Catching up

The latest ... since life is too crazy to blog as much as I want to.

• I made some incredible (to me!) homemade hummus. Oh, and there are some chocolate oatmeal cookies w/nuts and raisins still warm from the oven. Yeah, come on over.
• Our house is on the market. Not much interest, but we're not concerned. God has a plan.
• I'm actually enjoying the new disciplines I'm creating as we seek to keep the house tidy for lookers to come at any time, but especially if we're out for the day. The boys are a big help and understand that we need to pick up before we leave in case someone calls. How cool is it that we become accustomed to always having a home where we can invite folks over? I would love that.
• New Orleans weather is incredible right now. Very low humidity. This is the best time of year. Nearly every afternoon and evening is spent outside. We stay inside during the summer.
• We sent a deposit and application to an apartment complex in Little Rock. Actual apartment is available on 7/26/09. Nice timing.
• Once we have proof of residency, we'll apply to the public school in our district/zone.
• We're making the final plans for my parents' 50th anniversary vacation in Delaware. Can't wait to enjoy the time with my family all under one roof.
• On the back end of that trip, we're lining up several speaking opportunities to share about our vision for a new church in Gentilly. A stop in Johnson City to see our partners in this whole deal is part of the plan. Let the games begin.
• An out-of-town guest will be with us for most of the weekend. We're so excited to see what God will do with Emily's desire to minister in our city through her vocation.
• Woman's Bible study ended its spring semester. MOPS will be over for the year in two weeks. Both have been invaluable to me as a stay at home mom in this neighborhood. I'm feeling the end of those.
• I found an extra jar of my mom's zucchini relish in a different shelf of the pantry the other day. Delicious surprise.
• The Hornets are done. I guess I'll skip posting the pics of the nifty pep rally we went to downtown before the playoffs began.
• We picked strawberries at a farm about an hour north of the city recently. It was fun, but doing it with preschoolers is not nearly as productive as picking with Mom was as a teenager.
• We planted some seeds in pots this year. I picked their favorite veggies, so Sam planted some carrots and Zach planted peppers. So far, we have sprouts. We're all happy so far. My parsley and basil are still thriving from last year too.
• Bubbles have been Sam's favorite outdoor activity lately. He's perfecting his baseball swing as he pops them. I need to make another batch of homemade bubbles. Anyone have a tried and true recipe?
• Zach's swing got fixed recently and he loves it. He's so close to pumping his legs himself, but I think he still just likes having company for the pushes.
• Eli adores being outdoors. He climbs up half of our slide, up and down the steps, and is having a hard time learning not to run straight down the front sidewalk to the road. He manages the step down to the kitchen while standing now. He's fascinated by the toilet, so the rest of us area learning to keep the lid down. E hasn't managed to lift it yet. He's learning "no" quickly though and sometimes just stands in front of it and looks. Aw, success.
• My latest pleasure/indulgence is early morning walks on the levee. I was given this nifty little Bible that I can carry and still actually read while walking. Since Eli's morning wake has become regularly closer to the other boys' even in the past couple weeks, I get to sneak out just a half hour before Doug has to leave for work and the others are up and about. I love the alone time along the River. It's these sunrise chats w/my Father that have helped (and will continue to ..) me navigate the myriad of emotions as we anticipate the upcoming couple of years of major transition. It's all so exciting. I don't want to miss what He wants me to learn along the way.
• I've already blogged about Doug's running ... he's blogging again, if you're interested. You can find him at plantandrun.com.