Maybe I Should Update More Often…

I should probably write at least a little something about the seminar I was so consumed with. Once it was over it seemed that my hands and thoughts were so free I sort of dropped it completely. It did go very well and thank you to all of you who prayed for me and gave me input along the way. The Friday night service was well attended and over 300 women were a part of the weekend over-all. The skit I wrote for the service was received well and got lots of laughs. I’m hoping that our media people can give me a copy of it because I’d like to see how it looked to the audience and it’s nice to hang on to those things for future use as well. Each of the girls who participated did a great job with their lines and their characters and I felt like it was a real success. The sermon that night was on contentment, as I have mentioned, and so many women responded to it. The alters were full afterward and the Spirit of God was heavy and comforting in the room. I got home after 9:30 sometime and tried to sleep to prepare for a very early morning on Saturday. I had the boys ready to go by 5:40 and we were at the church by 6:00, yes that’s 6:00 a.m. I helped the rest of the ladies get set up for breakfast and then helped prepare the classrooms with notes and materials for each class. Owen and Ivan were whisked away to go play in the nursery and have some breakfast of their own while I worked in the gym and Miss Kelly became Owen’s hero for getting him out of that boring place with no toys. On the way home later in the day he asked me what her name was and then responded,

“Ah, yes.”

A few minutes later he says out of the blue,

“Did we leave Ivan at church?”

I asked him who the little boy was sitting beside him and he responded,

“I have no idea.”

I asked him if he had lost his mind, thinking he wouldn’t understand what that meant but he said,

“Yes, I’m so crazy.”

It was a rather strange conversation but I thought you might enjoy hearing about it. Now…back to the seminar. After breakfast we started our classes and I am very glad that I thought ahead enough to have water, a snack and a tall chair in my room. I would have been sore had I stood the whole time. As it was I taught 4 forty minute classes and my voice was so tired when I was done and my whole being spent. I think my classes went pretty well, I got some positive feedback and I felt like I covered what I wanted to cover. I know I probably won’t hear any of the negative. We always hand out surveys but they don’t ask about the classes which is what I want to know. I took the boys to get some lunch and then headed over to Madison Hunter’s gymnastics tryouts where she was attempting to make “pre-team”. She did great, and I enjoyed seeing her hard work, I also found out today that she did indeed make the team. I really thought that Owen would be very interested in all the tumbling and flipping but there was a movie on in the room where we were watching from which completely absorbed him. I took the boys home and they both fell asleep on the way and were laid in their beds without incident upon our arrival. I laid down too and slept peacefully for two full hours. When I awoke I still felt completely exhausted. I think I was mentally, emotionally and physically used up and that didn’t seem to end until Sunday afternoon. I cried all morning on Sunday, thankfully people just think you’re really into the worship when that happens but I was just releasing stress. That’s what my body does when I’m stressed, it waits and waits and appears to be handling everything and then GUSH, the torrent hits and there’s no stopping the tears. I had a great day on Sunday. Kris, took the day off from all his new business preparations and he and I were able to talk and relax and connect after such busy weeks previous. The weather was gorgeous as well so when the boys woke up we took a trip to Providence and walked around the complex and had a snack on one of the benches and then enjoyed ourselves in the bookstore for a while. We came home and had smoothies and went to bed. It was a good night.

Ivan was sick in the middle of the night on Sunday so although he seemed to be feeling much better in the morning I didn’t want to risk leaving him in childcare, so the boys and I went to the zoo for a couple hours. The boys were both very tired and fell asleep almost upon entering the van to go home. After some lunch I let the boys play outside quite a while and Owen came in with puffy, red, itchy eyes again. He has had some sort of allergy issue this summer that I’ve never noticed him dealing with before and I finally realized it’s from the mulch we put in the flower beds in the front of the house. After it was laid was the first time we noticed him having a problem and he doesn’t have problems playing outside anywhere else, just at home, which is just rotten. I did a little research and found that usually mold is the culprit in such cases and it sort of makes sense since he has an allergy to penicillin (which is made from mold) products as well. It bothers him for a long time after he goes out but he won’t hear of staying in, so we’ve been comforting him with a cold wet washcloth when he comes in. Today, I suggested he lie on the couch with his washcloth for a few minutes and rest and not long after I heard him snoring. He’s been sleeping for almost two hours now so I’m going to wake him up soon for some dinner. Ivan slept for over three hours today which is unheard of. I was beginning to worry about him when he finally called for me from his crib. Unfortunately, he had the distinct smell of having “spilled the graham crackers” on his person and though I had to look closely I finally found that indeed he had upchucked in his crib. He is still dealing with some sort of stomach bug but acts fairly normal, so I’m trying to be careful about what he puts in his tummy. Poor baby. He has had a bath and brushed his teeth and I am holding him which makes him very happy.

We are expecting a cold front to come through tonight and I’m looking forward to the cooler temperatures after such abnormal spring heat. I hope to see a decrease in the allergy effects as well.