Gettin' up THERE.

I remember when anyone in their 30's sounded old to me.

I think I was in high school.

My parents were some of the youngest parents in my class.  My mom was only 37 when I graduated from high school, and my dad was 40.

My gosh does that sound young now.

Yesterday I turned 39.

I'M NOT 40 YET!

I have that saving grace.

I remember having a HUGE problem with turning 30.  I don't know why.  I had both of my kids before then, and I was still young.  30 just seemed like such a milestone.

I'm ok with 39.

I am.

I AM.

Yesterday was a good day, save for the fact that I  had to rise at 4:30am.  I got the kids up at 5:15am and they got ready for a weekend Junior Youth working trip an hour and a half away.

I was rarin' to go by 7am, so I headed over to my parent's house to get my sister who is up with her family visiting from SC.

We headed to the BEST flea market/garage sale where I picked up a set of two end tables, (which became my new coffee table side by side) and some other small stuff.

Then we ran a couple of errands, I dropped her back off at mom and dads and I ran some more errands.

ALONE.

I got to pick the music on the radio and turn it up as loud (or as quiet) as I wanted.  I wasn't constantly telling my 13 year old daughter to take her earbuds out so she could hear me.

I got to go WHERE I WANTED and BUY WHAT I WANTED.

I think I took a small trip to heaven yesterday.

Then I got home, and my husband came home from work and asked if I was ready.

For what?

"Well," he says, "We need to go wrestle one of the sheep.  I need to see why she is limping."

Oh, great.  What a fun birthday present honey!

So we did.

Where we have our sheep grazing is the most peaceful place around.  A widow lady lets us graze her many acres all summer and into the fall.  She and her husband used to have sheep, and she misses that, and she loves when ours have babies.

We caught the ewe and he trimmed her heels so her feet would feel better.

Then we headed home, where we stripped off our poison ivy riddled clothes, changed, and sat down to a very delicious supper if I do say so myself.

Chicken enchiladas with our own lettuce, some tomatoes, and the BEST chips and salsa from our local mexican restaurant.

Then some of my very own strawberries for our "sweetness" part of the meal.

Then we watched a movie, I read some, and we sat outside on the patio for a little bit.

SOUNDS like we're getting old, doesn't it.

BUT, IT WAS GREAT.  Peaceful, just what I wanted.

Today, the work begins.

Weeding the garden before the supposed storm we're supposed to get, more strawberry picking and making jam, and cleaning the house.

I think I'm gonna need some coffee.  Stat.

The weekend that was

We haven't been on vacation with friends since Grace was 4 1/2 months old.

She's 13 1/2 now.

I know...

I don't know why we haven't done it since then, it was a BLAST.

So, back in April, we decided to do it again with our friends Ryan and Kristin Eby and their daughters.

We get together as often as we can now with our busy schedules, so we decided why not have a long weekend together in Chicago, right?

So, we did.

This past weekend.

We drove in separately and met at our hotel and then took the train downtown for supper and a White Sox game (Evan's FAVORITE team.)

We ate GREAT pizza, then a security guard came over and told the kids to get away from the fountain.

WHATEVER.  We laughed and laughed.

Then we took another train down to the stadium.

While we waited for the game to start, the kids got in a little batting practice at the "fundamentals" part of the ballpark.

We even had a fireworks show when the game was done.

It was a late game, so we headed back to the hotel pretty late, and hit the hay.

After breakfast in the morning, we drove into town for a day of shopping, AND eating of course.

The kids were all REALLY great about shopping in stores for each other.  Lego and sports stores for Evan, clothing stores for the girls.

Cheesecake factory...YUM!

We talked CONSTANTLY, and laughed ALL THE TIME.

Their girls, Courtney and Kaitlyn are just about the same ages as our kids, so they have a great time together too.

Our last stop downtown was Navy Pier.

We did a lot of people watching, and the kids rode the Ferris wheel.

We said our goodbyes to the Ebys once we left Navy Pier.  They headed back home to Indiana, and we took the train back to our hotel for one more night in Chicago.

It was a POWER weekend, but we had SO MUCH FUN.  

We all decided this should be something we do again.  If only for another weekend somewhere.

Too bad it's over, but it sure is good to sleep in your own bed again!

Stillness

The other day in Sunday School we talked about stillness.

Quietness.  Finding the time to quiet down/power down and listen.

We talked about how we (those who grew up in the last generation without cell phones, smart phones, ipods, wii's, etc.) have eased ourselves into this generation's "plugged in-ness" and find it hard to find "quiet" anymore.

We talked about how HARD it must be for our kids who are NEVER away from technology.

Where is their quiet?

Our kid's quiet comes from us FORCING them to get away from their electronics whether it is a punishment or just to BE AWAY.  I'm sure we're on the more conservative side of this.

They HATE it, but too bad.  I think it's rude when kids are with other kids, and they all have their heads down, texting people who AREN'T EVEN IN THE ROOM WITH THEM.  It drives me crazy.

This week, Grace is grounded from her ipod.  It usually breaks her, so we find it's her best punishment.

That being said, last night, while weeding the garden, I listened to my children jump on the trampoline and play games together for at least an hour, without a fight.

It made me smile inside to hear them.  It reminded me of when my sister and I would play for HOURS outside during the summer.  Tetherball, in our playhouse, riding bikes, tennis against the barn, etc.  We didn't have the electronics pulling us away, and it makes me so sad for my kids.

Last night, I FELT God in the quiet of my weeding, in the happiness of my children.

It was a stillness that I don't feel often, that I need to make a point to FEEL more often.

Where is your stillness?