We've been busy around here. We are in the home stretch for the school year, about 6 weeks left....WOO HOO!!! Around this time of year, I usually get pretty burned out and just want to close the school books and go to the beach. Right, Luci? Amen. But we will press on to the finish line and finish those school books. I think we may actually finish all I set out to accomplish this year, by God's grace!
The last week or so has been hectic. Easter was spent with some great friends, the Killians, enjoying corned beef, ham, and crepes for dessert with the Crawfords, too! And the most amazing coffee, ever from Intelligentsia. Did I say amazing? The kids had an Easter Egg hunt as well. It's funny, for me, it's Easter every day. There usually isn't a day that goes by that I am not reminded of my Savior's death and resurrection. For a Christian, it is a daily reality, not a once a year ritual or celebration.
Last weekend was busy! Dave's cousin Jennifer wanted to get some "official" wedding photos done, since she never had any done at her actual ceremony about 9 years ago, so I went with Emma on the most amazing photoshoot ever. It was SO much fun. Jen even brought her two "babies" for the photos, their Australian Shepherds, Haven and Kona. Austin came along and was a great dog-sitter. Too much fun, indeed, and Emma is such a gifted photographer. Of course, Jen and Shane are amazingly beautiful, which made Emma's job all the much more easier!
The next day after that, I had the privilege of seeing my nephew, Drew profess his faith in Christ and be publicly baptized. It brought tears to my eyes to hear of how Christ changed his heart and his life, and how he wanted to follow Him for the rest of his life. As a mother, that is all you can long for in your child's life. Yes, you want them to be successful, you want them to get married, and raise a family, etc. etc. But you want their eternity to be settled. You want their sins to be forgiven. And I long for that with my own children. God is the only one that can do that work in their heart, I can only teach, guide, and pray for my children. Anyways, congrats to Drew!
This week, we took a field trip to the Guide Dogs of America. What an amazing place. This place is completely run on donations, and it costs $38,000 to place ONE dog with a blind person. We were genuinely enthralled by the process, and my boys and I all left there with the strong desire to be "foster-parents" to a guide dog. My boys LOVE dogs and have been begging for one for quiet a while, especially Austin. This would give us the opportunity to care for a dog with a purpose. You get the pup when it's 8 weeks old, and you care for it until it's approximately 18 months old. During that time, it's your job to socialize the dog and teach it basic obedience. You take the dog with you everywhere-the grocery, the bank, church, restaurants, the movie theater. When it's time to give up the dog, they go in for formal training for 6 months, during which you cannot see your dog. Then the dog is placed with a blind person, and you get to meet the person who will receive your dog. Isn't that amazing? How wonderful to be able to be a part of this life-changing ministry. You can then get a new pup if you want and start the process over. If for some reason, your dog doesn't make it through the training and isn't a suitable guide dog for whatever reason (this happens at least 30% of the time), the puppy raiser gets the first opportunity to keep the dog. So I asked Dave if we could do it, and he was fully on board!!!! So our application goes out today, and we'll see if we can get approved. They just want to make sure you have a suitable environment for the dog. Actually, we have the ideal situation, as they want the dog to be exposed to as much as possible, including other pets and children, of which we have both.
Austin also had the opportunity last weekend to go to the Long Beach Grand Prix with my Dad for the first time. My dad gets tickets from a friend every year, so he took Austin downtown for breakfast, then they hopped on the Metrolink which drops you off about 1 block away from the races. They had a fantastic time together, and it was a day I know Austin will never forget. Thanks Dad!
Well, that's all for now. More exciting stuff to come, I'm sure!
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