Currently

1. LISTENING to the sound of Dan watching Arrested Development on his kindle in our bedroom.  
2. EATING nothing.  I'd love to have a bowl of cereal but I'm trying not to eat after 7:00 pm.
3. DRINKING nothing. 
4. WEARING the same outfit I posted about in my last "currently"-ha ha!
5. FEELING like I want to go to bed.... but I need to load the dishwasher, fold two loads of laundry, and sort some paperwork.
6. PLANNING to go to bed.  That stuff will still be there tomorrow.  :)  Gosh, I've changed in the last 10 years!
7. WANTING a fancy new blender.  The carafe on my Costco $25 blender shattered.   We're jonesin' for some smoothies around here! 
8. NEEDING a change of scenery. 
9. THINKING maybe we'll make a road trip in the next couple of days?
10. ENJOYING evening prayer time with Dan.  We committed to this together 2 weeks ago and it's my favorite time of the day.

happy camper in a tropical storm

Reecie is all broken up about Graham going to camp.  ;)   She had her "take Graham to camp" clothes all laid out the night before.  

 Graham's heartbroken and overwhelmed with how much he's going to miss us...

...can't you tell??  It was so funny to hear momma's whispering last minute warnings and encouragement to their sons; all the while sons were grinning, putting up bunny ears, and I'm pretty sure I even heard a fart noise and giggles before we left.  *sigh*   As we walked out Dan said, "this is just what these boys need, a chance to be boys, away from their hovering moms!" :) ha ha.  He's right! 

Graham with his camp counselor, Josh.  There were four boys in a room with one college-aged counselor.  

Me consoling Graham- he's so sad we're leaving him at camp, ha!

Jill and Johnathon

A road trip is just not complete without a pit-stop at Cracker Barrel....breakfast for dinner with our beautiful girl.

Millie had a big time splitting her afternoon with Nana and Grandma + Grandpa.

When I woke up this morning, I learned that a tornado actually touched down about 30 miles from camp.  So grateful for God's protection!   It was super rainy and windy today.  We spent the morning at the YMCA and then played with our friends Sarah, Jadon and Asher this afternoon.  Despite the rain, it was such a fun day!

Hannah Reece loves to bake as much as I do....chocolate chip cookies.  She's been  wondering what Graham has been doing all day long.  :) 

The wonderful folks at camp scanned and emailed this word from our boy this morning.  We can't wait to see him tomorrow!  

happy camper

The teeth are falling out of our people's heads this week, I tell ya!  Reecie lost two and then Graham lost another on top. He's so sleepy and all wrapped up in his favorite "sports" blanket that Nana made for him.  It was about 11 o'clock when that thing finally came out!  His teeth always seem to get wiggliest at the end of the day and then he has trouble going to sleep until that wiggler comes out.  I helped him twist and turn that thing in every way, and then he finished the job-so brave!

We've been busy for the last few days laundering, packing, making a list and checking it twice because Graham's going to sleep away camp!  He is so excited to go to Cedarkirk with his "home brother" Johnathon.  Graham and Johnathon have been best friends since, well- since baby-hood!  I met Jill and Craig when Johnathon was about 9 months old and I was in my last trimester with Graham.  We were fast friends.   The boys have very different personalities, but boy do they love being together.  Sometimes we laugh, because they often remind us of two little old men with their banter and interactions.  They know each other well and it's fun to watch their friendship grow as they do.  Cedarkirk is a Christian camp and conference center, and they offer sleep away camps for all ages.  At Graham's age (8) it is a 3 day, 2 night camp.

Nana came and picked Graham up on Thursday for a little lunch and shopping for camp essentials like shower flip flops and some cool camo sunglasses.   Then this afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa came by and brought Graham his very own journal, pencils and a bookmark.  We prayed together that this would be a special time for Graham to meet new friends and that God would meet him in a special way at camp.

The "just in case" allergy medicine stash

Bible, journal + pencils, sunglasses, disposable camera, hat, swimsuit, bugspray + sunscreen and each outfit /pajama set bagged  with a special note in each bag.  I saw this idea  to bag complete outfits (down to socks + underwear) on pinterest and thought it was brilliant!  Plus, it'll prevent dropping clothes on the wet shower floor, I hope!

Millie's staying behind with grandparents so that we can focus on getting Graham settled in, and Reecie's coming along for sisterly support.  :)  Dan spent many summers at Cedarkirk and so he'll be able to show D.G. the lay of the land, I'm sure.  So happy for our boy to have this special opportunity and maybe camp at Cedarkirk will be a summer tradition!

Hannah Reece's "holey" smile :)

Reecie pulled her 2nd and 3rd teeth...all by herself!  And within one day of each other!  That dern tooth fairy was somewhat delayed due to a stomach virus.  Yuck.  But word is, she's making a special double delivery tonight.  :)

While I'm thinking of our special girl, she snuggled up next to me and wanted to chat yesterday.  She wanted to tell me about all of her favorite things...

I like to play my guitar.
I like to listen to my cd player (my favorite cd is taylor swift).
I like to watch The Greening of Whitney Brown and Curious George.
I like to play with my friends.
I like to play PBS Kids on the computer.
My favorite colors are turquoise and purple
My favorite foods are beans and rice and mac and cheese.

Hannah Reece always wears a little cardigan or shrug with her tops.  Sometimes I'll tell her it's too hot for that, but she insists on being "modest".  I'm so grateful that daddy encourages modesty by taking her shopping for clothes, affirming her beauty and helping her pick out appropriate clothes.  She handles "no" to inappropriate clothing SO well and we just stay positive about it saying, "well, guess we'll just have to KEEP shopping even longer!"  And she smiles.  May the LORD be glorified in you, as you honor HIM with your modest beauty.  May your beautiful heart and godly character SHINE, Hannah Reece.  I think you are positively radiant.

Last week Hannah Reece expressed that she wanted to have a special mommy-daughter date.  I just happened to have a coupon for a free brownie sundae burning a hole in my pocket!  So we headed over to the "Chic" and shared a yummy treat with a heaping side of giggles.  Maybe it was the sugar?  We could not stop laughing.  It was the most fun I've had in a long time!  :)  I asked Reecie if she wanted to play on the playground there for a couple of minutes.  She had the whole thing to herself and momma's undivided attention.  She was a little nervous to go in the tubes alone.  I encouraged her to go on and give it a try, so she did.  I heard her shoes banging the side of that tube slide and then jumped when I heard a loud "MOOOOOOO!"  Well, I think my girl was surprised too, because she came wide-eyed FLYIN' out of that tube!  Ha!  We laughed so hard.  I love you Reecie-boo.  xoxo