Is it August? Is that possible? Where did my summer go? Ah...traction. Surgery. Drugs. Physical therapy. Nights in a recliner and days trying to catch up from the lost sleep in the recliner. Okay, now I remember. And as much as I hate having had to go through it, I know it was part of God's plan for my life and I'm trying to mine it for all it's worth...

My mother and step-father have "downsized" from their sprawling 6000 sq. ft. Tudor into a 2200 sq. ft. penthouse condo in downtown Fort Worth. This has meant her needing to give away some of her treasures, so this week Nathan and John Caleb drove up and returned with a load of paintings, silver, crystal, teapots, etc. It's been bittersweet going through them...I'm honored to be the next owner of these sweet things, but the very thought that she needed to "shed" them as they make their final move is sobering.

It's been very good to have The Papa back home after two weeks in Hawaii. I tell ya, I'm gonna have to make one of these trips with him again soon. Souvenirs only go so far!

So, once again our "appliance curse" has hit. After not quite three years, our fairly high-end Whirlpool dishwasher quit working and the repair estimate was pretty much equal to the original price. So for the umpteenth time in eight years I am shopping for ANOTHER major appliance. I HATE THIS! (In the meantime, warn us if you're dropping by, okay?)

Annie and fam have been with us for a month now, and, for me at least, it's flown by. Still no word on whether they'll stay here in town or be offered a job somewhere else, but either way we will always treasure these weeks of summer...

I've been pretty amused that Barney Frank got caught on camera this week admitting that the famous "public option" part of the health care reform bill is just the first step toward getting a complete single payer, socialized medical system. I hope the Republicans burn up the airways this fall with commercials featuring this clown and his now-not-so-subtle plan to remake society one sector at a time...

This week, since I'm walking a little and can stand for a few minutes without pain, I'm going to work on putting our room back together. A couple of weeks ago we rearranged the furniture but I still have four or five laundry baskets worth of books, stationery, office supplies, pictures, and knick-knacks to replace or find other homes for. Also, I'll be finalizing homeschool details for my three remaining students. Not to mention all the other summer things that I now have to pack into August :-)

What a joy it was to be worshipping IN PERSON with my church family this morning. I haven't been to church (or much of anywhere) since the end of May, so it felt like a celebration today. Nevertheless, the hymn lyrics which struck me the most this morning were not the ones that sound like celebration, but ones that made me think deeply about how little I deserve and how much God gave for me:


--from "Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended", lyrics by Johann Heermann, 1630

Labels: Church, Family, Health, Homemaking, Music, Summer, Sundays