Running Out of Steam

Our busy June is now turning into what's going to be a very busy July. We're tuckered out. Matt and three very hard working teenage guys (Colton, Justin and Joey) got most all of the work done at the other house yesterday. It was very hot, sweaty, backbreaking work. Matt and the guys made four trips back and forth between the two houses.

I went to yard sales to hunt for bikes for the two older girls. We figured out that Gracie's bike was stolen from our driveway at the other house. Elizabeth is ready to graduate to a bigger bike, so I went looking yesterday morning. The Lord provided me two bikes, although they both need a little work. Grandpa Tom had plans to come down here today to do the bike repairs, but was unable to do so because his dad, my grandpa, passed away last night.

My Grandpa was a man who definitely had a zest for life. He loved to hunt all kinds of birds and did so all over the world. He passed on this love of hunting to my dad and brother and even to Matt. He was gracious enough to take Matt goose hunting several times. Grandpa was also a good story teller. We kids always enjoyed the story of Mr. Singleterry, a hobo who lived in the woods near where my Grandpa was raised. One day my Grandpa and his friend asked Mr. Singleterry what he was cooking over the fire. "Big fat mole, wanna a bite?" was his response. Of course we always laughed when Grandpa got to the punch line. He will be greatly missed.

We will wrap up swimming lessons and finish the work at the other house this week. That house will be listed for sale tomorrow or the next day. We'll be preparing for the road trip to Grandpa's funeral this weekend as well as Matt's business trip to Chicago next week. In the meantime, I'll be running kids to routine doctor appointments and trying to unpack a few boxes here. I'm supposed to be keeping track of my blood sugar levels, so I'll need to call my doctor's office for a prepscription for more test strips tomorrow. I'll need to test my blood four times per day to make sure I'm keeping within a certain range. In the meantime, baby Jude is moving well and seems to be happy. The kids are wondering why I can't have him early. They're getting pretty excited about a new baby brother, with the exception of Lydia. This morning she asked me if baby Jude could be a girl instead of a boy.