It's been a different sort of day so far. My washer and dryer are humming along in the laundry room, dinner is thawing in the sink, the boys are across the street playing baseball, and the girls are wrapped up in doll houses and make believe by our large front window. The bird are singing, the wind is gently blowing, and the sun is hiding just enough to make it feel like a cozy, inside kind of day.
My laptop has been virtually untouched for the last six weeks, and so I thought I would take a few moments to print an e-book and browse some blogs. Browsing lasted a lot longer than planned as I came across an insightful yet controversial post, and something like 180 follow-up comments. :-) I love reading what is on the hearts of women, and find myself inspired and challenged as I glean from their wisdom.
Our last day of school was two weeks ago today. There is much work to be done once the students actually leave the building, but as you can imagine, days are much different! The prayer of my heart is that each of our students grows closer to God this summer. There are so many temptations that reach for the hearts and minds of our kids, and idleness often fuels the fire of curiousity. How I beg God to keep them in His protection!
Greg's parents gave us an invaluable gift at the end of the school year. They opened their schedules and their home to all four of our children for nine days. The kids looked forward to this for months, and just two days after school was out, they left for Michigan! Knowing they were in good hands and happy as little larks made it easy for me to let go. Hopefully I will be getting some pictures of their trip to post at www.gsrek.blogspot.com. In the meantime, here's what I did while they were gone:
- used my Valentine's gift spa pedicure certificate (which had been lying on the counter since February 14!)
- visited the library - without being drug upstairs to the children's department
- indulged at my favorite coffee shop at least 3x
- indulged at my 2nd favorite coffee shop 2x
- browsed the Christian bookstore 2x
- took an overnight trip to Ft. Wayne
- arrived at Sunday School 7 minutes early. :-)
- slept in
- worked at the school, gave a couple of piano lessons, did some counseling
- ran the dishwasher once in 9 days :-)
- took a day trip to Holmes County
- worked at the house we will be renting
- took an overnight trip to Cincinnati
- played with the dog (ok...I must have been getting bored at that point!)
- read 2 books in 2 evenings
- walked the quaint and beautiful streets of Shipshewana, IN while waiting for the kids to arrive for the return trip home
- spent an unbelievable amount of quality time with my amazing husband
- wondered what I ever did in all my spare time before I had kids
Now we're back to real life (I believe the dishwasher ran 3 times yesterday), and summer has begun!
A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. 
James Dent
I love the list of the things you were able to do while the kiddos were gone. It made me smile! :)
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