looking in anywhere else. I grabbed some flashlights, and we went outside to check out the back yard. I had noticed the yard was full of lightning bugs, and I'm sure that is what she saw as the white light. Even I was confused by it when I first saw it. There was absolutely no indication of anyone having been in the yard. There was mud underneath her window, but no footprints or indentations of any kind. I am fairly confident that what she heard was a raccoon or skunk going after the cat shelter and knocked the food bowl off, and that the white lights were the lightning bugs. I offered to sleep with Catherine in the family room, or even to sleep in her room if she wanted. Andrew offered to let her sleep with me and he would sleep in her bed. She was content to go back to her own room and sleep. I also went back to bed, but Andrew decided to stay up in the family room for a while. Of course it was an uneventful rest of the night, but there sure were some scary moments.
I had just begun to drift off when Catherine came into our room and was very upset. She told us she had heard knocking on her window and had seen a white light in the yard. She was also convinced she had heard walking. Andrew grabbed a bat. I grabbed another and followed behind. Andrew determined no one was in the house, and didn't see anyone looking in anywhere else. I grabbed some flashlights, and we went outside to check out the back yard. I had noticed the yard was full of lightning bugs, and I'm sure that is what she saw as the white light. Even I was confused by it when I first saw it. There was absolutely no indication of anyone having been in the yard. There was mud underneath her window, but no footprints or indentations of any kind. I am fairly confident that what she heard was a raccoon or skunk going after the cat shelter and knocked the food bowl off, and that the white lights were the lightning bugs. I offered to sleep with Catherine in the family room, or even to sleep in her room if she wanted. Andrew offered to let her sleep with me and he would sleep in her bed. She was content to go back to her own room and sleep. I also went back to bed, but Andrew decided to stay up in the family room for a while. Of course it was an uneventful rest of the night, but there sure were some scary moments.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
We are home after a wonderful vacation
We arrived home yesterday late afternoon from this year's vacation. It's all too much to write about with one post, but I'll start with a few things and then hit more later. We had six absolutely wonderful days away, and I never failed to be grateful for how much time we had together, and how blessed our lives are!
We left Saturday morning, and we all really enjoyed the trip in our new (to us) vehicle. I was concerned it would be too small to travel comfortably, but that was not the case at all! We were also thrilled with the gas mileage we were able to get. The first day we made it to the upstate New York. Most of the drive was cloudy, and it rained the later it got in the day. We had no intention of arriving in Vermont to visit family until Sunday, so we knew we were staying over. We didn't make any reservations because we weren't certain when we would want to stop. I began to become a little concerned because rural New York is VERY rural. We came to a college town and I felt very grateful that we were able to find a motel room. It was nearly 9:00 before we ate pizza for dinner that night, but we ate our full, and everyone tumbled into bed for a good night sleep. We took advantage of the motel breakfast in the morning before finishing our drive to family. It was about another three hours, and in bright sunshine, rural upstate New York was absolutely picturesque. We arrived at our family early afternoon, and they took us to their island. Yep, we spent three days on an island in the middle of Lake Champlain, and it could not have been more relaxing! That however, will be another post!
We left Saturday morning, and we all really enjoyed the trip in our new (to us) vehicle. I was concerned it would be too small to travel comfortably, but that was not the case at all! We were also thrilled with the gas mileage we were able to get. The first day we made it to the upstate New York. Most of the drive was cloudy, and it rained the later it got in the day. We had no intention of arriving in Vermont to visit family until Sunday, so we knew we were staying over. We didn't make any reservations because we weren't certain when we would want to stop. I began to become a little concerned because rural New York is VERY rural. We came to a college town and I felt very grateful that we were able to find a motel room. It was nearly 9:00 before we ate pizza for dinner that night, but we ate our full, and everyone tumbled into bed for a good night sleep. We took advantage of the motel breakfast in the morning before finishing our drive to family. It was about another three hours, and in bright sunshine, rural upstate New York was absolutely picturesque. We arrived at our family early afternoon, and they took us to their island. Yep, we spent three days on an island in the middle of Lake Champlain, and it could not have been more relaxing! That however, will be another post!
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