Seven Years and a Birthday

It's been a non-stop party around here since Sunday night. Yesterday was our seventh anniversary. Wow. I wonder when we went from thinking of ourselves as newlyweds to feeling so settled in together.

My parents kept the kids for us on Sunday night and we went to dinner at Taste of Texas. It seemed like we were in and out of there in a flash and we weren't ready to be done with our date yet. So we drove over to see our first apartment. It was at The Trails at Rock Creek if anyone knows where that is. We loved living there and the property still looks so nice from the outside.

We had that apartment complex picked out a year before we even got married. When we were engaged we loved to drive by and see it. Curtis would also drive me around pretty neighborhoods and we'd pick out our dream house. I could not wrap my mind around how we could ever get in a grown-up house, but eventually the Lord provided grown-up salaries for us and it happened. Now we're in our dream home in one of those pretty neighborhoods and we still like to think about our first little nesting place. This sounds really weird, but every time I get out a new trash bag, the smell of the bag itself (not the trash) takes me right back to that first place. Maybe I didn't ever take out the trash until I got married. (Mel and Bonny, I love y'all.) I definitely do not want to return to a 700 sq. ft. apartment, but remembering that season makes me grateful. It was like a Jolly Rancher - sweet and hard.

We mostly hung around here on Monday. Jackson had a swim lesson in the afternoon. He's making progress with every single lesson and I'm so proud of him. He jumped in the water and had to get back to the surface mostly without help. He also swam a very short distance from the steps to his coach. I saw the guy's surprised expression and could tell that he said, "You did it!" His partner for that class is an older girl who can already swim and I think it helps that he can see her do it. He did a good job following directions and earned himself an ice cream when we got home.

On Monday night Sunni's family came into town for a mission trip. We got to have dinner with them at our house and hang out for a few hours. It was so much fun. Jackson was at a 10 and completely out of control. He was just so excited for Ava to be here and I think he was still hyped up on the ice cream. Annabeth went to sleep pretty soon after they got here, but not before she and Clara got to have their picture taken together. I'll post pictures of all this later. After Jackson went to sleep (it took him all of 10 seconds to pass out in the bed), Ava performed her dance recital routine for me. Then I had the pleasure of hearing her sing "I am 16 going on 17..." Oh my word. It made my week! Also? Ava had mad bowling skills on the Wii. I was astounded by her many talents.

Today was crazy and fun. Jackson started his summer MDO program this morning. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Lest you think it is only for my benefit, he smiled and waved goodbye to me so very happily when I dropped him off. My child needs a lot to do. Next I zoomed over to a mall to pick up my dad's Father's Day gift. After that, Annabeth and I joined the LPM crew at Pappadeaux for my mom's birthday lunch. So, so fun. We had a whole room to ourselves, which means there was wild laughter and even some dancing. The girls had concocted a dance in honor of Michelle called the Baby Hawk and I got to see it with my own eyes. I'll never be the same. Then I booked it to pick up Jackson from MDO. On the way home we had to go to the grocery store and buy everything we needed to make my mom some birthday cupcakes. I was trembling with fear of inadequacy as I whisked the batter, but I had people praying for my baking needs and the Lord came through for me. They were so delicious! And even pretty! Mom's present from Melissa, Colin, Curtis and me was delivered only minutes before we had to head to her house for dinner. Thank God! We all chipped in and got her a Kindle. (It's kind of like an iPod for books.) She was really excited, which is always fun. The birthday evening festivities were great. My heart is warm and fuzzy tonight.

Now the kids are bathed and in bed and I'm going to sit on my couch and watch TV. Curtis is speaking to a youth mission team tonight and I have it - the TV - all to myself. If I want to watch So You Think You Can Dance, no one is here to stop me.

Tomorrow is another busy day. We have friends coming over to swim, a swim lesson in the early evening, and other friends coming over to hang out after that. I should probably just go to sleep right now!