It Was This Kind of day

My busiest day at school plus homework, shopping, and youth group for Zack means it was this kind of day:

And just when you get caught up in the little details of day to day life, God gives you a reminder of His marvelous creation.  


This is what I saw when I opened the garage door at 8:00 tonight to pick up Zack from church youth group.

Sorry that the quality is so bad.... but the beauty is amazing.

New Places To Sleep

Always finding the most unusual places to sleep

Goodbye Son

I knew this day was coming... even before I knew which college Jon would pick, I knew the day was coming when he, too, would leave home.  The day when our already less than full house would become a little emptier.  


There was an excitement, mixed in with a tad bit of nervousness, as we left for Platteville this morning.  


The three hour drive was filled with conversations about everything from foreign policies to why earthquakes happen to the new life that awaited Jon. 


The topography changed from flat farmlands to deep rolling hills and highways cut through rocky landscapes.


Then we arrived:

....and checked in with his dorm monitors... and we unloaded the car and hauled everything up to his fourth floor room - yes, his room HAD to be on the top floor! And it HAD to be 87* today too.


We unpacked his things and put everything in drawers and on shelves, I made his bed up with the custom made bedding they make you buy because the mattresses are extra long, and the room looked great... but there was no camera....I had left it in the car.


We then went to lunch and did some last minute shopping and by the time we returned, camera in hand...ready to take pictures... Jon's room mate arrived and his stuff was strewn all over the place and pictures of his room were not going to happen.


So I got one of him outside his dorm instead.

And this is his dormatory building

Zack found this swing outside the dorm 

We walked around campus, said our goodbyes, and left for home.  When I called Jon about 9 at night, he and his room mate were chilling in their room watching college football.


Zack and I plan to visit next month so hopefully I'll get some room pictures then.

What A Way To Spend A School Day

Swimming

                              
                             Basketball

                                   
                                         Games
Pictionary

Scavenger Hunt

Gorilla/Warrior/Damsel in distress (a chasing game)

and a nighttime campfire with smores

For the past two days our middle and high school students, along with some selected teachers, have been up at Northern Grace Youth Camp on a retreat.


And even though I wasn't thrilled about the overnight aspect (I don't function well without sleep), and even though I had to give up my days off, I had a great time - as did the kids.


I stayed in a cabin with my discipleship group which included two 6th grade, two 7th grade, and two 8th grade girls.  A fantastic group!


This was our cabin:

I was more than excited to see that I had my own room - complete with an air conditioner and a fan - really roughing it!

So, at 11:00 I turned out the lights, went to my room, and let the girls whisper and giggle while I slept.  I got about 7 hours of good sleep - which is 5 or 6 hours more than I was expecting.


This was the girls' room:

They also had an air conditioner in their room.  As I found out... not all the cabins had air conditioning so we really were fortunate.

Our theme for this year is Love 2 Serve so we spent a lot of time talking about how we can show love and serve not only our peers, but also the people within our community and beyond. 


I think everyone had a great time and, all in all, it was a great way to spend two whole school days!

First Day of School

And he said he had a good day.


Despite the fact that I forgot to give him schedule so he had no idea what elective classes he was supposed to go to.  So he was late for his art class and went to Drama class instead of his scheduled Study Hall. Oops... my bad.

Back To School

School starts tomorrow!


I'm pretty excited.  After several revisions to the original, my schedule now looks like this:  On Mondays I am done at 2:00, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays I will be putting in full days (7:30-4:00).  I don't have class that whole time, but will use the extra time to go over curriculum or clean.  Thursdays I have off.  And Fridays I am done at 10:40.


This is what my room looks like:

Zack says he is not as ready to start as I am. The idea of homework and studying and tests is not as appealing as computer games or T.V.   But he does enjoy hanging out with friends. And this year he gets a locker!

The Airport Drop Off

Oh how I hate the airport drop off.

The realization that your time together has ended and the memories you created will have to carry you until next time.


The quiet ride home as you relive those memories...tossing them around in your mind like a beach ball.


Saying goodbye is never easy.

Walking out alone... just my little buddy and me.

and viewing some interesting artwork along the way.