Done!

 4 years old with some of my sibs

Yes, it's 9:00 in the morning and I am through with my work in the kitchen for the day...maybe for the week. It's already 90 degrees, so I browned a couple of pounds each of ground beef and ground turkey, boiled eggs, and tried to ignore the visions of Food Channel delicacies that these things will NOT become. I'm shooting for easy. (I still feel kind of guilty because I can hear the marching band behind the house. The heat index will be 105 degrees today, and they will be out there until 9:00 tonight. Amazing! Their show has a dance theme - so far I've identified "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies", Theme from "American Bandstand", "I Could have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, and the "Tennessee Waltz", although I had to hum it for my mom so she could identify the title for me. I knew the melody, but not the name of the song.)

Thought you'd enjoy the pic of my family - I'm back right. Youngest 2 not born yet. Mom had 7 children in 10 years, and as Dad always said, "It's not a record, but it ain't a bad average!"

It's been a week since the washing machine betrayed me by unceremoniously overflowing all over the laundry room floor (and living room, by virtue of proximity). Took 3 hours by shop vac and mopping to pick up most of the 20+ gallons that escaped. Looks like it might have been a plugged hose that fooled the water level sensor. It's operating flawlessly now, but I can't say that I'm planning on starting a load and driving off to run errands any time soon.

I keep a bowl and piece of cardboard in the bedroom in hopes of capturing the little gecko who slipped in somehow. He's just a little guy, maybe 4" long, but little guys grow into big guys - easier to see but harder to catch. Truthfully, I figure I'll either catch him or find him dead when we rearrange furniture some day, having starved to death for lack of insects in the house. He likes our bedroom because it is farthest from the AC unit, and therefore is the warmest room in the house.

My thoughts these days are about what it looks like for me to finish out the last half of life (OK, maybe last third!) in a way that gives God glory and fulfills His purpose and ideas, and thus being deeply joyous and satisfying. I have time to invest now, and I want to use the time well - I have no interest in being "busy" because I don't see Jesus being busy for the sake of activity, though He was always about His Father's work. So I'm trying to listen intentionally, spending time with Him and soaking in this season of sabbatical. I think I'm starting to get a bead on where I might be heading, but not sure yet. I'll keep you posted!