Packing, packing, packing

Here I am again, frantically making a packing list of all the things I may ever need during the semester.  As things pop up in my brain, I write them down.  *Sigh*  There's so much that has to get done before school starts.  There are errands to be run, things to be packed, an apartment to be moved into, notes to be written, etc., etc., etc.  Time to get right back into it.  :)

Bound by Love

We're siblings.  Three people obviously from the same family -- mannerisms, humor, values, interests -- and we've got the memories to prove it.

I remember one time Mom instructed the three of us to study together for our history exam.  We holed ourselves up in Zach and Luke's room and "studied" hard.  Haha, who am I kidding?  We spent the whole time spouting off our favorite movie quotes, mimicking each other, and laughing!  Haha, such great memories!  For those of you concerned, I do believe the average grade on that test was a 98.  :P


Zach, I never told you before, but all through high school, I was competing with you grades-wise.  Yes, every single Spanish, history, vocabulary, and economics test we ever took together, I wanted to beat you!  Unfortunately, that was rarely the case.  ;)  Without knowing it, you pushed me to do well!

Luke, you kept me wanting to whap you over the head with my notebook during history discussions!  :P  Mom's nickname for you, Prez, fits you well indeed.  You're going to go far and will make some drastic (and much-needed) changes in this country.  I fully believe you will have a huge impact on this world.


At the end of August, Zachary will be headed to Longview to continue his education in Air Traffic Control Management.

I'll be headed to Dallas to continue studying for Biblical Studies with a focus in Counseling.

Luke will be headed north to Michigan for his college career where he'll be pursuing a degree in Political Science.

We're siblings, obviously from the same family, but headed in three very different directions ... but with the common bond of the Holy Spirit.

What hurts the most is that our days of being each others constant companions has officially come to a close.  We're all moving on, pursuing adventures all our own.  Rarely now will our stories overlap.  But that's okay.  This is how it needs to be.  And you know what?  We'll always be friends.  Always.

I praise God for my family and how He graciously allowed us the friendship with each other that we have.  God is good, so very good, even through bittersweet moments of growing up and doing what we have been called to do.

Camping...

My fellow tent-setter-upper and I.  This guy was a trooper!

So, two days ago, I did the unthinkable.  I took 4 of my younger siblings, by myself, camping.  Yes, my friends, camping.  Actually, 3 of them were very responsible and were not a problem.  Only the youngest of them, Miss Talkalot, was a bit of a handful.

Not sure why we bothered with a clothesline since we were ALWAYS

in the water!  :P

However, we did have a good time, getting lots and lots and lots and lots and ..... okay, you get the point .... we got lots of swimming in.  :)

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, a gorgeous morning, and great outdoor weather all-around, unless you wanted to sleep, in which case the stillness and heat did nothing to summon a quickness to slumber.  But other than waking up about once an hour to silence Miss Talkalot, buy a cold drink from the vending machine for a certain over-heated brother, and calm a scared-just-had-a-nightmare sister, I had a great night's sleep!

The first night, we gathered kindling, and built a legit fire.  I was able to make
some scrambled eggs for supper, and then we all had fun roasting marshmellows and eating s'mores.  The next day, however, we were so tired that we just showered charcoal in lighter fluid, lit a match, and tried to cook our hot dogs before the flames went out.  Much lighter fluid was used in the making of lunch.


After that, we swam for another couple of hours, packed up camp, and headed home with what I'd like to think as an added healthy glow to our skin, but what Mom would like to say was closer to sunburn than anything else.  Difference in opinions, that is all.

The little people enjoying the water

We had fun, but I think I'll wait for a time when the WHOLE family can go camping next time.

Summer Fun!

Yes, it's summer, and yes, that means wanting to go out and do crazy things and make lots of fun and awesome memories along the way.  Here are a few family friendly things I've done while NOT going broke.  :D

These first two are for those of you who live in the Austin area:

1.  Pack all the kids up and head down to the Arboretum.  I took several of my younger siblings and they had a blast climbing on the cows and playing around the pond.  Finish up with a quick stop at McDonald's and call it a day!

2.  Enjoy the annual summer musical at Zilker Park!  This year they're doing The Sound of Music, and let me just say that the set is AweSome, the actors are GreaT, and they do an AmaZing job!  The best part about this?  It's absolutely FREE!  So go find some hole-in-the-wall restaurant downtown before the show and have a wonderful evening!  You may want to get there early, though, because it can be hard to find good seats on the hillside if you have a large number of people with you.

3.  This one you can do anywhere, really.  All you need is about $10 (depending on your number of "victims") and a couple of blindfolds.  I blindfolded three of my sisters, ushered them into the van, drove around several neighborhoods (so they'd get good and turned around) and then headed Sonic.  Of course, I parked in front of the CVS Pharmacy (after making them promise to keep the blindfolds on as they sat in the car) and walked over to Sonic so they couldn't hear me order our cherry limeades!  So much stinkin' fun (especially trying to drive with them on my lap :P ).

4.  Go camping!  If a campsite doesn't work out, set up a tent in the backyard, get a fire going in the fire pit, make s'mores, tell creepy stories, and then find a place to go hiking the next day.  Booya!

Hmmm, Life

I ordered my textbooks for the fall semester.  Ouch!

But I got to spend the weekend with Esther, so it was okay.  :)

Someday, I'll be able to have a summer where I won't have to work and I can just play and read and hang out all day every day.  But until then, I'll just enjoy the place God has me and try to pour into my coworkers as much as He allows.  God is good.  All the time.

Pictures of my lovely family

If you're on facebook, then you've probably already seen these, but I felt that my blog was completely devoid of picturehood, and so, here they are.  And because it is my blog, after all, you shouldn't complain.  ;)

....  The end ....

My Loves

Pictured l-r, children #'s: 6, 10, 7, 9, and 5

Have I mentioned that I love these guys?  Well I do.