When you have older teens/college age kids...life is fun and exciting and unpredictable. You basically need to have no plans, be able to MAKE plans at a moment's notice...and you need to always have food. Lots and lots of food. And it...meals, snacks, desserts...must appear out of nowhere, because you will never know when or if you will need them...or how many people will be there to eat. If any. That is my life right now.
Take this morning: Logan is home from college for the summer. Clark is done with high school for the summer. Holly and Aaron now live in our same town (yay), and, of course, Joshua is here with us every day. We are LOVING the family time with all the kids more than I can say! Logan's girlfriend, Morgan, came up last night, and we were so excited to see her! She is working this summer AND taking 12 hours of summer classes, so she doesn't have a lot of free time to just come up and spend the day. I knew that she and Logan had a meeting and needed to leave the house by 9:30. Since I was already up, I decided to make a big breakfast. I tried to be verrrrry quiet getting things ready. I managed to make biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, and have it all ready by around 8:30 or so.
Annnnnnd...no one ate it.
Well, Joshua did, of course. He has a keen sense of smell, and he came downstairs as soon as he smelled bacon cooking! But the rest of them? They all left to go to their various places and didn't touch a bit of food. So...yeah. And I think we all know that there's nothing more fun than getting up early IN THE SUMMER to make a big meal that no one eats.
Except not.
BUT...we had such a great week last week, and I want to write it all down before I forget. Clark had his Spring football game on Thursday night. The weather was great and he got to play AND no one got injured. Win, win, WIN! Oh! And it was a blue/white game and he was on the white team...and they WON!
Early Friday morning, we all...Jim and I, our 4 kids, and Clark's friend, Faith...all headed over to watch Joshua compete in the State Special Olympics games in Searcy, Arkansas. We had the best day ever! Jim's parents got to come. It's a 2 hour drive from where they live, and they texted to let us know they had made it...all before we had even left our house! And we live an hour and 15 minutes away! They are so funny! And so very supportive of Joshua...and of all the grandchildren. We also had several friends come by the fieldhouse while we were there...just to say hi and to lend Joshua their support. He was in all of his glory! He said he was back in his "old, old stomping grounds," (his words) because we lived in Searcy for 15 years and it is basically "home" to our children. The weather was the best it has been in years and years. Seriously, the fieldhouse turns into an easy bake oven on the hot summer days, and Friday was mild and breezy. Sooo nice! And Joshua did GREAT! He tied his personal best record. It was really hard for him this year. He only weighed in at 116 lbs, but he bench-pressed 150 lbs...that's 34 lbs over his body weight! WOW! He dead-lifted 195 lbs. He definitely gave it his all. The expression on his face from a picture that Holly took shows how hard he was trying. Bless his heart! I was so nervous for him! He won 3 GOLD medals!
(And I know that I've been saying this for forever, but I really AM getting a new laptop with a card reader that will actually enable me to get the pictures from my camera and POST them on here (wonders never cease!)...because, after Joshua's last dead-lift, he took off slow jogging and when he got around to the front of the weight bar, he JUMPED into the air! It was so funny and I want to post it on here!)
On Saturday, the 3 boys were here most of the day. Holly and Aaron came, too. Morgan had to work and we missed her being here. Logan, Clark and Aaron spent half-the-day watching the door for the FedEx truck...like little kids. Last year when we moved here, Logan was wanting a pool basketball goal, but it was mid-July and everything was already sold out. So we found one early this year and ordered it, and those silly boys were tracking it's every move on-line..."it's in North Little Rock...it has now been loaded onto a truck...this is not a drill!" Crazy! It finally arrived around 4, and by the time they got it put together and the base completely filled with sand...and took a quick dinner break...it was after 7 p.m. But Logan and Aaron were able to play a fierce game before they called it a night. Jim built a fire in the fire pit, and the kids made s'mores.
After church on Sunday, Joshua wanted Jim and the boys to go to a move for Jim's birthday. Joshua calls it "bruh time." He wanted Aaron to come, too, but he and Holly had already headed down to the lakehouse for the day. The guys went to see Iron Man in 3D.
On Monday, everyone was off work and school for Memorial Day so they came over here. Joshua would NOT get in the pool. I couldn't figure out why because he typically loves it. I think he was nervous about the loud and highly competitive pool basketball games that were going on. He would not even come join the family outside for anything! But my son-in-law, Aaron, is the "Joshua-whisperer." He convinced Joshua to come outside with everyone, and then got him to sit on the side of the pool and toss the ball back and forth...and was casually talking to him the whole time. In just a few minutes, Joshua was in the water playing basketball with the boys! It was the sweetest thing. All 3 of the other boys worked together to include Joshua, and to make him feel successful. They were playing like the Bad News Bears...and Joshua was playing like a super star!
We enjoyed time being with our family. I know there are people all over the world who would love to feel safe in their own back yards with their families. We never take that for granted. Being the 4th generation of a military family, we are thankful for those who served and fought and died for our freedom. My boys will call my Dad and my brother on Memorial Day or Veterans Day, just to tell them thank you for their service to our country. I also have 2 nephews currently serving in the military as well. When I was a kid growing up, we lived all over the United States, and in 2 foreign countries. We never lived near our family, but the bases we lived on usually had some sort of remembrance event on military "holidays." We went to parades and picnics; we went to special services at church; we wore our patriotic clothes and we put out our flag (my dad put out our flag every day, still does); we went to the cemeteries; we have gone to nursing homes and hospitals to visit veterans. and we have just stayed home. I'm sure there's nothing my family could do or say to take away the pain of loss that many military families feel on this day (and every day), but we try to be respectful of them and honor their memories in small ways. Our country has its share of problems, but I am still thankful for our freedoms, and proud to be an American.
"If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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