Memorial Day 2017

Today we honor those who lost their lives while serving this great country.

Here is a list of my Fallen Classmates, 2006 U. S. Naval Academy graduates:

Brandon Barrett
Daniel Bartle
Nicholas Bourgeois (a dear friend)
John Coghlan
Jay Dixon
Matthew McFarland
Michael Quin
Stanford Shaw

I'm not sure how many of Chet's classmates (class of 2005) have lost their lives in service, but I know of one, someone we both knew: Elizabeth "Betsy" Kealy. She was a wonderful person and friend.

I hope you had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and were able to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Sunday

Happy Sunday!

The kids and I had a great morning at church with Didi and Papa Dave, and then Didi and I spend the majority of the day reorganizing her pantry -- not a planned project, but definitely a satisfying one!

The moving truck came Wednesday and carted everything away, leaving us with empty rooms (which always seem smaller empty than when filled with furniture...?), tumbleweeds of dust, and Easter-colored Hershey Kisses candy wrappers (the two culprits were aged five and older, and were NOT Chet and/or me). Chet and Sydney spent Wednesday night in the nearly empty house so that Sydney could attend her last day of school (the actual last day is June 1st, but thankfully she is excused the last three days) and so that Chet could pack the last of our things into his truck. He and Sydney joined the rest of us in New Braunfels Thursday evening.

This is my favorite stage of moving, "stuff"-wise. When everything is packed safely in the moving van, and all you're left with are the things you (mostly) really need. ("Mostly," because I may or may not have several rolls of washi tape, all of the kids' headlamps, and about 12 bottles of lotion I almost never use in my possession currently. #necessities) It's so nice and easy to keep track of and organize only a couple of suitcases worth of items. I'm always a little mad to see all of the boxes the movers haul into our new home, wondering why on earth we thought we needed it all in the first place.

Anyway, Chet spent Thursday night and Friday with us, and left for California Saturday morning. He spent Saturday night in El Paso, and is staying with one of our friends in the L.A. area for the next two nights. He's only a few hours from our new town at this point, and I'm so thankful he's had an uneventful trip so far.

I hope your Memorial Day weekend has so far been full of fun, relaxation, and perhaps even a bit of organizing -- more about Memorial Day tomorrow!

Back in the Saddle

Here's the deal: I've been busy, but I've also been spending free time (that I could have spent posting here) mostly reading. I'm doing another Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge (both of them, actually), and it seems I think I'm supposed to finish the challenge(s) before the 4th of July rather than New Years Eve.

Anyway, we really have been busier than usual. Isn't the month of May, with Mother's Day and the end of school, always a hectic time of year? Our extended family also celebrates several May birthdays. On top of that, we're gearing up for our big move from Texas to California. We get more and more used to moving (and a fraction more efficient) each time we move, but if I think too long and hard about the disorganized and extremely inconvenient nature of moving in general...well, let's just not go there.

I should clarify: when I say "gearing up" for our big move, what I mean is that the moving company sent people to pack up our house last Friday (May 19th), and they showed up again this morning to finish. It took these fine, efficient people 6.5 total hours to put all of our earthly possessions into boxes, while Chet and I sat around eating donuts and feeling impressed by, and appreciative of, their hard work. (That sounds sarcastic, but it's not! They were great!)

(Please note: we shared the donuts with said fine, efficient people.)

So really we're past the "gearing up" phase and more accurately in the "there's no turning back now" phase. Our house is a sea of boxes, and the moving truck will come pick all of them (and our furniture) up Wednesday. Chet, Sydney, and Lorelei are still staying in our house so that Sydney can attend school and Lorelei can go to her gymnastics class, and Ford, Ruthie, and I are staying with Didi and Papa Dave in New Braunfels.

Moving IS inconvenient. For example, Chet will have to make breakfast work tomorrow with two plastic spoons and a single paper coffee cup (Starbucks, size Tall), out of which the girls will eat cereal. But there's also a fun flipside: today after school he took the girls to the bowling alley and then out to dinner (not our normal Monday night routine!). I have to keep reminding myself that it's all an adventure.

I also have to keep reminding myself that even though we're in the midst of a move and summer vacation is quickly approaching (my least favorite time of year), I can still have a routine. I miss recording our family memories and the things that my kids say and the random things that pop into my head, so I'm going to make time for blogging again. But I have to be honest: without the use of our home computer (I'll be using Didi's computer for the majority of the summer), I won't be able to post many pictures (if any). I'm fine with that, but I know that pictures make this space more exciting, so I apologize in advance. Pictures or no pictures, I'm getting back in the saddle!