Long time no blog

We have so much to post because we just experienced probably the busiest six weeks we've had in a long time. I look at the date on the last post (June 18) and can't believe how much has happened since then. I won't bore you with all the details, but give you the weekly nutshell version. Also, we won't be posting pictures for a while since our camera charger is "awol."

My parents graciously decided to visit and help out for a whole month. That may seem like a long time but it flew by. We picked them up from SeaTac June 24 and went to Micah's first baseball game! Micah did great and loved to watch the Mariner's win. The rest of that week we painted the exterior of our newly re-sided Illinois St. home. It looks so perfect, it almost looks manufactured! My parents stayed in our new Elizabeth st. home. The neighbors were so confused about who was actually living there.

The next week (June 28-July4) we kept working on the house as well as prepared for Summer Academy, our week-long kids' day camp at FBC. Jeff calls it "VBS on steroids." Jeff went to work, prepared for SA and his sermon, Mom took care of Micah, Dad worked on the house, and I (B) split my time between prepping my SA classes and working on the house. The week ended with welcoming the team from Brownwood, TX who had come to help us with SA. For the fourth of July, we had burgers and sparklers in the backyard. Micah LOVED the sparklers.

The week of July 5-11 was the best SA yet. The whole week went very smoothly and the kids seemed to have so much fun. I sincerely feel that SA is one of the best things our church has going for it. It's such a great outreach to the community (about 10% of the SA kids actually go to our church), it meets a real need for parents, the kids have a blast and hear about Jesus, and our church pulls together and pitches in like few other events. It all ends with a finale night in which the kids perform a musical (yes, songs and drama that they learned in 5 days). The week is as exhausting as it is rewarding. During the week, Dad was nice enough to paint the bedrooms in the Elizabeth house to get them ready before we moved in.

Also of concern that week was that our friends' 13-yr-old son was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Jeff and I went to visit them at Children's in Seattle on that Monday and that Saturday after we took the Brownwood team back to the airport. They were supposed to teach some SA classes and obviously couldn't, but it was awesome to see the support for them from the church. It has been amazing to see how, through surgeries, etc., God has healed him and how well he is doing now. How nice to not have to worry about Micah as we traveled to Seattle, knowing he was in good hands with Nana Weezie.

SA ended Friday the 10th, we returned the Brownwood team and visited the Willis' on Sat. the 11th, church and the SA finale was on the 12th, and on Monday the 13th we MOVED from our Illinois house to our Elizabeth house. Yes. Crazy. Thanks to some very helpful friends, the big stuff was moved and much was packed by lunch. That was the first night we spent in the new house. For the rest of the week, Mom still was in charge of Micah, Jeff worked, Dad did some improvements on the Illinois kitchen, and I split my time between unpacking the Elizabeth house and working on the Illinois house.

The end of the week and into the next, Jeff & I and Mom & Dad took a turn at spending the night at the awesome Chrysalis. What a treat. We came away from that so relaxed and refreshed. Can't beat a room with a view of Bellingham Bay. Mom & Dad left on July 23, amid much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

That Monday our Illinois house went on the market. It looks so great (mostly thanks to my Dad) and we feel a peace that we have done all that we possibly could to make it sellable. That week was HOT. We hit a record high of 97 that Tuesday. I know all you Texans are telling us to cry you a river, but at least you have air conditioning! Micah stayed naked for several days straight and all he and I did that week was eat popsicles and play in the water outside.

We were so excited to have Jeff's parents up that next week. Their visit was markedly different from my parents', but it was nice. Gramma and Grampa spoiled Micah and we did something fun and Northwest-y every day: berry picking, outdoor concerts, the tall ships (the Lady Washington, aka "the Black Pearl" from Pirates of the Caribbean was in town), tidepooling for 2 seconds because the water was cold... It was so fun and nice to relax. We are so blessed to have such awesome parents.

So this week begins our "new normal." A new box gets unpacked every few days. One more small project is accomplished every day, even if it's just a load of laundry or figuring out a better place for something. This new house is starting to feel less like the "new" house and more like where we actually live. We look forward to settling down a bit for a while while we pray like crazy for the old house to sell.

Our kid is a genius. Tonight after he undressed for bath he took the initiative to go back to the other room to pick up his clothes, run back into the bathroom, and proceed to put his clothes in the hamper! I couldn't believe it. Then, in bed, he usually asks me, "rub me tummy, mommy" or "rub me back." Tonight he said, "rub me ribbons, mommy, rub me ribbons." After I asked him what his ribbons were, he pointed to his ribs! He's adorable. I think he's permanently renamed ribs now, not unlike how yogurt will never be anything else but yorgut.