The Final Week of July

The final week of July was full of appointments, it seems. On Friday, July 27, Joshua was fitted for his spacer, on Saturday Shawn went golfing with Mike & Brian, on Monday I got my hair done, on Tuesday I went to the dentist and Shawn went back to the doctor for his back, etc. Shawn & I scheduled a date on Wednesday night to go to the Conestoga House & Gardens. Unfortunately, it started to rain. So, instead we went to the mall and looked at some of the clothing sales, mostly for him. He bought a couple new shirts for work, and on the way home we saw this beautiful rainbow across the field behind our neighbor's house. Rainbows are a special reminder to me of God's promises. The Bible says that God looks at the very same rainbow in the sky that we see and it reminds him of his covenant to never destroy the earth by flood again. Each time I see a rainbow, I think of how God is looking at the same thing I'm seeing and filled with awe again. His creation and promises are so neat!

Earlier that day, I took out the pots and pans and various kitchen instruments to let Ryan have fun playing the drums. My other boys joined in some, but the Schnook was most interested (where these pictures are from). He had a blast!

Thursday, August 2, I had a nice day with my boys. We started off by driving to the fruit stand with Grandpa. I had received an email from a new client who was asking me to do some writing for its marketing pieces and wanted to meet in person. While I'm thrilled to have lost some weight, I realized that I didn't have any dress pants that currently fit me well. I had suits, but I had the feeling the organization was a little more casual and yet I wanted to look professional. I called everyone I knew to watch the boys, and no one was interested. Dad was running around for something for his girlfriend and didn't want to take the hour to stay behind with the kids, my babysitter wasn't awake yet when I texted her (I assume, since she texted me back a couple hours later with a "sure" - I understand she's a teenager!), etc. Eventually, I knew I had to do what I had to do. So, I told my boys that we were going shopping for mommy clothes. It wasn't going to be fun, but it was necessary and I expected that they behave. We talked before we left about the expectations and limitations when shopping (looking with our eyes and not our hands, using our inside voices, staying together, etc).

So, we headed for the Outlets. Shawn's parents had given me a gift card to the Dress Barn for my birthday and I found a pair of pants in there that fit that I could wear. I headed over to Ann Taylor thereafter and saw an outfit I liked on the manican, so I asked the store clerk where to find the top and bought the necklace right off the statue. I was shocked when all of it was on sale and then an additional reduced price. It never happens that I like something extremely inexpensive. Yeah, God! We were done within an hour, and the boys were so good that I paid the .75 for them to ride the Mickey Mouse ride thing outside the store. Hooray for success! I hadn't tried on the items together, but I felt comfortable in both things. It wasn't an easy trip, but the kids did great overall.

 To reward them, when we got home we took all my plants outside and I let them help me dump out the old soil, throw away ones that were beyond bringing back to life and replanting the ones I thought we could save with new fresh soil and water. They loved scooping soil and adding water! I got rid of half a dozen pots that we no longer needed and rearranged the flowers on my window sill. Now the boys help me water them each Thursday on schedule.

Since they had so much fun with that, I continued the day's activities with baking pumpkin spice muffins. Caleb was thrilled to help in the kitchen. I didn't take any pictures but just focused on spending the quality time with the boys. They had a great time helping in the kitchen, mixing the ingredients and pouring the batter into cupcake liners. They also enjoyed eating the "cupcakes" (as Caleb called the muffins) and they pretty well polished them off within a few days time. Yummo! It had been a better day than I envisioned at first when I couldn't find a babysitter. While at times it would be easier if I had more help, I realize that I would miss out on special moments if I didn't have all the time to spend with them. I love my boys!