18 Days Later...

I thought I was going to get back into a good blogging routine with some regular posts each week. There are some milestones I've missed (M's 2nd birthday, Father's Day...) and lots of regular life happening. Alas, my inspired intentions fell flat with all the activity of the past weeks. Here is just a glimpse at what we've had going on:

• The kids and I drove from VA to IL to spend a few weeks visiting family. We drove about 10 hours the first day, then spent two (wonderful!) nights in KY with friends. The second day was supposed to be 8 hours but took nearly another 10. We stopped at the farm briefly to say HELLO to everyone, then drove 5 more miles to Grandpa B's house, where we are spending evenings and mornings quietly.
• After arriving on Thursday night, we left Saturday a.m. to celebrate a cousin's wedding in WI. Another nearly 8 hours in the van that day... but so sweet to share the JOY of these families uniting. Tamara was beautiful, the music was beautiful. I just love weddings for the reminder of the vows we made nearly 13 years ago. And I have to laugh, because The Lawyer and I have really taken to heart the Catholic vow to "welcome and accept children gladly as gifts from the Lord"- even though I don't remember that as part of our vows and even though we aren't Catholic. I joked that we look more Catholic than the Catholic families. =)
• During the few days before leaving for IL, I decided to prepare food for traveling as well as for The Lawyer when we were gone. Wouldn't it seem like a good time for a major shopping trip and hours in the kitchen? The great news is that we left him stocked with shredded, cooked chicken, lots of cooked and frozen beans, pounds of prepared taco meat/beans (The Lawyer could really take most all the credit for this!), and three weeks worth of chicken to grill in different marinades. This website was my inspiration. But then I decided that simpler was better this time, so I used these marinades. I confess, it was super fun to throw everything in the VitaMix and have 12 meals done in an hour. 
• I became a pool mom! Because the neighborhood pool is within walking distance of our house (actually there are two pools we can walk/bike to and one is only a few minute's walk away), and because so many of our friends are members of the pool, we decided to become summer members and give our children lots of outside/pool time. Not quite sure what this is going to look like yet (especially since we aren't there for nearly 4 weeks), but we did already go swimming several times and our children LOVED it.
• Because my sister is due with her second baby (Emmy!), I adjusted my trip so that I wouldn't be leaving IL just before I could see my new niece. This meant we left a week later than I originally anticipated and we are keeping our return date flexible. She is due June 29, but I've nothing scheduled in VA until July 9th (my own appointment with our midwife and a 22 week ultrasound).
• oops! Did you miss it? I'm not-so- surreptitiously announcing that our family is expecting another Curtis baby in November. We are thrilled. This is an unexpected blessing. (I know you may not believe me, but I tell the truth!) The kids were giddy and giggly when we told them a few weeks ago. Since then, we've shared our good news with close friends and family and at 18 weeks now are ready to share our JOY and anticipation with the world. Besides, the world knows if they have seen me. (*smile*) So, for many weeks past I've been a bit on the nauseous and weary side of things.
• Because of delaying our trip, I was actually in Richmond the weekend of the VA Homeschooling Convention. I've never attended one. First, I think I've always been out of town that weekend. Second, even if I were in VA in June I didn't want to pay the $ to attend, plus find childcare, and risk being completely overwhelmed by all I didn't know before. This time a friend GAVE me her ticket at the last minute, our other dear friends offered to give me rides with them, The Lawyer finished his Friday early after a trial,  and I managed to make it to one session on Friday night and spent all day Saturday at the Convention. The Lawyer was a bit nervous that I would attend and still have all that food prep to do... but the Lord took care of all the details and somewhere in my spirit I am still a refreshed, re-inspired homeschooling mom. I'm eager to share some of the notes I took that really struck my heart.
• Those were all the big things, I think. Now, we're settling into a bit of a groove here, trying to see people we love, cleaning out Grandpa's house a bit at a time, and enjoying this summer pace. (late nights and early mornings and afternoon siestas!)