Oh dear--it's been a LONG time!

My handsome little cowboy on his way to the square dance.

The beautiful chalk cliffs at Deer Valley Ranch, Buena Vista Colorado

So it's been nearly 6 months since I've blogged. There's no way I can catch up! So here's what's going on right now.

I'm working as the props mistress at OAT this summer! It's been fun---I'm still "involved" in the process, but I work on my own schedule. Two shows down, one more to go.

I'm taking Jenna to Harding for summer orientation on Thursday. I'm so excited for her to get her classes scheduled and all that jazz. I have this feeling that I'll be envious of all the fun stuff she has ahead of her! I'm not going to talk about how I feel about her leaving me in about 6 weeks...... :-(

On Sunday, I'm taking Clarissa to Harding for Summer Honor Choir. Then going back again on Friday to pick her up. Yes, that's THREE trips in 8 days. I have this feeling that I better get used to it.

Summer activities: We cut our school year short and went to Joplin, MO to do tornado recovery work. On May 22 an EF5 tornado tore through about 1/3 of that city. We drove down on Wed., May 25. I worked 2 days, while the girls worked for 5 days, sorting food, and other donations, distributing these donations to those who had lost their homes, and sorting through homes, helping to recover what could be saved and cleaning up what couldn't. There really are no words to explain any further. It was overwhelming. Kenny worked one day, then we needed to come home to care for Meredith and Matthew. We didn't want to leave---there is so much work still left to be done.

In June, we traveled to Deer Valley Ranch in Buena Vista CO with my parents, and my niece, Nickie. My brother and his family met us there. We had a week full of hiking, horseback riding, swimming, square dancing, eating, and making new friends.

We stopped in Colorado Springs on the way to DVR. We had the famouse chuckwagon dinner at the Flying W Ranch---a place my parents took me when I was about 5. We visited the Olympic training Center (a very cool FREE place to visit!) and we drove to the top of Pikes Peak. (If you ever go, you have to buy the donuts at the top! They're yummy!) We stopped in CS again on the way home, visiting the Focus on the Family visitors Center. The girls recorded their own episode of Adventures in Odyssey! It was a cheesy script--but they had fun, and we got a CD of their show.

OK--that's all for now! Maybe I'll stop in again sometime soon!

Birthdays!

It's been birthday week here at the Lighthouse. As of Monday, Jenna is 17, and Meredith turned 6 on Wednesday.

Kenny and I took Jenna to Sybils for dinner on Saturday night. It's an "adult" restaurant. (meaning there is NOT a kids menu!) We had such a nice time, spending a couple of hours just visiting and sharing. Jenna really is an "adult" now! I already find myself feeling sad that she'll be heading to college in just a few short months. A sweet friend reminded me not to ruin her excitement by being too sad. I think I already knew this, but I was so glad that she said it--so I could really think about it. I really AM excited for Jenna to go to Harding. (our campus visit in Dec. was great!) I'm excited about what the future holds for her. BUT---She will be SO missed around here! She is such a help to me and she is my friend. I will miss her companionship. (and I miss her taxi services!)

Meredith wanted a pony for her birthday. She didn't get one. But she was happy with her Rapunzel/Tangled doll, and Princess Color Wonder coloring posters. She especially liked her can of silly string. It doesn't take much to thrill a 6 year old!

Kindergarten

Meredith whines about doing her school work. Today, Clarissa and Rebecca challenged her to a race, to see who could finish their work first. Boy, did Meredith get moving!

Later, she was (again) whining saying, "It's too much work!" Clarissa sat down in the floor with her and patiently helped her, encouraged her, teased her, and made it lots of fun. Clarissa is going to be a great teacher some day. And I confess.....she's made me lazy. :-)

I just heard, "I'm done! I'm done! I'm done!"

the running report

With the passing of my grandmother, I failed to write about the results of my 5K!

On Dec. 3, 2010, I ran the Reindeer Run 5K in Republic MO. I finished with a time of 34:25. This placed me 9th in my age group out of 20 runners. I placed 133rd overall of 236 runners.

My goal was to finish in under 35 mins, so I was pleased!