bullet points

I am just pulling myself from a fog of three very busy weeks.  There are so many things on my to-do list, I can't count them.  A few days ago my friend Erin asked me if I have given up blogging.

I knew then that I had REALLY been neglecting my little hobby.

So, because I can't compile a complete one-subject post to save my life right now, here are some random thoughts in bullet point form with some cute, related (or not) photos inbetween.

• My maternal grandmother died last night after a LONG battle with Alzheimer's.  At 87 years old, it was a blessing that she did not suffer the end stages very long and she died at home with her loving family around her.  She will be missed though.  I didn't have the privilege of having her nearby throughout my youth, but she left an awesome legacy of a large and loving family and a marriage of over 60 years.  As long as her body allowed her, she was always a servant to those around her and the proof of her example was her children who cared around the clock for her in her declining health and held her hand for her final breaths.  At the time I'm writing this I am hoping to be able to make it to her memorial service in Atlanta at the end of this week.
  
  
  
• I successfully finished our first year of homeschooling via a virtual academy.  It was not without hardship and A.LOT of effort, but I think it was a great choice for our family and I have signed up for next year.  Moving on to third and first grade will prove to be a new adventure - we'll see if the yellow school bus shows up or not :-)
  
  
  
• I went to Laramie, WY to see Beth Moore and Living Proof Live a few weeks ago.  If you have a chance to go to one of her live events - GO.  No matter your background, she makes you feel at home and like you're old girlfriends.  Travis Cottrell and his team are awesome in the praise and worship arena and as my hubby always says about Beth, "That woman does not phone it in."  She teaches truth straight from the Word of God.
  
  
  
• There will be an entire post dedicated to my beloved's MBA graduation, but let me just tell you it was the first major party I've thrown (with actual invitations) and I'm still de-stressing from it.  We had a balloon arch and an ice luge (stay tuned for pictures) and I hired a cleaning lady as a special treat to deep clean my main floor of my house.  I had never had a cleaning lady, I thought it would be awesome, but she decided to clean my stainless steel cooktop with a scratchy sponge and just added to my long list of things I need to fix.... if it is even able to be fixed.  I think I'll do the cleaning from now on.
  
  
  
• My in-laws were here for a long visit and my mom arrived the day before they left - we then took my mom to her first ever visit to Jackson Hole, WY and Grand Teton National Park.  We go up there several times a year, so it was fun to show my suburbanite of a mom the real glory of the wilderness.  She was a trooper as she battled the elevation change on our four mile trail hikes.  If only we had sunny weather - it's been rainy and chilly for an unusually long time here.  But at least it's not snow.
  
  
  
• My baby is going to be TWO this month.  Boo hoooooooooooo!
  
  
  
• I'm sure this summer is going to fly by me, so I want to spend lots of time appreciating it.
  
  
  
• Can't wait for our family reunion at my dad's lake house in July.  My siblings, their kids, and my parents will be there.  It has always been a relaxing vacation spot with great memories for me.  I can't wait to make more.  Side note:  SIX plane tickets = OUCH.
  
   
• We've had one trip to the ER this summer when a baseball bat met Rufus's chin.  Some Versed, three stitches, and six HOURS later we left the ER.  The picture above is a non-ER accident when Daddy's hockey stick met Sauce's forehead.  Oh, and Squirt currently has his first black eye after a collision with a van door.
  

I'm going outside to play cap guns and baseball with my boys, well, because this summer will be far too short!