Sundries

I am reporting to you now from the lobby of the Houston Marriott, where I have been sitting on my own for a few hours now, surrounded by people but also blissfully alone. P is attending a conference and I am having a small vacation. It. Is. Lovely.

I told myself I'd spend the whole time writing. It's been so long since I've had the brain space for this -- our spring has been so full, not in the "schedule" way but in a deeper, more emotional and spiritual way. We are involved in no extracurriculars (woo-hoo!) and we have taken fewer trips (with the exception of April, perhaps) and the kids have been in school and P has been spending his normal time at work. However, we have been emotionally pressed as we walk with friends and family through emotionally demanding times and illness, and I have been spiritually overextended as I've wrestled through the powerful message of Revelation. And we have a very active toddler...

But I hate to miss the chance to record those little moments of life that I want to "wrap in tissue paper," as Memaw used to say. I don't want to forget how Andrew gives the warmest, tightest hugs every time I pick him up from his crib in the morning or after naps. I don't want to forget Sarah's new way of saying Teenager Phrases in a slightly cynical Teenager Voice, such as "You've GOT to be kidding me" and "Sure." I don't want to forget how hard Luke has worked this spring to overcome the challenges of spelling tests and math facts and face down the temptation to act out in class. 

We have been blessed, in this season, with more time with grandparents than usual: DD and Granddad came to stay with the kids for a weekend in April and then stopped through again the next weekend on their way home from a trip to Williamsburg. Gram and Paps have visited a few times and even hosted us for a weekend of camping at Lake Mineral Wells. Gram is the lucky one watching the kids while we are away this week; P and I realize that we may have just about used up our babysitting credits with both of the grandmothers (or will have once I've taken my NYC trip this summer) - but I can not suppress my gratitude, not just for the help, but also for the time that my kids are getting to spend with two of our favorite women in the world. 

And as we look forward to the summer, we realize that the weekends have already booked up, and many of the weeks appear to be just as full. I am both excited and unnerved as I think about all the Monday-Friday "family time" ahead; however, we have a pool membership and Pinterest, so I think I can manage to keep myself and the two younger ones reasonably entertained. (I've preemptively given up on Luke, whose favorite refrain of "I'm bored" echoes through the house on a regular basis already.)

I lazed around our hotel room this morning, watching my recent favorite "Live with Kelly & Michael," (which of course I have not actually watched at all since the early days of Andrew's life when I was only good for sitting in my room and nursing a baby) and while introducing the show, Kelly Ripa leaned forward to read today's date with great astonishment and then claimed that she thought it was still May 8th. I am with you, sister. I thought it was still mid-April. But seeing as it's almost mid-May, it's good that we *are* looking at our summer because, guess what? It starts NEXT WEEK.

Not only that, but next week is also SARAH'S BIRTHDAY, to be followed shortly by LUKE'S BIRTHDAY. Now, I usually do a great couple of posts about the birthdays and parties and such, but I'm going to tell you now to keep your expectations low. We are in Survival Mode, people. Amazon Prime shipping is the only reason Sarah will have gifts to open next week. (Who am I kidding? That is true on every such occasion.) Anyway, before we can settle into summer, we must tackle Birthday Season, and this year will be an interesting one. I tried to convince both of the kids not to have parties this year, but you can guess how well that went over. Instead, Sarah wants to have Exactly The Same Frozen Party As Last Year, and we will be taking Luke and two friends to LegoLand at some point to celebrate. Because apparently we are crazy people. Oh well - it'll be something to remember! And I f we're lucky, we can stop the "party" tradition altogether before Andrew becomes aware that it ever existed... (Hey!? A girl can dream!!)

On one last note, so that you'll know for sure that I haven't been lazin' around with Kelly and Michael ALL spring, I would like to report that I have tackled several projects (and even finished a few!) that I had been avoiding for years. For instance, I have finally organized our photos and started in on what will (I hope) be our "family yearbook" for last year. Just so you know, we have just over 33,000 photos total. And the last time I made any sort of album was 2012. Yikes. 

We have also been working to transform our jungle-like front flowerbeds, and I must say that the results are quite satisfying! They are not likely to last, so please offer your appreciation on this account as soon as possible.

And I'm finally working through the spots in our bedroom where I've been stashing random stuff for the last few years. Yes, it's true that the breast pump is still stashed in my dresser (nearly a year after I last needed it) and I am always finding random works of art that my kids completed in preschool or church any number of months (or years) ago, but it's a start.

So here's to one wild season turning into another. This life makes my head spin. And I love it.