Catching up

Well, yesterday I got the weekly summary from Blogger telling me that 92 people had visited this blog and my first thought, "Well, that's 92 people who are mad at me for not posting!" Then my friend chastised me tonight for neglecting my blog . . . and she was right, I have been neglecting it. I don't know . . . I just haven't known what to write about.

Just to get the juices flowing, I'm going to catch you up on what's been going on . . . and this is just the month of July. We started this month with Ana from Guatemala. Ana is the translator that has gone to the orphanage with C and Boo and Mowgli when they go to the orphanage in Hue Hue Tenango and she is lovely. She's had a very hard year so C made it possible for her to come to Texas for a vacation and we got to host her. We shopped, spent some time down on South Congress, introduced her to Amy's ice cream, went to the Riverwalk in San Antonio on the 4th (no fireworks here because of the drought), picnicked at Zilker Park and had a really nice time. It's funny how sometimes you have to have a guest to get out in your own town and do the fun stuff. Also, during that week, the daughter of our Nigerian friends stayed with us while she attended a wedding and it was wonderful to catch up with her, since we hadn't seen her in about a decade.

Boo and I both celebrated birthdays this month, too. For her birthday, all three of us went to see a terrific production of "Hairspray" at the Zach ( we sat in the middle on about the 8th row--it felt like they were performing just for us!) and then she and I went to San Antonio overnight to spend some good mom/daughter time together and, per her request, think about her childhood. It was a wonderful trip with my lovely daughter who I am looking forward to getting to know better as an adult. We also went to see Harry Potter at midnight (maybe that will be my next post) and then Boo got her wisdom teeth out. Now she's on a mission trip to the border, revisiting children in a colonia there that she has worked with for several years now.

About Mowgli . . . I think he's having the time of his life on an organic farm (think Wendell Berry) in VA. He's described to us the rhythm of waking early, caring for the animals, working hard on the crops, going to market, cooking together with his two fellow-laborers (aka "interns") and then sitting on the porch playing his guitar (while one of the girls plays the fiddle) until the sun goes down. He sleeps in the barn, which must not be too rustic b/c it also doubles as the Quaker meetinghouse on Sunday mornings. C's grandmother passed away this month as well, and Mowgli came back for the funeral (thanks to my wonderful in-laws) and we got to see him for two days. I don't expect we'll see him again until graduation in December.

My work continues to go very well with a break from the traveling this summer. I'm still counseling in private practice and working part-time with MissionHouston on Faithwalking. I'm also trying to focus on a BHAG vision for city-wide marriage transformation with Brett and Kellie over at Home Encouragement as we try to discover what God's vision is and how we can join him. I still love the young adults at MBC and always wish I could spend more time with them--they're a wonderful group of friends and I am so blessed to be able to work with them in Bible Study and ministry. I've also had some wonderful time this month with dear friends--not nearly enough, of course, but it nourishes my soul to spend time with them.

I guess the big thing is that on August 17, we will be empty-nesters. I think I'll cry when we drive away from leaving Boo at college but I really think I'll be just fine. She is so ready and we are so proud of her and so excited for her to move into her future. I've taken the week off from work, though, just in case!

So that's what's going on . . . I'll try to come back here more often in the next few days and let you know what I've been thinking about.