Year 6, June 25th-June 27th, 2021: In Between Camps

 One camp down, two to go......

Keturah's last CIY Mix is over. I went to do her laundry this morning and wow, it fit in one load! How?! Because she packs light I guess. She said she had 4 pairs of shorts and 5 t-shirts, which I think included her new one from CIY. She seemed to only have her new sweatshirt from CIY. Or maybe she had another sweatshirt. I don't know. But it all fit in one load. I almost had it done and dry before she even woke up. But she was up at 11am. They had gotten in at 12:40am last night. They were supposed to arrive at 11:30pm. She said that the buses stopped because one side of one of the buses couldn't get the plugs to work so the kids could charge their phones and text their parents. I'm like, wait a minute, isn't that why a) we have a texting system for Luke to send a text TO all the parents at once to say when they would arrive? and b) that's really not a reason to stop. But whatever. I went to go out the door, and Socks' ears perked up. It's very unusual for us to leave that late. Sometimes I'll walk by him at 10pm and ask if he wants to go potty and he won't move. But this time, as soon as I quietly and unexcitedly said I was going to get Keturah, he was up on his feet. I asked him if he wanted to go pick her up, again, in hushed not excited tones and he wags his tail and heads towards the door. Ok, ok, I'll take you. It had stopped raining, so fine, I'll take you. So off we went.

It was fun having a buddy and it helped pass the time. I had gotten there at 12:15pm which was what our last text from Luke had said. I kept the car running because it was so humid out. I turned the overhead light on and played my video games. I kept looking around for the buses and so did Socks. Actually, he had his face turned towards the parking lot behind us where the lights were on. He knew where the excitement was going to happen. After awhile, he got tired and laid down and put his head on the console between the seats. It was way too late for him to be awake, poor thing. Everytime I looked around, he looked around. Finally Keturah texted and gave us a better timeframe. I videoed the buses arriving and Socks was very excited. The buses drove right behind us so they could park right in front of the church with their doors facing the church. Just two 50 passanger buses and one shorter 30 passanger bus. Just a little sad that it was a smaller crowd. It's because we have smaller class sizes I think in general, and I think CIY Move is going to be the same. That's not just because of Covid. It is also because of the dynamics of the groups from back in 6th grade but also because of well, drama, and life, and teens, and lots of people leaving the church for many reasons or not fitting into the mold of our youth group. Anyways, that's that.

I left Socks in the car so I wouldn't scare all these sleepy middle schoolers. Keturah was easy to find and so was her bag. I hadn't told her Socks was there. I did tell her to put her bag in the trunk because it wouldn't fit in the back seat. She thought it was because "the child" was there, aka Abishai. No, but your puppy is there. She was excited about that. Oh my word. We got home, and as soon as Keturah laid down, Socks was right up there next to her on her bed. He did NOT get up on her bed ONCE all week, not to nap, not to sniff, not to do anything. But he hasn't left her side all day. I mean it's been hot, so the coolest part of the house is right outside her bedroom, but if he isn't right there on the floor, he was in her bed with her. He was definitely happy she was home. Now he can have all the treats he wants because honestly, I didn't give him any. And the boys didn't give him many. He doesn't need them. I don't want to fatten him up. But it was a sweet reunion. 

Not so sweet was everybody was back to themselves. Grrr....so normal day otherwise. Justin slept until 10am. Keturah slept until 11am. Abishai woke up with us and was in my face begging for the tablet all day. I finally gave in at 2pm because I needed to work. I spent a good part of the day rambling to a few new homeschoolers, which is my job and there has been some time this week that I ignored my phone, so it's ok. We skipped park day because it was a 30 minute drive and the weather was iffy. Some of our friends weren't going to be there anyway. And we needed Abishai to save energy for his big day tomorrow. We even had him skip karate tonight, too. It's a good thing we did, because I forgot to get him packed until it was supper time. He just needed a few things, but I needed to label them and such. And we didn't have the right sized backpack. We have toddler backpacks and big kid backpacks. We don't have elementary kid size backpacks. Because well, we don't need them, I guess. So we stuffed his stuff into the toddler one and he has to carry his water bottle. I hope they have a central location for the backpacks so that they don't have to carry them around all day. Just the water bottles. Not up to me of course. Or maybe a wagon to put them all in or something. Who knows. I can text Erica or something if I'm worried. I shouldn't be worried. He'll survive. Right? Goodness. I don't remember sending my other kids off to an all day 1st grade camp. I think Benaiah did a sleep away camp for his first camp, maybe 2nd or 3rd camp at this same camp Abishai is going to. And then a couple years later right before moving to Canada he did it again at 10 years old. That's before Indian Creek did the Jumpstart stuff with CIY and such. Anyway, some church people still choose to go to Camp Allendale and have that experience instead of the big production of CIY conferences. They'd rather have canoeing, crafting, archery, rock climbing, that kind of stuff. We'll see. Poor Abishai is so worried about next year and who is going to sleep with Grogu than he is worried about tomorrow. Buddy, worry about tomorrow. Next year will be different. You probably won't care about Grogu anymore. But I didn't tell him that.

Jared and I will take Abishai to camp and both of us will pick him up. He's still a bit worried about being away from us all day. I don't want to get up that early, but he needs us both. And it's like a little date for us I guess. And then I'll come home and work without distractions! Yeah! The 4 introverts at home and it will be so quiet! Eek! We'll pick him up at 5pm. It won't feel as long for us since it's a 45 minute drive. We'll have about 6 hrs of time at home. But oh well. I'm going to make the other two do a quick vacuum of the vehicles because the spring cleaning didn't get done. And then Grandpa want Justin to do some more yard work at some point. The weather hasn't been cooperative and then Justin was busy playing a video game and yada yada. Communication issues, too. Whatever. I'm tired of this back and forth. I wish Justin would take his ADHD medication but he won't. He keeps forgetting to do things. But he said, he packed for CIY without the list and did just fine. We'll see. I'll double check him on Sunday afternoon. I even asked him if he had anything Sunday night and he adamantly said no. I walked over to the calendar of HSM and MSM events on the kitchen wall and then walked back down the hallway and said, "Tell me that again?!" Dude. You both have stuff at church on Sunday night. Grrrr. It's a good thing he packed this evening and we just have to do the double check on Sunday. And then he leaves on Monday morning just like Keturah did and he doesn't return until Saturday morning I think. 

Phew! I did get some of my IAHE work done but now I feel like I've been staring at a screen all day. I've spent no time outside. No time laying down. Barely looked at any video games. I did make nice salads and quickly defrosted and breaded some fish with premade gluten free panko crumbs to bake and put on the salad for dinner. Sigh. Yup. My eyes are tired. Time to get binge watch just two shows and go to bed on time. I had to split up the last episode of one season last night because of picking up Keturah and then I wanted to watch the first episode of the next season and that put me to bed really late. Not happening tonight. 

My late night picking up the daughter from the CIY camp bus buddy, Socks.

I don't think I've ever seen my car clock at midnight. Shouldn't it read 00:22? Interesting.

It's way too late for this old dog.

Until he senses something is happening outside.

Here they come!

Yeah, here come the buses!

Right behind us!

Parked in front of the church, safe and sound.

I think this is the only photo besides the big group shot that I saw Keturah in. She didn't do the church clap. She didn't play gaga ball or 9-square. She doesn't make silly faces that people want to capture on camera. Oh, and she told me she was already getting tired of being around people on Day 2 out of 4. That's why she wanted to see her puppy late that night. Girl! Participate!

Both are back in their happiest of places. Lol.

I told Abishai that he couldn't have another sweet treat unless he played outside for 30 minutes. He asked for a timer and for me to set it for 30 minutes and out he went. I checked on him after 10 minutes and found him wandering the yard staring at the timer. It was so humid outside. I let him back inside and gave him a popsicle. At least he tried and didn't argue about it. And yes, he ate something good for lunch after that.

When your 15 yr old comes to the window above your desk and says, "I just can't stand it! I've tried everything! These zit dot things don't work! It's bleeding again!" Well, you get on Amazon and you try to find something else to have him try. I actually was on Amazon to get some supplements based on what my doctor said after the results came in from my blood draw yesterday (I was a bit low on my iron) and happened upon the Zinc for acne. Ok, let's try that. There's a couple of other vitamins in there Justin could probably use more of, too. And then ok, let's try another acne cleansing system. I don't know any brand names besides Proactiv, you know, the kind we all grew up hearing about. So I typed in that. Well, the regular Proactiv is not any different than what is in Neutrogena, but this MD stuff has a totally different ingredient I haven't seen in acne products before. I clicked on a few other types of products and quickly read through the labels and quickly said, "Nope, too many fake ingredients" and came back to this one which had a much shorter list. Ok, let's try it just because. And it looks like we can get it before he goes to CIY on Monday. Cool. I know what the real reason he's having such a problem. It's the mask. Yes, those stupid masks. He wears the blue paper ones most of the time. He sometimes changes them. I don't know if he actually reuses them. I don't keep track, but I also don't buy more. Either way, he also breaks out more after Sundays when he has to wear them so much. I told him, try to get away with no wearing them as much as you can this week. And let's pack you with as many as we can from the house so you can rotate through them. Not allowing your skin to breathe is awful. Plain awful. Poor guy. I feel so bad. And he changes his razor often. I think he uses shaving cream, but I'll check that, too. And he washes his face. Anyway, I spent a bunch of money, and I broke my "no deliveries on Sunday" rule, but I don't care. Whatever it takes to help my kids feel their best. Keturah wanted a red Canadian moose shirt. Justin wants to get rid of his zits. So, I spoil them. When I can, how I can. Because I can. My babies.

Oh my goodness, I might not have gotten a lot of photos today, but I've got some stories to tell, so buckle up!

Let's see. Abishai and camp. He was pretty calm and steady when he got his stuff ready last night and stayed that way this morning, just matter of fact that he was going and that's that. He talked and asked questions about all kinds of things halfway there and felt a bit sleepy and tried to take a little nap. We took the back country roads all the way there and avoided the highway and US-31. It's more peaceful that way and takes about the same amount of time. Lots and lots of cornfields. Fun stuff! Well, sort of. Anyway, now I can't remember that particular set of conversations and questions and answers, but it was lively enough. I know I tried to remind him to ask people's names and make sure he tells the leaders he has to go to potty as soon as he needs to go because it might take 5-10 minutes before they can walk to a bathroom. I'm sure most public school kids are all used to this, but my homeschooled kid isn't, lol. And this homeschool mama isn't used to other parents taking care of her baby. And it's been awhile since I made this transition with a wee one and it was pretty much brand spanking new to me to even remember to tell him these things. I am glad it came it to me though. Proud parenting moment right there. But of course, then I got nervous when we got there, and went to the wrong table first, although Jared led the way, thank goodness. I get so turned around when I make a social blunder. Oh well, we made it through signing in, health check in, getting his t-shirt, and meeting his leaders. The tables were a bit full already and the room loud, so Abishai and I were a little taken aback. After we had gotten home that night, I asked him how he felt in that moment and he said he was missing me already. I had been hesitant to leave because I could tell he was wide eyed and unsure. Thank goodness that none of my kids are criers. Jared walked right out and it took me a few extra seconds to pull myself away, but then it clicked that I needed to. Abishai had given me extra hugs and kisses right in front of everybody with no hesitation. And as soon as I got outside the cafeteria room, I almost thought about shedding a tear. Yeah, wow, this mama never cries at drop offs. But this is the last "first" camp! Oh my goodness! And this is the camp that we dropped our first baby off to have his first camp experience at! I don't think the planks on the decking have even changed in the last 12 years. So, it seems a bit surreal. I told Jared I'm glad this phase of life has lasted so long and we've gotten to enjoy it over and over again. The excitement of going to camp for the first, or last, time. And seeing all those kids and adults. Warms my heart, even if I want to shed a tear. Sigh.

Oh, I forgot, we were a little early for drop off so we made a quick trip up  the street to McDonald's for a second breakfast. I'm glad we did because Abishai didn't eat all his lunch. He said that he had a hot dog and bun and sprite. Then he described that he had beans, but not the green kind, the brown kind and they were hot. And he had to finish them or he couldn't have the yummy cookie. Well, he couldn't finish them, so he couldn't have a cookie. They didn't offer any fruit and vegetables. But he had Sprite to drink! Ok then. That was not a very satisfying lunch, but whatever. He did get MM's and Gatorade for snacktime a bit later though. I would have given the poor kids the cookies anyway because I would have known they all would have burned up all those calories so it wouldn't have mattered. But whatever. I wasn't in charge. I had heard the camp food wasn't great so I guess they were right. Grandma said not to worry about it, that you can give up fruits and veggies for one day/one meal, and I'm like, um, no, wrong attitude. It's a good thing he had mostly veggies and a hamburger for dinner and he had orange juice and other berries for breakfast. Good grief. I ended up eating his eggs from his McD's meal and Justin finished his OJ and Keturah ate his pancakes, but he got a few more bites in. I had a cafe mocha and when I put it in my calorie count, I didn't realize a small was still 350 calories! Whoops! 

Jared and I enjoyed our rides to and from the camp today, which is a 45 minute ride. It was like having a date night. It made getting up early worth it. We didn't make the others come with us because I think we both knew we wanted the alone time. The kids were just eating breakfast when we returned at 10am, lol. This why we made sure both doors were locked before we left and that the dog had been medicated and gone potty, too. Justin went to work with Grandpa for the morning and I had Keturah vacuum out my car from all the dog hair. Then Jared took Keturah out for lunch, and Justin ate lunch with Grandpa and Grandma. I worked most of the day on my IAHE project and got a TON done. Oh my word. I only have one section left, which is a big chunk of data, but the other sections and decision making is done. I needed the peace and quiet and uninterrupted time today to get in the zone and figure it out and i'm so glad I did. Now I can zip through the chunk of data piece by piece, get with the website person, and clean it all up. And done. Then I just have some other tweaks to do on some new homeschooling documents and I have to do this month's newsletter before Wednesday. I'm not sure when that will get done, but hopefully Monday? And then I'll tackle this other data. I had plenty of caffeine and I was grateful for it. Now, I just need another few days like today for some of the other summer projects and I think I can complete what I set out to complete. I'm trying not to think about those other projects because I feel like I'm going to get overwhelmed and cry. It's almost July and then it's only one month until school starts for most. And I haven't enjoyed my summer quite yet. And I haven't gotten the school year set up yet either. As I say every year, we won't start my part of things until I'm ready. And if I have to set aside something I was going to tackle this summer, than I will. I just need to revisit my lists this week and reevaluate, set some deadlines, and I'll be ok. Everything will be ok.

After Jared took a little siesta, it was time to pick up the little guy. I was pretty anxious to pick him up, too. I missed him! It was a decent drive down, although there definitely some slower cars on the roads in the way, grrrr. It was easy to find him and he didn't look shabby. Not sunburnt and everything was in his backpack and he was ready to go. He was excited to see us, but not too overly eager either. In fact, Abishai and Daddy played a little tetherball before we left the camp, lol. I would totally be ok if Jared put a tetherball post in our backyard! I love tetherball! And then we got in the car to drive home. And oh my, the kid opened his mouth and the words flew out fast and furious and never stopped until he went to bed! When we pick up the other kids from events, and ask how it went they would say, "fine" and "ok" and we would have to drag the details out of them. And they would want to take a nap. Not this extroverted kid. His tank was full and beyond full. He was revved up and raring to go! He started with the pool and water slides, his favorite things, and then talked about how he couldn't play on the playground twice because it was time to get ready for the parents (his least favorite thing was that it was time to leave!). And then the talked about everything in between. I went down the day's itinerary and asked about different things. He didn't say much about the Bible story or worship time or craft of course. But he talked about feeding the turtles and the fish. And about how the basketball goal was too high. And how they wouldn't let him play regular soccer in the gaga ball pit. He told us how funny looking his leader Ted's swim shorts were and how the bunk beds were set up in the cabin they used to change into their bathing suits. He also said that next year, when he goes for sleep over camp, he wants a top bunk, so he needs to get there extra early. He thinks he's going back next week, and can't grasp that it will be next year. He is actually pretty upset by it. He wants to go back so badly! Aw! I love it!

Abishai said he did talk to people but I think he said the majority of his words for us. And when we asked him if he was tired, he at first said no, but then said yes. He was fine through dinner and then started to melt down pretty hard during video game time with Daddy at 7:30pm. He zonked out pretty hard after we got him to settle down. 

After he had talked about camp in the van, he spent about 10 minutes talking about how he wanted to own a jeep when he was 20 years old. We had just passed some fields where Jared had taken Gary's jeep "muddin' " because Gary had refused to do with the jeep what jeeps are meant to do. This was of course done sort of with permission. Jared had permission to drive the jeep. He did not have permission to take it all muddy. And it took a lot of effort to wash it and our driveway in Beech Grove was a mess for awhile afterwards. Of course he only drove in fields that hadn't been planted yet and no, we didn't know the owners, so yes, it was illegal. But, life's short, you know? Anyway, Abishai talked about owning a jeep and putting his kids in their carseats in it like how Daddy put Justin in his carseat in Grandpa's jeep and going off roading with it. And then I said he needed a job to pay for the jeep so Abishia's mind started turning with thoughts about that and how he would work from home and would spoil his kids and buy them Lego sets, but not the super expensive ones (these are all his words, not mine), and maybe he could stay up all night and he could sleep during the day or something because he likes nighttime. And he asked about what job lets you bring your kids to work like Daddy's job lets him have his kids there. Yes, my kid is only 6 1/2, but he observes EVERYTHING and puts it altogether and figures out life faster than a nanosecond. He's going to outsmart us all.

And yet, Abishai was concerned last night that when he goes for sleepover camp, who is going to snuggle with Grogu. And, he was happy that Grogu was there to pick him up from camp and he said, "Grogu! My baby!" Um, maybe next year you won't be so attached to Grogu? Or maybe you will be? Maybe you'll get teased? I don't know. The innocence of kids. Sigh. He's certainly a caring one. Oh, and Abishai did remember some names this time, so hopefully when he goes to Sunday School tomorrow, he'll recognize more kids. He did see a couple of his classmates there, like Jackson, so that's good. Maybe we'll have a few more kids to invite next year to his birthday party. 

And again, are these really my unsocialized homeschooled children?! Cracks me up, every single time when people ask that question. "What about socialization?" Hasn't the homeschool community not proven themselves time and time again for the past 40 years? We live among you. We work beside you. We thrive in the real world. But, I did miss my kid. A lot. He's our little buddy. And it was Daddy play day. And he missed it. It's a good thing we have a lot of those left. Not so many of those left with the others though.

Time to switch gears here.

While we drove home, Keturah and Justin got off their screens, did their chores, and started supper. I gave Justin step by step instructions on how to put frozen hamburger patties on a tray and put them in the oven. He did just as he was told and they did fine. And then we had raw veggies and they had bread for their carbs. No big deal supper. But I'm grateful that they can handle themselves at home when they need to. After supper, I sent Keturah back outside with the lint roller to try again with the dog hair in the car. I know it's hard, but more needed to be done. After she did that, she took Socks on a walk to Grandma's house. I totally thought she was still in the car and had forgotten she had taken the walk, so when the front door creaked open at 7:30pm, I was like, "Who is opening the door?" Oh, it was Keturah!

Well, Keturah came into our room where I was laying down, and started telling me why she was gone so long. And in her story telling, she said, "And I was telling them how I stepped on the key and wanted to get baptized......(blah, blah, blah)" and she just kept rambling on. Wait a minute! Hold the phone! Back up! Girl! We tried to probe you last night about who went up the evening and everything else that had gone on during CIY. And you couldn't even tell us your friends' names! And then when Daddy took you out to lunch a few hours ago, you were able to say more, but you said nothing about YOU going up and saying you wanted to be baptized! What gives! You told Grandpa and Grandma FIRST! You KNOW how I don't like that! I totally said all of this in a teasing voice. I mean, I was/am a little miffed because this is about the millionth time this kind of thing has happened, but whatever, I can get over it again. Her answer was, "I didn't tell you? I just forgot?" all with a big grin on her face. I think she was slightly embarrassed to tell us. Maybe because we've asked her so much about it. I don't know. I don't think she was holding back on purpose. She's not malicious like that. Anyway, I did ask her more questions and basically, she's been thinking about it for a few months, so before Abishai said anything about baptism. She had sort of decided to do it after she finished listening through her Bible. Well, her Bible app messed up and she had to restart back at Matthew again, although she was further along in the New Testament. But when she was at CIY, and she sort of guessed that it was going to be decision night, she decided to go up right then and there and just do it! Yeah! She said she was one of the first ones to go up from our church. And then during their debrief time after the session, Luke had the kids who made first time decisions raise their hands, so she did. The next day, Luke pulled those kids aside and did a little baptism class with them. Keturah said she couldn't remember all the steps that he talked about, but I told her not to worry about it. I'm sure we've gone over it before and she's been to other baptism classes and we'll talk about it again. Jared was putting Abishai to bed, but he came out and said to quiet down. So we had to wait until he came back out to tell him. And then she started texting family and her small group. 

Oh my word, how exciting! What a day! My eyes hurt because of being on the computer, but wow! Back to Keturah for a minute. So, she's going to be baptized on the CIY Celebration night which won't happen until July 25th. I think they are waiting until the end of July so that everybody is back from vacations and to use it as a kick off for schools starting back and fall programming to begin or something. Between now and then, we'll meet with Luke of course and she'll decide who will baptize her and all that. I, of course, hope it will be Daddy. The boys all choose Daddy, and sometimes Grandpa, too. But Daddy was always there. But man, what an answer to prayer. Aunt Stefanie and I, and Grandma and Grandpa, and Daddy, we've all been praying extra hard this year for her. We knew she had the knowledge. It was just that she needed to surrender. I don't know what the breakthrough was. And maybe she's like me and it was nothing major. It sounds like it was just the right moment at the right time but she had already come to the decision much earlier in the spring. I'm kind of glad because I'd rather it be a rational decision than an emotional in the moment one. Oh Praise the Lord! Finally! The last one is going in the dunk tank! My mama's heart can rest a little easier! Not saying they can't be led astray at some point like my sister has been, but at least initially, everybody will be arriving at Heaven's gates. I can be at peace. Grandma and Grandpa are excited. And Benaiah had just gotten there and said, "Ok." Grandma said to him, "Benaiah, it's a woohoo moment, not an ok moment." I told him that and he is just concerned that she and Abishai have made the decision with the right motives and for the right reasons. But his opinions are his and this time, he can keep them. I'm definitely sure on these decisions. Thinking back to Benaiah's decision and Justin's decision, I wasn't so sure with Justin's at the time because he was also young. I can't remember with Benaiah's decision because I think Gary handled his much more than Jared and I did. But come on. I think Keturah knows what she's doing. I've seen a change in her. And that's not the point anyway. The change comes AFTER you accept and believe, not before. And it's not for showmanship. Not at all. Not with Keturah. She does nothing to show off. And Abisahi. He's way too smart not to realize what he did. He even gets communion every week now. Grandma helped him the first time and now he gets up there and does it himself with a leader and other big kids who have been baptized. Yup, I'm definitely more confident in these two's decisions than the first two.

I can rest easy and at peace knowing Keturah has finally made the decision to follow Jesus with her life, and that his blood was spilled for her sins, and that she will be with us in heaven. Oh my goodness, that reminds me! Abishai said it yesterday and today, that he can't wait for all of us to be in heaven because we will all be healed! He recognizes that having to wear glasses and Daddy's back hurting and all my health stuff is of this earth and that when we go to Heaven, we won't have to deal with that anymore! He was said when I told him Grogu won't be coming to Heaven with us. But that's such a normal child thing to be sad about. A childlike faith. Simple. Oh my babies. I'm so happy!

But I'm also tired. I need to wrap it up. And I need to rest tomorrow, but I don't think I can. I forgot to get school supplies for the school supplies drive and the kids have youth group stuff in the evening and then the normal stuff of life. I don't know. We'll see!

Awww, selfie with Mama. I didn't want to let him go! But look at how big he looks! I think he was a bit overwhelmed at first, but he said he was ok after a bit.

Grogu came with us for both rides to and from the camp. I didn't leave him the van though because it was hot and you never leave children in a hot vehicle. Doesn't he look adorable?

Grogu did want to finish Abishai's juice for him though.

Abishai asked to switch out the date and the weather on the calendar yesterday and today, so I let him. We have almost gotten to a full year of faithfully using this set up. I'm so proud of myself! I'm not sure we need the special days of the week thing, but I think we'll do the bottom calendar still if Abishai wants to.

Ah, tetherball! One of my favorites! Jared said, "You can't play it by yourself!" I said, "Oh yes you can! I used to do it all the time!" I want one for the backyard now. Abishai did surprisingly good with it.

Awww, I just found this on Instagram as I was loading up the pics! I know Nolan's Mom, Mrs. Erica was taking photos and videos today, so I'm glad she got this one. I had asked Abishai if he had wanted a photo with Nolan and he said that Erica had already gotten one, and I had trusted his word. he was right. Sweet! These two are the same age. Erica is the same height as I, but much skinnier. Her kids are teeny tiny for their ages. And I thought my kids were always small for their age. Yes, these are neighbors, Nolan and Erica. Nolan is an introvert and I could tell by the way he was clinging to Erica that he was done with the day. But they definitely are cute!

Well, I hit my wall today. I finally got a shower. But I felt a migraine coming on and I desperately didn't want to take the right medication, so I didn't. I managed to make it through service, but I almost fell asleep. (It wasn't your fault Shan, it was a great sermon!). Song service was great as usual. We sat in the 3rd row again so I could stay comfortable. My new favorite spot. And I finally gave Alisha a hug after telling her late last night about Keturah's decision. I'm going to start leaking it out to others and in a week or two, tell all of Facebook, which is all my circles of friends. Anyway. I didn't know what to wear to church, so I spent some time prepping my head space before I tried things on. I went with the first thing I tried on despite it being kind of iffy. No one made any comments either way. Ok then. But then, on the way home, Jared got a text from Benaiah saying he went to urgent care because he wanted to get checked out for strep throat. First of all, there was a few things wrong with that statement and despite my best efforts, I could feel my buttons starting to get pressed. Well, they started to get pushed with his comments last night about Keturah's decisions, but anyway. So when we got to the house. I just stepped aside and tried to stay out of dinner prep because of the headache now migraine and rested on the couch and let Jared do his thing with the grilling. We had to wait for Gary and Karl to drive down from the north side where Gary preached. Gary said the traffic was horrific. Yes, on a Sunday. Not good at all. Dinner was fine. But I was really tired and they started talking about people I knew nothing about and we were done with food/dessert so I got up and put my stuff away. I sat down to read a text from Shauna and then Justin and Abishai wanted to leave. So we actually left before Leah could clean up. By then, I had a raging migraine and I was miffed.

You see, I asked my sister if I needed to buy her a plane ticket to come see Keturah's baptism and she's not available and then I asked Shauna if they were planning on coming up here this summer, and they basically are not because they have another trip planned and then they have to get ready for school. I'm bummed. No family. Again. Abishai's was short notice. I thought for sure somebody would want to come for Keturah since we've been praying for her for 6 or 7 years. So, I'm totally bummed. People travel for funerals and baby baptisms all the time. Why not the real thing? I don't know. So, I tried to rest some and drink my afternoon coffee and then laid down with Jared.

We got up in time to take Keturah to the dollar store so she could buy some treats to take to her movie night/hang time at church with MSM small groups. Then we dropped her and Justin off at church. Justin's HSM peeps did a pre CIY Move get together, although they all will see each other at 10:30am tomorrow. Meanwhile, Jared, Abishai, and I ran up to Meijer because I was too tired every day this week to get up there to pick out school supplies for the drive. Well, lo and behold, they didn't have many school supplies out yet. So we had to go to the year round sections for supplies. Thankfully, there was a couple of items on sale, so we didn't pay full prices. But I told you it was way too early to be doing this school supply drives. Way too early. But it's done. Then when Jared and Abishai went back, they dropped the supplies in the tubs outside of Abishai and Justin's Sunday School rooms. It's not the first time I've had to do it that way either. But I knew they wouldn't count the supplies until at least Monday.

In all of this, I completely forgot that the tide had turned and Jared is back to "normal." I can count on him to do an errand like going to Meijer for me. Something small still for the next few weeks, but after that, he will be able to take care of things when I don't feel good. That's why we went together. That's why if I go on a trip, I would want him beside me. He can look out for me, and our surroundings. Or carry something. Or pay for something. Or ask a question. Or in this case, handle a cranky hangry kid who didn't understand why he couldn't get something for himself. And he kept me on task. And helped make decisions like how many of each thing to buy. Yup, that's why I need my husband right now. And I have him back. And you know what I just said aloud? I said, "I want that miracle! You know, when I get to Heaven, I'm going to have a little chit chat with Jesus and ask him why I couldn't have the miracle, too, because he hasn't given me the answer down here on earth!" But I have to keep moving forward even without an answer. And I think I might pursue a neurologist. But, I'll wait to see what Community Financial Aid will do for me. So, it might be a few months. Who knows. Or maybe IU might have a good one. Maybe we know one that will give me a discount. I don't know. But MRI's are super expensive and I still have a lot of out of pocket to pay and again, no copays, I pay for ALL of the bill unless someone gives me a discount because I'm self pay. I'm just over these headaches and neuropathy and taking so many medications. I got the iron pills today, so maybe that will help with all of the things. But these migraines. Wow. I don't get it. How can I be getting worse? I'm taking a migraine preventative? Yup, time to talk to someone else that specializes in them. And get some imaging done. I don't know. I need to rule out some things. I can't live with migraines and they tell me I can't the medication that actually works every day. Root cause, people, what is the root cause! Modern medicine, help! Nope, because they want to line their pockets with money. 

I see the chiropractor tomorrow, so I hope that helps. And maybe i can go in and get some dry needling acupuncture stuff done soon, too. There's just not enough money to go around until the investment house sells.

I did talk to Jared more about the TN trip but nothing really finalized as to what to do when we get down there. Departure time is kind of figured out. We'll see. We will stay flexible for now. And it's two weeks away so time to get excited!

Next up: Justin goes to move and the littles and I have some fun of our own!

This IS the day that the IAHE turns 38! Woot! Woot! Happy Birthday IAHE!

These are the smallest and yet most expensive products for acne I have ever bought. They are supposed to be 1 month worth for $40. Yikes. I hope they work for Justin!

Well, at least something still fits after 4 kids and 25 years.....size 3 kids' shoes, for the record, from Payless. I have very few pairs of my high school shoes left but I really liked these and another couple of pairs of slip ons. And I really, really miss Payless Shoestore. (not the liquor store).

Hey, look! It's Finding Nemo!

Does anyone else think that collecting school supplies the Sunday after the kids just got out of school for the year is a bit too early? Where are you going to find discounted school supplies? On Amazon? Because the stores don't have them. Even now on the last week they only had a couple of things out so far. It's all 4th of July and BBQ stuff!

Little guy lost his 2nd tooth! We knew it was loose, but I'm glad it came out at home and not somewhere else. And check out that big boy tooth in the back! It's coming in fast! I think the tooth fairy is going to run out of money pretty quickly!

Tooth fairy, don't forget!

The End