tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26983314643795810312024-03-26T04:13:46.377-07:00my storypeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.comBlogger313125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-60318662008430045132021-01-21T05:37:00.000-08:002021-01-21T05:37:08.122-08:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> We finally heard from Margaret! We got the form letter with her address on Friday and then she called on Saturday! It was so good to hear her voice though she sounded weary. She survived the 2 weeks of quarantine and an additional 2 weeks of isolation. She started bootcamp after Christmas and is finishing her third week by now. She was nominated by the RDCs (drill instructors) Athletic Petty Officer for which she was very excited. She has distinguished herself as determined and hard working and the RDCs know her by name. No surprise there. She’s always been a hard worker. The other day we received two long letters from her. It was so good to read her detailed descriptions of what she’s doing and what it’s like up there. Can’t wait to hear from her again!<p></p><p>Brian and I went to Blazer last night. We go there just about every Wednesday night for date night. Brandon and Frank ask about Margaret and we were finally able to give them an update. Nicole made us each a great Old Fashioned and we shared the Big Bend salad sans the goat cheese. I am so not a fan of goat cheese. Bleh.</p><p>I repainted the girls’ stairs over the last couple of days. They had been white but that was so hard to keep clean so I painted them Sherwin Williams “unusual gray” and they look so much better! I love that color! I think I might find other places to incorporate it into the house.</p><p>My lounge chairs for the pool came in the other day. The cats approve. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n2EaVNn4LRY/YAmASBcuNnI/AAAAAAAAIQ8/SX9gk-aR1wYjHl9oXgxbdkZIpXsG_QEGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1242/7C4AB7B8-7350-4D11-B809-2F23587CA401.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n2EaVNn4LRY/YAmASBcuNnI/AAAAAAAAIQ8/SX9gk-aR1wYjHl9oXgxbdkZIpXsG_QEGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/7C4AB7B8-7350-4D11-B809-2F23587CA401.jpeg" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>I’ve been keeping up with my 20k steps a day goal. On Wednesdays I usually get more because Brian and I walk to our date then usually walk around town a bit. Last night I got almost 25k. This is without getting any other intentional exercise. I have realized that I just move a lot during the day. I don’t think I sit down hardly at all unless I’m driving somewhere. I would like to start running again to get my heart rate up. I’d just rather wait till it warms up before I start. I so don’t like running in the cold!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-61995120878645105532021-01-12T06:08:00.003-08:002021-01-12T06:08:21.286-08:00<p> We still haven’t heard from Margaret. I eagerly check the mailbox every morning (our delivery comes early) and still nothing. She’s been gone a month and a half now and the last we heard from her was a month ago to tell us she had covid. I’m sure she’s doing well, it would just be nice to hear some news.</p><p>We had snow on Sunday. It was beautiful and such a special treat for us in south central Texas. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1Q9PrvrR18/X_2mRnen7rI/AAAAAAAAIQE/HMkenEGw9NotCMB-jRO8Vu_EhhO4A8YAACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/9D721E00-EC78-494F-B783-30A7B744BB21.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1Q9PrvrR18/X_2mRnen7rI/AAAAAAAAIQE/HMkenEGw9NotCMB-jRO8Vu_EhhO4A8YAACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/9D721E00-EC78-494F-B783-30A7B744BB21.jpeg" /></a></div><p>I’ve been trying to keep up with my resolutions. </p><p>* I’ve stayed up with my Bible reading for the past 12 days.</p><p>* I amended my step goal to 140k a week instead of 20K a day, basically the same thing just a little more reasonable. </p><p>*I don’t think I got 3 hours outside every day this week but I’m sure it will average out over the year since I spend almost all day outside from March to October.</p><p>The girls are getting very efficient with finishing their school work. They get up early and get out the cart that has the books on it and get started on their own. They like to finish quickly so they can go ride bikes. They play outside most of the day since we moved here. </p><p>We are hoping and planning to purchase the lot across from our house soon. It’s a 4 and a half acre field between us and the train tracks. We were told the owner was cranky and would never sell to anyone though many have approached her about this land. She came by to meet us after we’d not been here too long and started hinting at wanting to sell. She’s recently said point blank that she wants us to have first dibs on it ahead of the developers that have been hounding her about selling for years. She has no interest in keeping the field, it’s been in her family for a generation or two and they don’t use it for anything and are tired of paying taxes on it. We would love to have it and find ways to generate some income from it by leasing it for a horse or two or some other purpose. The girls have wanted animals (besides cats) to tend though we don’t know the first thing about animal husbandry. </p><p>We recently purchased a small lot across the road from us that has a manufactured home on it. We intend to sell the home when the tenant’s lease is up in the spring and move it off the lot. Our dream would be to move an old house on to the lot or build something for an investment property. When we were considering moving here our two biggest concerns were these two lots. Who owns the land in front of the house and what would become of it long term, and how can we get that manufactured home off the property across the street or at least clean up the lot? Within a few months of being here both properties basically fell in our laps! We continue to pray for God’s wisdom to know how to best use them. </p><p>The girls are wanting breakfast. I’m off.</p>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-44437922880859536112021-01-07T10:48:00.000-08:002021-01-07T10:48:06.569-08:001.6.21We haven’t heard from Margaret yet and it’s maddening not know how she’s doing! She left over a month ago for Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin to quarantine for two weeks before starting bootcamp in Great Lakes, IL. We got a call almost two weeks later from her saying she tested positive for covid (no symptoms) and would have to do two more weeks of quarantine. That was the last we heard from her. I run to the mail box every day hoping for something, even the form letter saying what division she’s in would be wonderful. <div><br /></div><div>Last night Brian went over to Block 16 where they gather on Tuesdays to “pick” and sing. So this guy about our age bought this old brick school building and made it his home. The place is massive and takes up an entire city block in the historic residential area. He hosts a pickers night every week on the property and in winter months makes a roaring fire in a big fire pit. I usually walk over to watch at some point. It’s been a great way for us to meet the neighbors and Brian likes being stretched a little in his guitar and singing. </div><div><br /></div><div>The kids start back at school today. I had better get going.</div>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-14256443304322810852021-01-05T05:45:00.004-08:002021-01-06T04:16:01.059-08:00Resolutions <p> While I have a moment I want to jot down the New Year’s resolutions that I’ve committed to though I briefly listed them in another post the other day.</p><p><b>1. Read through the entire Bible</b>. </p><p>I have been using R. M. M’Cheyne’s method for about 25 years now. I don’t usually make it through the whole thing every year, but I try. It has you read through the Old Testament once and Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament twice. It is quite a lot to keep up with and sometimes I have to listen to the audio Bible when I fall behind, but it is the best method I’ve come across - not that I’m an expert at Bible reading plans. This past year I made it through the whole thing and I was so blessed to spend so much time in the Word getting to know the Lord! </p><p><b>2. Get 20K steps a day.</b></p><p>I haven’t been running much since we moved. I hurt my foot and that put me out of commission for a few months and then I just got focused on other things with the house and homeschooling, etc. You can only have so many interests and hobbies and running became less and less important to me, especially since there aren’t any races anymore due to covid. I’m not as motivated when there’s nothing to train for. So to keep me in shape I set a goal of 20K steps. Some days this is very easy and doesn’t require much effort outside my daily tasks. Other days I’m asking Brian to dance with me at the end of the day to get in 4K more steps. Brian got me a 20 lb. weighted vest for Christmas so when I go for my 4 mile loop walk I usually wear that for an added workout. In addition to that I’ve been working on hand stands for core and upper body strength. </p><p><b>3. Get 1000 hours of outside time this year. </b></p><p>#3 and #2 go hand in hand. I love being outside so this one shouldn’t be too hard.</p><p>What I like about these resolutions is that they’re very measurable. I’d like to set a goal for book reading this year but I haven’t sat down to think of how many is a realistic goal. I read so many in 2019, and started out 2020 reading but got too busy with home projects when we decided to move. I very much prefer paper books to E or audio versions. We have a lovely little library I can walk to on Main St. so I’m all set up to read a bunch this year. I just have to do it!</p><p>Not sure if I have any readers of this blog, but if I do, did you make any New Years resolutions? What are they? Are they different than what you resolved last year? Do you have a strategy for how to stick with them? </p><p><br /></p>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-65559448022272099682021-01-04T06:43:00.003-08:002021-01-04T06:43:29.109-08:00Hindsight’s 2020<p> 1. What did you do in 2020 that you'd never done before?</p><p>Ran a sub-3:50 marathon. Wore a face mask.</p><p>2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?</p><p>Yes, I read through the Bible using R.M. M’Cheyne’s method. I think that was the only measurable resolution.</p><p>I have 3 for this year: read through the Bible again, get 20K steps everyday, and get 1000 hours outside.</p><p>3. Did anyone close to you give birth? </p><p>No one very close, but two of my cousins and Brian’s cousin all had babies around the same time.</p><p>4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My cousin, my grandfather, Brian’s aunt and uncle.</p><p>5. What countries did you visit? None</p><p><br />6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020?</p><p>Chickens and a pool</p><p>7. What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?</p><p>March 13, the day the world changed</p><p>8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? </p><p>Doing so much on the house mostly by myself because Brian was working. I learned how to install lights and bathroom fixtures among other things.</p><p>9. What was your biggest failure? </p><p>Getting impatient and annoyed at Brian. I took a lot of frustration out on him.</p><p>10. Did you suffer illness or injury?</p><p>I got plantar fasciitis in the summer and had to stop running for several months. I also got an upper respiratory infection in December that knocked me down for awhile.</p><p>11. What was the best thing you bought?</p><p>An old house </p><p>12. Whose behavior merited celebration?</p><p>Brian. He continues to love me. </p><p>13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? </p><p>Protesters, the Austin City Council, friends filled with hate, the media...I could go on and on</p><p>14. Where did most of your money go? </p><p>The house and an investment property across the street that we bought soon after moving here</p><p>15. What did you get really excited about?</p><p>Getting to see Sam. With covid travel restrictions we were sure we’d see him again before he deployed.</p><p>16. What songs will always remind you of 2020? </p><p>“A Life Where We Workout” - Flatland Cavalry</p><p>“Mendocino County Line” - Willie Nelson</p><p>“Starlight” - John Pardi </p><p>17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? </p><p>I’d say happier. Being out of the city has given me room to breathe and experience peace like I didn’t have before. God has answered prayers about many things regarding church, kids, family, etc that has brought a greater measure fo happiness. Covid has revealed that I can’t take anything for granted. </p><p>18. What do you wish you’d done more of? </p><p>Drank more water, read to the girls </p><p>19. What do you wish you’d done less of? </p><p>Look at nonsense on the internet, drink so much, nag, heat style my hair</p><p>20. How did you spend Christmas?</p><p>Had a long weekend in Burnet with my mom and stepdad and all the cousins minus Margaret and Sam. We hosted our usual Christmas Eve party. We had a quiet Christmas Day at home and then went to New Braunfels to spend a few days with Brian’s family.</p><p> 21. How did you spend New Years?</p><p>I made finger foods. Brian and I danced in the kitchen. We watched “Singing in the Rain” with the girls. We went to bed around midnight. It was a quiet evening.</p><p>22. What was your favorite tv program?</p><p>I didn’t watch a single one this year </p><p>23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? </p><p>Hate is such a strong word. There are individuals that I’ve chosen to distance myself from and institutions that I have no respect for anymore after this year but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate them.</p><p>24. What was the best book you read? </p><p>I enjoyed “Somerset” and the sequel, “Roses” </p><p>25. What was your greatest musical discovery? </p><p>No one new, but I really enjoyed both Eric Church and Cody Johnson this year.</p><p>26. What did you want and got? </p><p>Another day....but also a house I’ve always dreamed of living in, an old fashioned garden, a church that preaches the unadulterated gospel and uses historical liturgy, a swimming pool, kittens, friends in a new town, a husband who works from home....</p><p>27. What was your favorite film of this year?</p><p>I didn’t see any. I just don’t sit down and watch tv or movies.</p><p> 28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? </p><p>I turned 45 and we took Hazel and Olive over to Honey’s Pizza (owned by Steve and Amy of Amy’s Ice Cream). Our meal took so long that Steve came over and brought us a bunch of cocktails and comped our meal and sat and visited with us a long time. That was pretty cool. I can’t remember what else happened. </p><p>29. What one thing would have made your year </p><p>immeasurably more satisfying? </p><p>Not having Margaret and Sam so far away</p><p>30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020?</p><p>Comfy. Retro.</p><p>31. What kept you sane? </p><p>Spending time outside </p><p>32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?</p><p>This is not really a public figure but I so enjoyed following Katie at florencerevival as well Lauren Leiss.</p><p>33. What political issue stirred you the most? </p><p>Which didn’t? Ugh. There was so much ugliness this year I prefer to not rehash it.</p><p>34. Who did you miss? </p><p>The Momfia, Tasha, people in general. Social distancing was hard!</p><p>35. Who was the best new person you met in 2020?</p><p>Jeannie Ralph! She’s a godsend!</p><p>36. Tell us some valuable life lessons you learned in 2020.</p><p>That’s a tall order! Enjoy the little ordinary things. These will one day be the things you miss most.</p><p><br /></p><p>Happy New Year!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-23185062897737170172021-01-04T05:34:00.000-08:002021-01-04T05:34:01.507-08:00A change of plans<p>A lot has happened since I last blogged seven months ago. Soon after I wrote the last post Brian and I began talking about the idea of moving. William and John were struggling in the high pressure environment at VHS and we had some other concerns with the girls growing up in the community. The Lord had been so good to us in our time in Steiner and brought us so many dear friends ago help us out during some difficult times. We were also stretched to step into leadership roles in church. Even so, we’ve always felt that Steiner was not where we’d live out our days. It was just a stopping point. We had a ten year plan with the idea to reevaluate once John graduated. Here we are seven years in and starting to wonder if God was having us make a change sooner than expected. </p><p>I have a hobby of looking at old homes for sale in Texas and dreaming about what we could do if we owned one. Brian and I enjoy staying in bed and breakfasts and every time we stay in one we look at each other and say “we could do that!” It’s been a little dream of ours for a long time to one day run a b & b or an event venue. Last year I saw a place in Smithville that looked perfect: a large home with five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms and a separate building with another bedroom and a shop as well as ample attic storage space above the shop. The old house had been moderately updated, at least more than most houses of its age - a hundred sixty years old. The price was high and we weren’t thinking of moving and Smithville was too far for Brian to commute from every day. So I slammed my laptop shut and forgot about it.</p><p>So in April Brian has been working from home for a month, the kids have been sitting at home waiting for the school to begin dispensing assignments. Even Margaret is home doing online college classes. My nannying job that I’d been holding since August has been suspended due to Covid and we’re all getting a little more than stir crazy at home in our house in a neighborhood full of Karens. Brian and I began to wonder if we should jump ship earlier than we’d planned. Real estate in our neighborhood is hotter than ever and we’re seeing houses on our street selling for much more than we ever dreamed. One morning out on a run together Brian mentioned he’d been thinking we may want to look into moving sooner than later. As soon as he said it I felt a sense of relief. As much as we’d been blessed in our years of living in this beautiful neighborhood, in many ways it was like a pressure cooker for us. We could never keep up with the Joneses though the pressure and standard was ever present. </p><p>Brian and I both started searching. We knew what we wanted: we’d always dreamed of fixing up an old house, preferably in a small town. Many of the close in towns had been discovered since we’d last looked and we had sticker shock. But also at the same time we began to realize that our home was worth quite a bit more than we’d been thinking and homes were continuing to turn over quickly despite the pandemic. One day a large house popped up that was at the top end of our price range. It looked familiar and as I scrolled through the photos I realized that it was the same one I’d shown Brian a year or so before. Why was it on the market again, or still?? The price had dropped considerably since I’d seen it before and although it was still expensive I determined to take a look at it. </p><p>A week or so later Margaret and the girls and I went to visit some friends out in the country and as we were leaving I told them there was a house I wanted to look at. We drove over to Smithville and found the place. Things are always different than how they appear in real estate listings, and the house both impressed and disappointed me. But no denying I was intrigued. Margaret almost immediately said, “Y’all need to buy it! Do it!” </p><p>I came home and sheepishly told Brian that we’d gone to look at a place and showed it to him. He spent the next week eyeing the lot and surrounding area on google maps and scrolling through the photos. He made an appointment for us to go look at it the next week. </p><p>It was cold, wet, and gloomy the day we drove out. Brian thought the house was interesting but wasn’t sure about the location. It was set on a hill away from the historic downtown and there were some unsightly houses around it. The house itself also had some oddities. We went home a little deflated. </p><p>But I kept feeling that this house was to be ours. I couldn’t quite explain it. It just seemed like God had been keeping it for us for the last year and a half to two years. We made a few more visits out to view the house before we contracted with a realtor. God began opening so many doors for us from this point on that I am still amazed when I look back. We kept praying through the whole process that if it wasn’t to be God would show us clearly. Instead it seemed that He kept saying “yes”. </p><p>We listed our house May 22, William’s 18th birthday, and had a ridiculous number of showings (20+?) and five offers in the first weekend. We closed on the Smithville house right after Independence Day and moved in the next week. It has been a whirlwind of activity since. We painted most of the interior, we replaced a large window in the girls’ room. We removed carpet on the stairs and in the girls’ room and replaced it with wood-look tile. We replaced bathroom fixtures and toilet parts. We repainted all the exterior lights and metal work flat black (the previous owners had painted everything silver). We planted five pallets of grass. We gutted and remodeled the kitchen. We hung new lights throughout the house. John got a new door. We fenced the whole property with a privacy fence and picket fence. We began stripping the old paint off the porches. We had some trees removed and we put in a pool. It’s hard to believe that we accomplished so much since July. </p><p>God has brought so many new friends into our life that we already feel more connected in this small town than we did after seven years in the other place. We miss our old friends and many things about our old home but it has been made abundantly clear to us that this is where we are supposed to be right now. </p><p>I could say much more, but that’s the basic (unedited or proofread) story of how we got here. </p>peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-74296536281781526362020-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:002020-12-18T07:00:20.758-08:00April 5, 2020I haven't been blogging here much, but I have been journaling during this crazy time. We have been in quarantine since the week of Spring Break. Brian has been working from home since March 12th. Everything has closed so we stay at home. Brian's work hasn't been impacted. He continues to work from home out in the garage. He has all his monitors set up on the ping pong table. So far things have actually been pretty pleasant. We get out a lot for exercise. I've been taking the girls hiking in the Steiner Trails. We've done a lot of art, we're making our way through Anne of Avonlea. I print off work sheets as I find them to keep the girls busy. The school district has only provided enrichment material up until this week, but from here on out it will provide assignments and work on a pass/fail basis.<br />
I've enjoyed having Brian home. We have learned to love each other in a deeper way and we deal with each other's annoying habits and learn patience. I am so grateful for him.<br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-7280694426428610962020-03-11T04:30:00.001-07:002020-03-11T04:30:13.306-07:00Well, Sam entered the fleet as a US Marine yesterday. He was very apprehensive about starting his new job, but ended up being pleasantly surprised at how accommodating the officers and NCOs were and how thoroughly they explained everything. He now has just one roommate instead of 2 or 30 or 80 as he's had, well, his whole life. I think he'll like 29 Palms. The desert seems to suit Samuel.<br />
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I watched Sawyer yesterday. Brian worked from home so we could put out fires, so to speak, around here. So many parenting issues to deal with! Margaret was having a breakdown because she's had too much on her plate and school has been neglected leading to a full on panic attack last week on her way to class. She wanted us to whip her back into shape and help her reorder her life. William was struggling emotionally and making statements that greatly concerned us and friends and that needed addressing ASAP. John is still struggling with anxiety and is missing classes. Sam was stressed about his transition to 29 Palms and needed lots of reassurance. It was a lesson in dependence on the Lord. We spent a lot of time in prayer and God graciously answered! By the end of the day everyone was in a better state, except maybe John, who we never got around to talking to.<br />
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I have Bible study this morning. We're studying 1 Thessalonians. It's been good to get together to look into God's word, but I've been a little disappointed with the amount of time spent chit-chatting and wish we'd spend more time digging in. Tasha is attending and we're in the same group. So fun to see her weekly! Even though we're besties and live about a mile from each other, we rarely see each other because of our busy lives. The Bible study group is meeting for lunch at Galaxy Cafe afterwards but I think I'll pass. Since I work Tuesdays-Thursdays-Fridays, I really need Wednesday afternoons to run errands before I get the girls at school.<br />
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I ordered a new bed for Brian and I, a mid-century style platform bed. It is supposed to arrive today.<br />
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I've grown a little lazy with my running lately. I've been getting in a lot of walking though. I walk the girls to and from school every day and then get in extra walking or running after I drop them off. On the days I watch Sawyer I also take him walking, so I'm averaging about 27,000 steps a day. I'd really like to get back to running so I don't lose my stamina and have to start all over once it's time to start marathon training again. We're planning to run the Vern's 5K next weekend.<br />
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Brian and I still struggle with whether we should continue to worship at Hill Country Bible or find another church. There are several things we find disturbing about the way they do things, but we aren't sure if they're grounds for leaving and either returning to Redeemer or finding another body of believers to worship with. Hill Country has been a blessing and it is the only church that meets within our neighborhood, and they do preach the gospel, even if we may disagree on whether or not they rightly divide the Word of Truth. William is going to start attending Austin Stone with Margaret. He much prefers it to HCBC.<br />
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I'm off to make lunches for all these people.<br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-20277247138666950842020-03-06T12:25:00.002-08:002020-03-06T12:25:19.071-08:00Thursday, March 5<br />
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My habit is to run after I drop the girls off for school. I was on my merry way when William texted me that he had missed the bus. Instead of my usual fives miles, I turned back toward home thinking I would have just enough time to drive him over to VHS and get back for my day job. When I came in view of our house I suddenly remembered that Brian had take my car over to Firestone this morning for an oil change and I wouldn't have it back till the evening. Thankfully Jana came through and said she could take William. It sure is nice to have Brian's sister and her husband nearby. I never dreamed we'd become so close to them. Most of the time I've known Jana and then Michael, they have lived far from us but about two years ago they moved to our neighborhood when Michael was hired as the worship pastor at our church. We spend a lot of time with them now either serving in ministry together or just hanging out.<br />
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My house is clean today. I've got all the shades raised and I wiped down the windows yesterday. The sun is shining in and all my plants are saying hallelujah! </div>
peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-63618592849910418312020-03-05T04:34:00.001-08:002020-03-05T04:34:31.522-08:00Just a few minutes to write before I get the girls up and start the school day rush. Brian and I were supposed to go running together this morning but I was too sleepy. I'll put it off till later on today.<br />
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I made it to Bible study yesterday. I had missed last week because of Hazel's play. We covered 1 Thessalonians 4, the lecture being on sexual purity in the life of the believer. It was very good. After Bible study ended I ran to HEB to get a few things and then rushed home because Trent with Aeromass Glass was coming to replace on of our windows. We love Trent! We were introduced to him when our contractor hired him to replace some windows nearly five years ago when we remodeled. Though he's young, he's very professional and thorough and so quick. He replaced one of the front dining room windows so now our new chandelier looks so much better from the street! He was in and out of here in about twenty minutes. I cleaned house till William texted and asked if I'd come get him. They had ACT so he finished early for the day. The traffic was miraculously light so I was able to get over there and pick him up and then get back in time to walk over and get the girls from school.<br />
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The Scholastic Bookfair is happening this week at school and last night LWBE had a free family event at the school and provided pizza and Menchie's to encourage people to come buy books. The girls have been anticipating it for a couple of weeks. After Brian got home we went over. Hazel and Olive used their own money and each bought three books.<br />
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I'll be watching Sawyer today. The weather is supposed to be good so I plan to get him out for some long walks.<br />
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I'm reading a book called Making the Corps about a book camp platoon at Parris Island back in the 90s. The training sounds almost identical to what Sam went through except for the location. The Marines are very big on tradition, so I doubt much of anything has changed in the last twenty plus years. I've fallen off my reading because I'm trying to stay up with my R.M. M'Cheyne Bible reading plan as well as my ladies' Bible study lesson and my ReEngage lesson. It hasn't left me much time for recreational reading.<br />
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One more week till spring break around here. We're doing a stay-cation this year. We might spend a couple of days with my inlaws in New Braunfels, but other than that, we plan to just make some day trips.<br />
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Last night as I was scrolling through Instagram I saw a picture on the Marine IG page of machine gunners and after reading the description I realized it was Sam's unit. I didn't recognize him, but it was neat to see his buddies hard at work carrying around the Mark 19 grenade launcher.<br />
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Well, it's 6:30 and I've got lunches to make and people to get to school.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-70983990951141899512020-03-05T04:03:00.000-08:002020-03-05T04:03:58.080-08:00Brian and I had the best time last weekend! Seeing Sam was the highlight, but spending time with my husband was nearly as good. California is beautiful and the weather pretty much perfect, but how people swim in the Pacific, I do not know!<br />
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Sam is doing well. He talked openly of his trials and how other Marines at SOI have picked on him for being stupid, but as he's gradually progressed, they're stopped saying it as much. He works hard to please his superiors in everything and learn as much as he can to be the best Marine he can be. He sometimes seems lonely, but I think he's learning to reach out and befriend others instead of waiting for someone to fill his emotional cup. He is getting so good at the guitar and singing. Once he goes to his permanent duty station and can have his guitar with him he should get<i> really</i> good! He will probably know his orders next time we talk to him.<br />
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I had a day off work yesterday because Sawyer was sick. It was good to rest up, go running, go thrifting, and recover from an emotionally taxing last several days. Brian and I gave our testimony at ReEngage Monday night. He took our previous write up of our testimoney from when we shared last year and tweaked it, refined it, and made it fit better with this week's lesson on commitment. Both of us were so tired since we'd flown in to Austin realy that morning and had only 2 and a half hours of sleep, but God gave us grace and it went well. People seemed blessed by what we shared.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-18666011487463298622020-03-01T07:43:00.004-08:002020-03-01T07:43:51.925-08:00Brian and I have been out in California visiting Sam this weekend. We left early Friday morning and he and I had all that day together to sight see and enjoy each other's company since we couldn't see Sam till Saturday. We drove around San Diego a bit. I'm feeling a lot more familiar with it after our trip here in December and all the driving we did that week as well as the running and walking Brian and I did. That trip we stayed in Ocean Breach but this time we're staying up north in Solana Beach, a quiet little town on the coast with lots of art galleries and expensive boutiques. We're in a small, older hotel on the main street through town.<br />
Friday night we walked on the beach and then went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and shared a pizza and wine. We got up early Saturday morning and decided to go for a walk instead of running before heading down to Oceanside to meet up with Sam.<br />
We got to Oceanside a little before he did and looked around a few shops. The Camp Pendelton shuttle drops the boys off in front of a movie theater in the middle of town. We saw a guy sitting out front wearing an army green t shirt, Raybans, and black cowboy boots and thought it must be him. When he greeted us with a loud Evans family "How y'all doin'?" there was no doubt in our mind. We walked out to the pier and then got some lunch at a fish stand on the beach. Sam was hobbling around because of blisters from his 20K hike during the week so we kept our walking to a minimum. We decided to drive up the coast to L.A. He wanted to meet a friend at a guitar store in Forest Lake to play and sing a bit, so we did that. After that we made our way back down the coast at a leisurely pace and were mesmerized by the natural beauty as well as the lovely towns all up and down the Pacific. We stopped in Carlsbad and explored the town a bit before having dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Sam didn't have to check back in until 10 pm., but he said he should probably get back by 9. We made the drove back up to Camp Pedelton North and actually got to go on base which was pretty neat. We took him to the School of Infantry area and sat in the car visiting for a while longer. The base is huge and seems so dark at night because it doesn't have highway lights and it's in the mountains. Sam seemed sad to leave but he's also so good natured that he doesn't let his circumstances weight him down for too long. He knows he's committed to the Marines and will give it his all until the day he is discharged.<br />
Brian and I came back to the hotel in Solana Beach and enjoyed some drinks while reading about the towns we had traveled through that day. We fell asleep in our clothes with the light, still exhausted from the previous day, which was very long.<br />
We're going to pick up Sam again today and spend some time with him before we have to leave. We don't know when we'll see him next. He'll find out his orders this week. Hawaii, Japan, California, or deployment? He is sort of hoping for deployment because of the excitement of it all and the rise in status that accompanies it though he knows it will mean he won't get to join us on any of our summer trips we have planned.<br />
Margaret says that William borrow the car again the other night and went somewhere. What will we do about that boy?!peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-67647075032885418432020-03-01T07:16:00.000-08:002020-03-01T07:16:07.000-08:00Thursday, February 27, 2020<br />
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I'm waiting on the girls to finish eating their oatmeal and brush their teeth before we head out the door for school. Brian left a bit ago to take John to cross country practice at the high school. He plans to stop in at a job site out in this area then he'll come home and work from here. I love when he works from home. even after 23 years together we still never run out of things to talk about and our time together always feels like a date. Maybe it's because we've spent so much of our marriage surrounded by little ones that times alone still feel like a treat.<br />
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William is still here. He rides the bus still because he doesn't have a license or car yet. He was on the verge of getting his license earlier this month when he decided to "borrow" our my car in the middle of the night and go meet someone to fight. I don't know what teenage boys fight about, but the fight went sour and two boys stole his wallet and Airpods in the process. The Airpods were eventually returned but the wallet wasn't, so William has to get a new permit before he can take his driving test. Raising teenage boys isn't for the faint of heart. </div>
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Brian and William spent last weekend building a slide for the girls' tree house as a gift for Olive for her birthday. Brian couldn't find one to buy that was long enough to go off the tallest side of the tree house, so I joked that I was surprised he wasn't going to build one. I guess he took that as a challenge and designed and built it!<br />
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Hazel has a play at school today with one line - "The bad cat?!" Brian is working from home so we can both go watch it. </div>
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peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-73683017556916914092020-02-25T14:45:00.001-08:002020-02-25T14:45:58.051-08:00I recently found my collection of old blogposts from back when I was on xanga and was inspired to get back to blogging. How sweet it is to go back and read about our day to day activities. Those days were long and exhausting but I would go back in a heartbeat to taste them one more time.<br />
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I'm sitting here in the kitchen with Olive while she does her weekly homework packet. Hazel went to after school Bible study with friends and the boys aren't home from the high school yet. Margaret still lives here about half the time. The rest of the time she's either staying over with Claire who lives with her grandfather, or with our friends the Koplins who have a ranch on the other side of town. We don't see her much these days with all the stuff she does: college classes, nannying, Bible study, church, and friends.<br />
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Brian and I fly out to see Sam on Friday. It will be about two months since we last saw him, which by military standards is a very short time, but we want to visit him before he gets sent to his permanent duty station which should be next week when he graduates from School of Infantry. There's a strong possibility that he'll stay stateside, but there is still a chance he could be sent to a base outside the US for the next year or three. We want to be prepared. He sounds like he's doing well. We get to talk to him every weekend, usually for several hours. He's happy enough. He goes over to the music stores near base every Saturday and Sunday and spends hours playing guitar with other Marines.<br />
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I watched Sawyer all day today. He's the 10 month old that I've been watching a few days a week since August. He's a cute little fella and his parents are super chill for first timers which makes my job a lot easier. The weather was pleasant so we spent a good amount of time outside today.<br />
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I'm trying to get back in the saddle with running since the Austin marathon a week or so ago. After walking the girls to school I ran five miles. I'm not sure how often I'll plan to run now that marathon season is past. I pretty much ran all year round after last year's marathon, but I'm not sure if I want to do that or not.<br />
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Brian and I are leading a group in the ReEngage marriage class at church again this year. This is our third time through it. We joined about two years ago when our church did a pilot program for those who might be interested in leading a group the next time around. Brian and I needed some marriage help so we jumped in thinking maybe we could get help and in turn help other couples. We have been so encouraged and challenged each time we've gone through it. One of the most difficult parts is that Brian and I have had to share our testimony each semester. It's hard to share a testimony when your story isn't finished and you're still in the thick of things. We are scheduled to share on Monday. There are about 70-80 in this semester's group and I don't LOVE public speaking. I'm glad Brian and I will have our weekend together in Cali to practice.<br />
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Well, William just got dropped off by a friend and John's bus just drove by, so I'm going to wrap up so I can get dinner made. Hopefully I'll be more diligent to keep up with this blogging thing this time.<br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-52013229849100540702017-09-16T06:02:00.001-07:002017-09-16T06:02:23.052-07:00It's Saturday morning and Brian is lying next to me trying to get a little more snoozing in. He and I had planned to go to Georgetown to run the Vern's 5K this morning, but we backed out. It's been a full week and it feels good to lie around.<br />
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I just finished my third week of school. I'm enjoying this semester so much more than the previous. My classes are interesting and I'm not taking any math - Yay! Margaret is home two days a week since two of her classes are online, so we spread out our school work and study together on Mondays and Wednesdays. She is gone to class all day Tuesdays and Thursdays, and is home all day on Friday when I go in for classes. She watches Olive for me and gets Hazel to and from school. I wish every semester could work out just like this one is, but I know it just can't and won't. <br />
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Margaret has taken on several regular nannying jobs in the neighborhood. These have turned out to be much better than her restaurant job as the pay is better, they're closer, and she's able to study while she works. The downside is that she no longer takes or picks up Sam from work as they no longer work together.<br />
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Sam has been on crutches or in a boot for the past month recovering from a stress fracture. He ran the first XC meet of the season and was the fastest finisher of all the runners there. The next day he started hobbling. By the next weekend he was in so much pain he struggled to even finish the race. He's been off of running this month and has been going to a therapist. He's continued to work out aggressively every day to stay in shape so that he'll be reading when he gets the go ahead to run again. He rides 20-30 miles every morning on the bike, aqua jogs in the pool every night for 45 minutes to an hour, and stretches and foam rolls for an hour. It may sound over-the-top, but he really wants to stay in shape so he doesn't lose anything he's worked so hard for over the past year. He still has his eye on a running scholarship, and this is the year schools will start talking.<br />
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I've had a colitis flare up this year and finally scheduled a much needed colonoscopy. Not looking forward to that two day prep, but it will be good to know if I've got anything going on in there. The worst part for me is not getting to eat. I don't like to not eat.<br />
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Brian's sister and husband's home was flooded in Hurricane Harvey last month. They're living with friends for now until they can get the house livable again. They had to throw out almost everything that was in their downstairs. We went down to help that over Labor Day weekend. It was both very sad, but very encouraging - so many people loving their neighbor as themselves.<br />
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Well, I have two little ladies wanting me to fix breakfast - I've promised biscuits and sausage - so I must cut this short.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-70248400756437718542017-09-16T05:27:00.002-07:002017-09-16T05:27:23.465-07:00August 2017<br />
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I just got back from taking the little girls and Sam to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. Too bad, so sad for the others who happened to be out of the house at the time and missed out. Our house is like Grand Central. I never know who will be around at what time on what day. The other night it was John, Hazel, Olive, and me sitting down together for dinner. Last night it was everyone but John and William. That should change some after school starts and people stop working as much or gallivanting the neighborhood all hours of the summer days.<br />
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I'm all done with school for the summer. I have a week and a half to enjoy the break before the new semester starts. I'm taking three classes: US history, psychology, and english comp. Two of the classes are online, and the classroom one is just once a week, so I should be available for Olive and not miss many chances to be up at Hazel's school as needed.<br />
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We went to Port Aransas a week or so ago. Thomas arranged for all of us to be in a large house in a nice neighborhood with beach access. Everyone agreed that it was one of the best beach trips that the family has taken together. I spent hours and hours in the water and was kind of emotional about leaving. Not sure what came over me to make me like that.<br />
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A few weeks ago we met Brian's family at Schlitterbahn for the day and then spent the night at their place which isn't too far from the park. Hazel and Olive were real troopers and rode anything we put them on. We rarely saw the older kids the entire day.<br />
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Margaret has decided to focus on babysitting instead of a restaurant job. She posted her info on the neighborhood babysitting site and has been booked solid. Definitely better money than she was making at the restaurant and more enjoyable for her. She's so fun and imaginative and all the kids just <i>love </i>her. She is just an amazing girl! She may look like she's 14, but she takes control and tackles challenges like someone much older than her age of 18. She's always been an old soul with childlike enthusiasm. She's never been silly about boys like I was. She isn't out looking for someone to marry. She has places to go and things to do. Yeah, she wants to marry and have children eventually, but there are more important things to do in the meantime.<br />
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Samuel has his first cross country meet tomorrow morning. Without bragging or exaggerating, I can say that he is one of the fastest boys in all LISD and our entire UIL district. We're excited to see how the season plays out. This is the year he needs to start looking at colleges. He would very much like to run in college and his times already could get him into division 2 schools, possible even division 1. He needs to work on staying on top of his academics though. He wants to be a psychologist or something along the line of counseling. We'll see.<br />
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William has been hitting it hard with football this summer. He's determined to do well, not just in football, but also in academics. He signed up for all AP and preAP classes and keeps telling us how motivated he is. He's a smart kid and was an incredible student until half way through 6th grade when he bottom fell out. Puberty hit him hard. He started breaking things - phones, computers, using racial slurs towards kids at school, bullying, texting vulgar things on his newly acquired phone, charging nearly $2K worth of Madden football related things to our credit card, etc, etc. As abruptly as they started, the behaviors subsided. He's matured so much the past 9 months. One summer night he came in really late. We were frustrated with him once again not getting home by the time he said he would. To back up a bit, remember, he was the kid who didn't speak for four years of school. He was too shy to befriend anyone. Fast forward to this year. He is all over the neighborhood dropping his calling card from Bella Mar to Canyon Glen (two sub-divisions within our city-size neighborhood). So he comes in late and starts enthusiastically talking about a discourse that he and several other 8th grade boys had had been having for hours over theology. They were from different back grounds and denominations sitting at the park discussing what they believe about the Gospel.<br />
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"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4<br />
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I started this blog post nearly a month ago and am just now getting back to it to publish it. Oy!<br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-15108468218712620302017-08-17T14:16:00.002-07:002017-08-17T14:16:55.056-07:00 July 2017<br />
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A month and a half has passed since I last blogged. I get so busy living that I forget to write about it. Then something reminds me: a great memoir I'm reading that inspires me to write my own story, a friend posting on her blog after a long hiatus, or finding an old journal of mine stuffed away in a box in my closet.<br />
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I'm sitting in Starbucks at the neighborhood Target. I dropped William off for Strength and Conditioning this morning and decided to spend the next couple of hours before class studying. Target is a distracting place to study. I keep thinking I need to go check out the hair products, or see if they've put those throw pillows on clearance yet. I have midterms this week. I'm only taking two classes this summer. With all our traveling I didn't think it was good to take the 5 week biology class. I really didn't want to take that class anyways. It was just a refresher course that wouldn't count for anything and felt like a waste of time, money, and energy.<br />
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Since I last blogged Margaret graduated high school (!), William graduated middle school, we took a trip to New York with the older four kids, Hazel learned to swim on her own, Olive potty trained herself, we took a week long camping trip to the Davis Mountains with both sides of our extended family, I got a new library card (woohoo!), and there were many small and large blessings from heaven that I do not have the time to chronicle here.<br />
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We hosted a big graduation party for Margaret and Claire. Everyone chipped in to make it special for them. I made a 600 photo slide show to play at the party, and I think I cried every time I worked on it in the weeks leading up to the party. Those girls are precious. We watched Claire accept her diploma on Friday, June 2, and then Margaret on Saturday, June 3. Brian and I whooped and hollered for all the seniors we knew personally in the Viper Class of 2017. That was a special class. We came home to a house full of food leftover from the party and scrambled to clean up and pack for our trip to New York early the next morning. Margaret left for Project Grad with her friends, and the rest of us went to bed for a few hours sleep before getting up at 2:30 am. We picked up Margaret at Dave & Busters where Project Grad was held around 4 am. and headed to the airport. After such a crazy, hectic last month, we kept joking about how we were headed to New York City to "get away from it all".<br />
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The trip was just what we needed. It's great to have kids that are at the age you can enjoy taking adventures with them. It's no longer stressful, and they are really fun to be with. New York was beautiful as ever. I'm Texan through and through, but there's a part of my heart that belongs to New York City. I think heaven will be something like NYC, all the different colors, languages, and beautiful people God made all living together.<br />
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As mentioned above, we just got back from a week long camping trip to the Davis Mountains. Brian bought a mansion of a tent for us, and he and I enjoyed having a "room" all to ourselves with the little girls in the next door on the other side of the nylon partition. It was like that old movie It Happened One Night. The rest of the kids were divided up among the 9 other tents our group set up. We had far too many tents for the number of people in our group, which wasn't much of a problem until it started raining and we had to rush and zip up every tent window and door. Or if we had happened to be away when it down poured, which happened several times, we had to go tent to tent and pull out all the wet things and hang them out to dry.<br />
Despite the rain, the trip was amazing. West Texas is so barren and harsh, but at the same time so beautiful. The little town of Fort Davis does the Fourth of July week in a big way. We all joined the throngs lining the main street on July 1st when they had the parade. I still don't know where all the people came from as the town has a population of about 1200. There were probably 5 or 6 thousand in town that day wandering through the craft and food booths surrounding the courthouse, watching the Cowboy Hypnotist do his thing, drinking cocktails in the garden behind the Limpia Hotel, touring the fort, or eating at the handful of cafes in town<br />
We did a lot of hiking, both in the Davis Mountains state park, as well as at Big Bend where we all caravaned one of the days. We split into two groups, one group hiking the Window Trail, and the other, more adventurous ones opting for the Emory Peak trail. Every since we planned this trip I had hoped to get to hike to Emory. It's where Brian proposed to me 20 years ago last April 2, and it would mean a lot to me to make the trek this year. It worked out that we were able to make the nine+ mile hike, us along with about 6 teenagers and Olive who Brian carried in the Ergo. I've made that hike three times and no time have I seen it as pretty as it was that day. They must've had some rains recently because the dessert plants were all in bloom. When we reached the pinnacle where you have to do a bit of scaling to reach to geo marker I completely froze. I couldn't look down and couldn't move. How did Brian ever coax me up there back in 1997. I have no memory of being afraid. We just climbed right up and spent about half an hour up there taking pictures and enjoying the miles and miles of views into Mexico. But this time was different. I almost didn't climb up to the top, but Brian spoke spoke courage into me and I made it up. There was a guy at the top that we discovered was also from Austin and he was kind enough to snap some photos of us. William was the only other one from our group that climbed to the very top, the others, Olive, Margaret, Patrick, Lil' Thomas (we still call him Little Thomas even though he's now 16 and taller than most of his counsins to differentiate him from the other Thomases in the family), Samuel, Tommy, and John stayed just below.<br />
Another day we drove over to Balmorhea to swim in the large spring fed pool. The drive there is spectacular and snakes through an area that was once part of a great-great uncle's ranch.<br />
It's now been nearly a month since I blogged the above post. I haven't had a chance to come back and wrap it up.<br />
The past month has been filled with all the things I love best about summer: hours and hours spent at the pool, visits to the library, late nights watching movies, playing in the sprinkler, reading books together. I've been taking two classes, but have tried to not let it interfere with our usual summer activities.<br />
Margaret and Sam have worked most days/nights of the summer. They both work at a neighborhood restaurant, she hosting and he bussing. She'll be moving on to a different job soon, and I'll miss seeing them coming home from work together in their matching work shirts.<br />
Margaret has decided to go into nursing, and is registered for fall classes at ACC. We will have some classes together, which is kinda cool.<br />
Activities has started picking up around here. William has been going to strength and conditioning every morning all summer at the high school, and now he and John are in football camp in the evening. Samuel trained with his trainer, David, all summer. cross country just began their season training yesterday, so he'll be having early morning workouts every day till winter. Sam is determined to get a running scholarship and is putting in hours of running and weight training every day.<br />
William and John will both play football this fall: William at Vandegrift and John at Canyon Ridge. I'm happy to have another season to cheer on some of my boys in my favorite game.<br />
Hazel starts kindergarten in less than four weeks. We've talked and talked about it for so long and it's finally almost here. That little golden haired baby of mine is starting school.<br />
Olive doesn't have much on her agenda for this fall but to be loved on by all her people. That girl gets cuter every day! Her curly hair now hangs in ringlets around her face which is sprinkled with freckles. She is a firecracker! Not a day goes by that I don't have to tell her to stop tormenting Hazel. She knows how to push Hazel's buttons and teases her mercilessly. She's feisty and stubborn and is so much like me.<br />
<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-47453253690220184632017-05-25T19:37:00.001-07:002017-05-25T19:37:33.700-07:00I'm so disappointed that I've neglected to blog in ever so long! So much life has happened worth noting, or at least that I'd like to remember, but I've been too bus to stop and type it out.<br />
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Margaret went to prom a couple of weeks ago. She was lovely in her peach skirt and brocade cropped top. She chose to go with a group of girl friends instead of a date. She was asked by three different guys, but turned them down. Not sure if I should feel proud or frustrated. She had so much more fun this year than last. not that last year was bad, but this being her senior year I think she was soaking it all up, cherishing the last moments together with her classmates.<br />
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We hosted a Mother's Day get together for the family here. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Our house has become the hub for family events in recent years, and I really don't mind at all. Both Brian and I enjoy hosting. After everyone left and things calmed down, Brian took me to dinner at Napa Flats where Marg and Sam work. It made me happy to watch them working. Margaret has just moved up to serving, and Sam is a busser.<br />
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William has been playing 7 on 7 football for the past month or so, so Brian and I meet over at Vandegrift and watch his practices and games on Wednesday nights. Not terribly exciting, as it's more practice than actual games, but it's a chance for Brian and I to spend a little time together. Our times alone are sometimes hard to come by, so we take what we can get.<br />
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William turned 15 on Monday. Brian and I took him to dinner at the place of his choosing, Kome on Airport Blvd. We let him in on the surprise trip to NYC in a couple of weeks. He was excited in his own way.<br />
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We took the kids out of school early on Wednesday and drove to Houston for the U2/Lumineers concert. We got to town a few hours early, so spent a little time walking around down town and West University Place. Over dinner we told John and Samuel about our upcoming trip. John didn't believe us. To John, New York City is the greatest place on earth bar none. He knows more about it than maybe some locals. He can tell you everything you want to know about all the important buildings. our flight leaves at 6:23 on his 13th birthday. To him, this is the ultimate birthday gift.<br />
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We missed half of the Lumineers because we spent too much time admiring the houses around Rice, but caught enough to renew my appreciation for them and their talent. U2 was amazing. Indescribable. It was so worth it!<br />
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I've been working like mad to pull together Claire and Margaret's graduation party. I have one week and so much left to do!<br />
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I start school on Wednesday. Thinking of it makes me exhausted. There's so much else going on right now. It is difficult to invest much energy or thought into it.<br />
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It's that time of year when the flies come in droves to vacation at our house. I've been listening to two buzz around me head while I type this. I guess I'd better turn out the lamp so they'll leave me alone.<br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-32255700677960577502017-04-05T07:50:00.003-07:002017-04-05T07:50:52.327-07:00The girls and I sent everyone off to school and work and are trying to get stated on our day. I've been sick since Friday, which is a very long time for me to be sick and I am about to go crazy. I'm hoping this is the last day. I can usually <i>will</i> myself into good health, but the mind games haven't worked this time around.<br />
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I'm not sure when I last blogged, so here's a recap of the events of the last week.<br />
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William, Margaret, and Sam all had track meet on Thursday. Brian ran over to see William run at Vandegrift, but missed it. Marg and Sam was at Vista Ridge. Mama came to watch and we kept the little girls entertained for about five hours while we waited between running events. William wasn't happy with his race - 100m. I think he placed 8th. Not sure what his time was. Margaret ran varsity for both the 3200 and the 1600. The timing for the race wasn't well organized, and they still haven't released the times to Texas Mile Splits, but according to her Garmin, she ran a 12:10 two miler. I can't recall what she said she ran for the 1600. She placed fourth in both races. Sam ran both the 800m and 1600m again this week. He ran a 2 min. 800m which earned him first place, and a 4:31 1600m which was enough to win that race as well. He's been trying to break the school records in both races, but is still a second or two shy of it.<br />
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Marg and Sam worked over the weekend. We're getting used to one of both of them being gone and not able to participate in family movie and pizza night and other things like that. It was very stormy Sunday morning. Samuel was out for his long run when the tornado warnings went off. It was a nerve racking half hour while Brian tried to reach him on his phone to no avail. He drove all around Steiner looking for him. Margaret was finally able to make contact with friends that had been running with him and fount out that he'd been picked up by a friend over off Comanche Trail along Lake Travis. The rest if us hid out the tornado warning in our safe place: Hazel and Olive's playroom under the stairs.<br />
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Sunday was the twentieth anniversary of Brian asking me to be his wife. It was the best 'yes' I've ever said. We're such opposites in so many ways, but somehow we complete each other and our differences work together to make us a better union. We're truly a team. I'm glad he took a gamble on me. It still surprises me that he did. He's such a careful decision maker and doesn't jump into things. He's never been quick to commit to anything without careful research. And yet he proposed to me not even six months after our first date, and he broached the subject of marriage months before that! My eagerness to commit to him was also uncharacteristic. I was only 21 and enjoyed having boyfriends. It was fun, and I was young with more years of interesting, cute boys to meet before I ever thought of settling down. But then I was blindsided by this kind, introverted, somewhat awkward engineer. He was and is everything that I'm not: patient, quiet, calculated in his thinking, a planner, thorough, a listener. Would I do it again? Absolutely.<br />
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Yesterday I went to Bible study even though I wasn't feeling great. I am so very glad that I did! I've never been a part of a study that is so God honoring and opens up the Word to my understanding as these studies have done. I'm sad that this one will be ending soon, and I'll have to wait until fall to attend again.<br />
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William has his district track meet this evening. If he makes the top three or four he'll advance to the finals tomorrow. Margaret and Sam have their final regular season meet tomorrow, and then the district meet At Vandy next week. Sam will most likely advance to the area meet, but Margaret most likely won't as they don't allow JV to run beyond district, and she'll be running JV now that our varsity girls are back from Texas Relays.<br />
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And that's all the news for now. Off to water my house plants, all 534 of them.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-60785277158676077062017-03-30T08:35:00.001-07:002017-03-30T08:35:19.763-07:00<br />
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The God of the Bible takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself. </div>
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- Timothy Keller</div>
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The last 24 hours have been filled with unimaginable sorrow fo many people close to me. I'm still processing it all. Yesterday morning my inlaws' nieghbor Waylong Malone lost his battel with cancer. We've kept up with Waylon's fight the last four or so years, ever since Ben and Linda moved to New Braunfels. We saw them just weeks ago over spring break when we were visiting my inlaws. His father wrote this yesterday - </div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">I'm broken. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">It was NOT supposed to end this way. We were supposed to see Waylon get healed. We were supposed to see tons of pictures of he and Morgan growing up together. Pics of them at school, at the park, just having fun being siblings. We were supposed to see pics of Waylon playing soccer, going to karate, Little League, and Cub Scouts. Then later going to middle school, high school, graduation, and prom. Even later college, finding the love of his life, and then marriage. It was NOT supposed to end this way. Not at all. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">God rest your beautiful, "tough as nails," heart and soul. Now and always will be My Littlest Hero.</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't imagine the sorrow of losing a child. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later on yesterday I got news that a church bus from my inlaws' church, First Baptist New Braunfels was hit head-on on the way home from a retreat in Leakey. Thirteen of the fourteen church members on board were killed. We feel a special connection with this church as we've been there about a dozen times. There are so many sweet elderly people in this church, and Brian and I have grown to really respect and admire the pastor, Brad, a man about our age. My father in law is retiring tomorrow, and he and my mother in law might have been on the retreat had he retired in December as had been his plan initially. They lost six close friends in this accident. I'm heart broken for them! They had been planning to leave out of Galveston on a cruise this Sunday, but have canceled their trip. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also last night the world lost a great man of faith. Dale along with his wife, Janis, were long time missionaries and faithful servants of the Lord. Though I've not spent a whole lot of time with them in the 21 years I've known them, I've been impacted by their lives. Their son was influential in leading Brian to Christ, and was best man in our wedding. His younger brother was an usher in our wedding. Here's what Janis said about her husband - </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">Well, it looks like everyone but me has expressed how they feel. I can't believe this has happened. I had </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">thought he would live to 94 and I to 84 and that we still had many years together. </i><br /><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.24px;"><i><br /></i></span></span><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">The time he has been sick took much of him away from me, with him rarely being able to be himself with me. </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">I've grieved the loss of my life partner for months now and know that I will continue to grieve for a long time. I </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">know he's with the Lord, but I had wanted to have him with me a f</i><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;"><i>ew more years. I've told him many times </i></span><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">that he is my treasure. Our life together has been sweeter as the years went by and now I'm grateful for </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">happy, very intimate memories of the only person with whom I have had oneness of purpose, heart, soul, </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">mind, body, memories, years, experiences, family. Now it feels like a treasured vase has been broken </i><br /><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">irreparably. </i><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you for your prayers and expressions of love</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">I'm crying right now imagining what it will be like to someday live without my Brian, if the Lord takes him before me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px;">But there's hope beyond the grave, of that I'm sure. </span></span></div>
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<span class="verse-8" style="box-sizing: border-box;">He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. </span></div>
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<span class="verse-9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” </span></div>
peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-4851151030658689222017-03-28T07:00:00.001-07:002017-03-28T07:00:50.377-07:00I've got the girls in the bath tub playing My Little Mermaid, and the dog outside. I should be getting ready to head over to Bible study, but I'm looking for distractions instead. Of course.<br />
Yesterday was a full, productive day, as Mondays are wont to be. They're my Recovery Day. I try to do the bulk of the laundry that day, and this week is bedding week. As hard as it is to wash all the sheets, I love climbing in bed between fresh, clean white sheets and knowing that all the family (or at least all those that I was able to get to) are doing the same. I've switched to all white sheets for everyone but the little girls - they're still using black and white ticking. I like having most of our things white. It may seem hard to keep clean, but actually I think it's much easier.<br />
The girls and I walked to the park and spent an hour or so there. They played on the seesaw and picked wild onion flowers while I studied A&P. I did a whole house cleaning, made a decent dinner - black bean and sausage soup, jalapeno cornbread, spring mix salad, and fudgy brownies, did school with Hazel, went on a five mile run, and managed to cut both John and Brian's hair. It was a good day.<br />
Margaret and Sam didn't work last night, so we were all home together for dinner. I cherish those times. Brian and I recommitted to having nightly Bible time at the beginning of the year, and we've been more consistent than we've been a a long time. We read through the book of genesis together and are now reading Matthew. We sing a hymn after reading, and have some prayer time. With all our busy schedules, it's comforting to come together each evening and worship together. It's not always peaceful and without grumbling, and the little girls usually want to get up and perform interpretive dance while we're reading or singing, but it could be worse.<br />
Looks like a storm is rolling in, so I best get the girlies out of the tub.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-32716660375819685012017-03-26T15:17:00.003-07:002017-03-26T15:17:46.979-07:00I've fallen off on my blogging this week. I have been intending to blog every day, but computer troubles and busy schedules have kept me from it. <div>
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Margaret and Sam worked quite a bit this week. Most parents I know choose to not let their kids work during the week, but we've chosen to let them decide what they can handle. I'd rather them carry a heavier load now and learn from it, than have it easy now and not be prepared for real life when they must carry a heavy load and there's no safety net. </div>
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Brian, Margaret, Samuel, and I walked over to William's track meet at Canyon Ridge Thursday night. The four of us cheered him on in the 100m. He seemed pleased with his third place ribbon. As I was leaving I ran into an old Redeemer friend and his son. They attend our rival school. It was nice to see an old familiar face. It's funny, we haven't been to Redeemer since August, and yet almost no one has asked where we've been. I guess we haven't been missed. You'd think after being members for 16 years our absence would be noticed. </div>
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We took William and John out of school early on Friday and raced down to Canyon HS in New Braunfels trying to make it to see Margaret run the 3200 at the Canyon Relays. She'd accidentally grabbed Sam's track jersey and hers was hanging in his closet. I ran up waving her jersey just as the start gun went off. She seemed to race just fine in his jersey. She ran a 12:30, earning her 3rd place in the JV race. Vandegrift has such a deep team that our JV track girls are all cross country state qualifiers. It's disappointing that Margaret most likely won't get to run in the varsity races, but it is what it is. We have two of the fastest freshman in the state, and since track only allow two and sometimes three runners per school per race, she's just gotta take what she can get. The heat and humidity was brutal and that black track didn't help anything. She was happy with how she did, but disappointed that Coach Sully didn't have her signed up for any other races. Brian's parents were there, and we hung around watching and waiting for Sam to run the 800m. It was an exciting race, mostly because we got a chance to see one of the fastest, if not the fastest high school runners in the country race three times. Sam raced against Sam Worley in the 800m and the 1600m. Worley won both, as well as being on the winning 4x400 relay team at the end of the meet. He was something to see! He'll be running for UT next year, so this isn't the last we'll see of him. He qualified to run in the Olympic Trails last year as a junior in high school, so I wouldn't doubt that we'll see him in the Olympics in 2020. </div>
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Our Sam had a phenomenal race as well. He PR'd in the 800m with a times of 2 minutes, and ran a 4:30 in the 1600. He was a hair away from getting third place in the 800m, and got an easy 2nd in the 1600m. He was very happy, and so were we. </div>
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We spent the night at the inlaws house in New Braunfels with the younger four, but Margaret and Sam had to ride the bust back home because both were scheduled to work the nest morning. It was a nice little getaway, even if just one night away. My father in law retires at the end of this week, and he and my mother in law were in a jolly, relaxed mood. </div>
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Brian and I were supposed to get up and go for a nine mile run to the lake and back, but we got to bed so late that we put it off until this evening. We slept in instead and then made a mad dash to get to the early service at church. Margaret and Sam missed the memo that we were going to the earl service and went out on their long run early and then went to the second service. At least they made it to church. </div>
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I don't have much of substance to write about. Right now my life consists of trying to keep my kids alive, maintaining sanity by running, falling in love with my husband and making him fall in love with me, desperate prayers, lots of audio books, and stressing about the gray hairs. </div>
peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-1577285120348278432017-03-20T05:49:00.000-07:002017-03-20T05:49:08.532-07:00Saturday, March 18, 2017<br />
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It <i>really</i> is Saturday today! I've been thinking it was Saturday for the past four days. Spring Break, and having Brian and the kids with me all week has messed me up. In a good way.<br />
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Brian's sister and her husband and their daughter came yesterday. We sat and visited, went hiking on the trails behind our house, and made homemade pizza. Last night after Margaret got off work, the four of us adults went over to the Oasis Brewery on Lake Travis and had some beers out on the deck until Sam texted to say he was done with work. Jana, Michael, and Abigail left this morning to head back down to the Houston area. It was a short, but sweet visit, and we've already discussed plans for them to come back in the summer.<br />
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Brian and I went for a five mile run together. I extended it by walking another two miles. I've been getting little more than five hours of sleep every night since the time change and I feel lie I'm having to drag my body around. Our pastor preached recently on the importance of observing a sabbath rest. Tomorrow is a busy day for us, so I'm thinking today is going to be my sabbath.<br />
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I've been following the <b>She Reads Truth</b> daily readings and devotional for Lent. They're going through Isaiah. Sometimes it's kinds hard to focus on Isaiah at 5:30 am., before the coffee really kicks in. I try to pay close attention, but my eyes get real heavy at times. Some of Isaiah is just hard to grasp. That said, I've been so blessed by the different studies I've done with She Reads Truth the last few months. I'm late discovering this tool, but sure am grateful for it!<br />
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Today is my grandmother's 87th birthday. I'm so glad we've had her with us this long!<br />
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Monday, March 20, 2017<br />
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I feel like I've been run over and left for dead. So glad that spring break is over! It wasn't that we did all that much, I just have trouble when I get out of my routine and things are too loose. It wears me down.<br />
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We've been staying up way too late since the time change. Early risers just don't fare well during daylight savings time. I would gladly go back to regular time! I got in a rare nap on Saturday afternoon. Then Brian took me out that evening. Every place we tried to go was so packed. We drove around forever attempting to get into places all over town, finally ending up at the Domain. We settled for splitting a lasagna at the bar at Maggiano's.<br />
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I got up and ran the nine mile run to Lake Austin and back. It's such a hard run, but I love it. Hills don't scare me; long, monotonous straightaways do though. Hill Country had a special service to discuss moving forward with building plans. They've purchased the last remaining piece of available land here in Steiner for the site of a church. It will be the only church building in the neighborhood. Two men talked about their prior experiences with building campaigns and sacrificial giving to the Church to see God's kingdom grow. I felt a real conviction that I should not be asking how much I should give, but how much I should keep. I want to love open-handed. It's all His anyways.<br />
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After church we caravanned with Margaret to go pick up the Winn cousins at church and drive out to Burnet for a birthday party for my grandmother and her brother. Their birthdays are in February and March, and we've a;ways celebrated them together with a big family party. It was a whirlwind get together, not much more than a Hi & Bye. Still great to see everyone, especially the old folks. Sam had to work last night, and the cousins needed to get back to town because they all started back to school the next day. It's strange to think that the next time we all get together will be for Margaret's graduation party.<br />
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My house is such a wreck today. I don't even know where to start to get it back to decency.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-39600023259866855332017-03-16T10:42:00.002-07:002017-03-16T10:42:48.645-07:00Brian and I just got back from a seven mile run. I'm on a quest to become a runner again. He and I stayed up until midnight painting the study and putting it back in order. This morning we were out of coffee, so I went grocery shopping at 6:30. This may be a long day.<br />
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While out running, he and I spent a long time talking about school and the impact it could potentially have on our family. Brian is so supportive of me and thinks that nursing is the better or the two options I've considered. I am so thankful to have a husband that believes in me even when I doubt my own abilities. He's a good man.<br />
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I've got some sewing projects I've been putting off for some time: lining the drapes in the office, and sewing some pillows for the Adirondack chairs in the front yard. Today will be the day I check those off my list. I miss sewing. When I have a reliable machine, sewing is one of the most pleasurable activities I can do. It's up there with mowing the yard.<br />
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We bought Olive a sandbox for her birthday last month, and it has been used so much more than we imagined it would be, not just by Hazel and Olive, but also by William and John. It's both sweet and comical to see these two teenagers out there setting up toy soldiers in the sand while their sisters make sand castles next to them. We've spent more time with the younger four this week than with the older two. It's wonderful when we're all together, but in some ways I think that William an John feel anxious and more competitive when Margaret and Sam are around. They're caught between boyhood and manhood. I think there's a big part of them that still wants to be boys, but when they're with the older two, they're afraid they'll be ridiculed and teased for their boyish ways. I will be sad when my children one by one fly the coop, but I also look forward to the changing family dynamics, and how we'll get to know those left behind in a more intimate way. There's always something to look forward to. There's no denying I'm the eternal optimist! ha!<br />
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I'm getting a mole looked at today at Westlake Dermatology. I noticed that it has changed shape a bit and seems more raised. It's on my chest near below my collar bone, and not in a place that's regularly exposed to sunlight. I've always thought of it as my special mole because the first time Brian saw it was when I was in my wedding dress, and it's actually kind of pretty, like a beauty mark, if I can say so without sounding vain. Brian said he'll be disappointed if I have to have it removed. Of course the alternative is worse.<br />
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I'm reading this book right now, and it makes me with Brian and I had had nine children. I love reading about large families, at least large families that are fun. I so admire women that can love each of their little ones uniquely as they need.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rTu8pn-NMAs/WMrNUCQnhiI/AAAAAAAAFSA/qKLdKpWgIkM32TOhjwukaLU7j69gHo8jwCK4B/s1600/nine%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rTu8pn-NMAs/WMrNUCQnhiI/AAAAAAAAFSA/qKLdKpWgIkM32TOhjwukaLU7j69gHo8jwCK4B/s320/nine%2B.jpg" width="237" /></a><br />
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<br />peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698331464379581031.post-73860929047708194462017-03-15T13:48:00.002-07:002017-03-15T13:48:29.514-07:00We're back from a couple of days with Brian's family in New Braunfels. Margaret and Samuel stayed behind since both had to work. They enjoyed keeping house and playing grown-ups for a few days. I take it for granted that they're such responsible young people that can get themselves to work on time, will take care of the house and all that entails, and be safe. They even made a long list of cleaning chores from themselves and had the whole place in tip top shape when we got home. Proud mama.<br />
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Our time in New Braunfels was fun, but we didn't get to do many of the things we'd hoped to do. Enchanted Rock was full, so we couldn't get in, as was our Plan B, Pedernales State Park. We did get to walk around Fredericksburg and have lunch there, but the town was packed like I'd never seen it before! We did some pretty drives in the hill country, including the Willow City Loop, which was every bit as beautiful as the Texas Parks and Wildlife articles make it out to be. We lounged around visiting and drinking cup after cup of coffee. Brian and I got out and ran this morning. I'm trying to cut back on my exercise. I tend to get obsessive with walking or running, so I consider it a little victory if I skip a day. Yesterday I hardly did anything, other than a little walking around Fred'burg. Yay!<br />
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Brian's sister and her family are coming to stay with us later on this week. They've never stayed with us, so it will be a nice treat to have them. Ever since they got married nearly 12 years ago, they've lived out of state, either in Nashville or Starkville, MS. Last year they moved to Baytown, near Houston, and we're so enjoying having them a regular part of our lives. They have a little girl that is between Hazel and Olive's age, the only first cousin my kids have on the Wells side.<br />
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Well, I'm off to get started painting the study.peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06191827584580605690noreply@blogger.com0