Rediscovery of the template

So... I stumbled across the blog template the other day and thought: “Stick to this. Just do this. It needn't be creative – just a record.” 

So I did. Also – my cousins say my blog color scheme burn their retinas.

Sorry about that. For years.

The Template.... take 4.

Life rating:

A. I'm on vacation with family I love and now I am sitting alone in a quite house at 10:00 p.m. - with nothing to do but write. Totally an A.

(Later realized that said house had no internet.  Even better for solitude but bad for catch up blogging... so finishing this up at Aunt Vonda's kitchen table after our flight got canceled.  Poor Jarod... another day of holding down the fort... poor Vonda... another day of my crew... totally an A for me.

Who is living with us:

Alice – China. This is her second year with us and she will be finishing her master's in Communication in December

Annie – China. Also in her second year with us and has another year to finish her communication major

Seonjin – South Korea. Seonjin is back with us after spending May 2012-August 2013 back home earning money for her final two years in English major with an education emphasis.

Bianca – Kenya. First month with us but was previously a student at TMP. She is studying nursing at NCK.

Edward – China. He came to live with us in May but we have know him since he came to the U.S. Last August to work on a IT degree.

Sami – Saudi Arabia. He came to live with us in May and is in the ESL program, hoping to work into a science master's. (But I just found out on this trip he may be leaving and we will be getting another of Salah's cousins this week.)

Salah – Saudi Arabia. Salah has been with us 2 ½ years and will graduate in May.

I could go on and on about each of these students... and in fact I plan to once I have a good profile pic of each one.

1 Hilarious or horrible thing the students have said or done this week:

It is the ongoing assumption in our household that I do nothing. This week Edward thought perhaps I could volunteer to be a full time nanny for a one year old in need of child care. I visualized it. Life just like it is now with a baby on my hip. I giggled a lot and passed.

How the children are:

Good. They started school. After a 3 hour experiment in home schooling requested by Jude (that ended over limited freedom in “free choice books”), they are both settled in at Washington... other than the fact that I just pulled them out for a week for vacation :). Jude and I ran the 5K color run with Sommer, Izaac and Alie. Jude has also taken to wearing a safari hat to bed and his pajama shorts to school. He's a little strange, but it's the cute one in the frilly pink dresses you really have to keep an eye on.

I just need to record this.

1 Hilarious or horrible thing my children have said that week:

Well, I'm still holding my breath on this one. They are Kansas children and as they were chasing pigeons in the baggage claim and wondering aloud where the pigeons pooped I thought, “It may not be good to bring the country kids to city before they learn to speak with a bit of tact.” We have no tact. Period. (Follow up on this is that they did surprisingly well and I think we MAY EVEN get invited back.)

How work at Bethesda is going:

I wouldn't know. I left it all to Jarod. Oh – how guilty I feel. I remember when mom and I used to escape to NJ and leave dad to batch it at Bethesda. I remember mom feeling bad for all dad had to do. But secretly I think dad just let plants die and ate at McDonald's every day so it really wasn't a big deal. So I am guessing they are all fine without us. I know we had a TRULY great summer. About 20 days of rain and 80 degree weather sure helped. As did an AWESOME summer crew of workers. Mary and Darrren are both back in school but we sure did get a nice taste of what it would be like to have a full crew of hard working staff who the guys LOVED to work and have fun with.

1 Hilarious or horrible thing my parents or the guys have said that week:

Mostly we are just thrilled that Carl is finally chewing with his new teeth!! (Follow up on this is that Carl threw the teeth and cracked them.  I guess I was holding my breath on the wrong front this week.)

And also – my dad could run a day care. These kids love him!!

(Follow up on this is that he is wonderful at insuring a good time... not so great at getting them any amount of rest.)

How my house and yard are holding up:

Let's just say... it's back up to 98 degrees... and oh yeah – I'm gone for a week. Yikes! (Jude keeps calling the rain they get in NJ "magical stuff that makes things grow!!!"

1 Hilarious or horrible thing I have thought that week about my house and yard:

Well it is kind of about my house, but more specifically about our home placement. I realized this last month that I am raising my kids in Kansas. SURPRISE!!! I know: - who would have guessed, right? I guess it FINALLY sunk in... in a happy sort of way. As we watched the water levels of Lake Wilson fall and rise this year I embraced the childhood we have chosen for our children. My dad remembers the topography before they damned the valley. He hunted the bottom of the lake. He knows the coves from his days working at the marina and has skied almost every inch. I grew up hearing about which bluffs were preferred depending on wind direction and crowds. I've backed the trailer at every boat ramp and remember low water levels and the year the water was so high that a jump off the bridge was more of a “step down”. And now this year with the drought and then sudden rains Jude was recognizing water level changes. Knowing that we probably shouldn't get too close to the shore over there because earlier this summer we saw the rocks that lie under neither. They know where the hidden clay is and when the water is high enough to cover the beach. They have seen where the waterfalls and rivers are when it floods. To me – this knowledge means you “belong” somewhere. It is nice to belong to Wilson lake. It is nice that my kids have a history with a piece of nature. It's nice that I finally realized my kids' home will always be Kansas. They belong.

1 thing God is teaching me:

Belong

... and do good there.

Major events past or upcoming that I covet your prayers over:

Probably just that we get on the plane tomorrow.  Not for my sake or the kids - but for poor aunt Vonda and Jarod... we need to get back where we belong.

But for a moment we can belong anywhere... among people we love.

Cousin's camp. New Jersey Style 2013 + trip to Washington's Headquarter's and Edison's Laboratory.

Next Time - Statue of Liberty.