Well with my soul?

Savannah returned to the nest this week, and if I could change the reason she came, I would.  On Thursday her high school squad gathered to pay their respects and bid farewell to one of their own.  The horrific news of his death came early in the week and rocked that community.  So we got her home for a brief visit, and then Andy and I went on a retreat.

Several weeks ago I wrote about how badly Andy was in need of a break.  He took Wednesday-Friday off last week.  Of course he did not expect to spend Thursday evening in a funeral home. He might have taken the whole week, but he would have just had to do his job from home on Tuesday as he did when we vacationed this summer.  The two of us joined our Sunday school classmates at a beautiful retreat center where we enjoyed games, a fire pit, hikes, walks, conversation, and we dug into James.  Of course we left home on a bit of shaky ground.  Your child does not lose a friend without it impacting you.  Your close friends do not lose a child who was like a son to them without it impacting you.  Your peers do not lose a child the same age as yours without it impacting you.

We needed the retreat, and it was a great time of connecting with our class in beautiful setting.

In our absence our children were all home together, and they had sibling time.  Wyatt enjoyed it.  I have not really talked to the others, but I am glad they had that time together.

The love of a big brother

Disclaimer: Gushing to follow - read at your own risk of exposure to a sappy mom's pride.

I grew up wishing I had a big brother.  In my idealistic mind, he would be perfect and fight my battles and all that.  I got old enough somewhere along the way to wise up and realize that I would most likely just be annoyed by an older brother, that he would probably be stinky and would probably beat me up.  I hated being the oldest - kind of still do, but I am over the wishing for a big brother.

All this to say that I have to brag about my oldest and his role as a big brother.  My heart is so full.
A little history first - as siblings will do, Zach and Savannah fought through some of those elementary years.  I managed a few things to drop that fighting a bit.  Once they were big enough to ride in the front seat of the car, we had even and odd days assigned.  If you were even, you rode in the front seat on the even dates of the month.  If you were odd, you rode on the odd days.  A few other things worked that way too.  We did not keep track of turns, it was simply determined by whether you were even or odd, and the date on the calendar.  One day Savannah decided that Jesus would not argue over petty things like who sits in the front seat, he would just let the other person have the seat, so she decided to live by that principle and gave up the front seat permanently to her brother.  Zach happily took the seat, and the two of them lived peacefully.

This year college got off to a rough start for Savannah.  She's in a new program, and it is overwhelming.  College is very different now from when I attended.  You are no longer meeting prerequisites and exploring the many various opportunities afforded by a university experience for your first two years, you are pretty much locked in to your program.  Changing programs at the beginning of her second year with 60 credit hours already under her belt did not necessarily look like an option that would still land her a degree in four years.  With a scholarship on the line, this decision was weighty.  It is an intense program that will likely require her to take some of what made college more enjoyable off her plate.  There were also some social situations weighing on her.  It was just a tough start.

A couple of weeks ago, Zach called me.  I was driving and did not answer, but when I finally reached him, he let me know that he had called to ask what Savannah's favorite candy is.  After that he started building a care package that I thought he would mail to his sister.  I dropped a card and a pair of earrings in the box, and it just sat in my living room, and I started wondering if it would ever get mailed.  He arrived home from work today and revealed that he's headed out of town to see his sister.  Say what?  Zach works two jobs and is making this trip between shifts.  When I expressed my concern over the safety of doing this, he told me the group is going, and someone else is driving - the group, as in the college ministry group in which both he and Savannah are involved.  Say what???

Let me repeat this.  The college age ministry group is headed out of town to encourage Savannah tonight.  I confirmed that this is the only reason for this trip.  When Zach worries about his sister, he rallies the troops!  Be still my heart!

7 and flamingos

Months ago Regan decided that she wanted her birthday to have a flamingo theme, so we partied with flamingos this year.  She likes themes - last year was the year of the donuts.

So seven years of joy in this tiny girl - some highlights below

• She was reading by the time she was two.  One would think that she would love school, but she could take it or leave it.  She once told her mom that she would just stay home and help with the house.
• I remember that she did not adjust well to preschool at church.  I was serving in the nursery one weekend and rounded the corner to find Regan and a couple of other kids in the hallway with the director.  I asked Regan what she was doing out there, and the director looked at me and asked, "you know this child?!"  This was not a warm, fuzzy question.  She was clearly frustrated. You can't hold this one against Regan.  I know another girl who did not adjust well to preschool at church, and she turned out just fine-love you, Savannah-;). Later, the director said with astonishment, "she can read!".  Yeah, I knew that. Regan's kindergarten teacher would express the same shock a short time later.
• Regan loves to swim.  She learned how this summer.  I truly wish I could sponsor her and her brothers for a swim team.  I think every kid who likes the water should spend a couple of summers on a swim team.  It's a life skill, but unfortunately, it's pricey to pursue that sport.
• Regan's life began as my mom's life was ending.  In her seven years, she has lost both of her paternal grandparents and an uncle on just one side of the family.  While her young age gives her a bit of a buffer on the pain of that, the love that her grandparents had for her is irreplaceable. 
• Regan is a good listener and an obedient girl.  She tries to keep her rowdy brothers in line, and while they may be younger, she is smaller.  
• She's far more beautiful than a picture depicts. My dad used to talk about how beautiful she is, and she really is!
• One more thing- she loved and complimented me on my blue nail polish this summer.  I even painted her nails with it, and you guessed it, I made sure she got a bottle of her own for her birthday:)

This is FUR Real

This is how I find these dogs everyday.  Shiloh squeezes herself onto Jules' bed, and Jules gets all of Shiloh's bed. Go figure.

and your heart swells

That moment when your child whose love language is gifts and for whom a birthday approaches says:
Whatever you were planning to give me for my birthday, just give it to the victims of Harvey and Irma.  I have a lot of stuff, and people are losing everything.

A milestone birthday surprise

It's been weeks in the making, and because of lots of scheduling conflicts, it came late, but today we gathered family from four states and my mother-in-law's church family to celebrate her birthday - oh, and it was a surprise!

Andy came up with the idea of buying "milestone" birthday cards that added up to her age. He penned personalized messages for them, and then because she has the neatest handwriting in the family, Julia stayed up late last night writing them out.

Somehow we got elected to bring flowers, and Andy thought I could just arrange them.  Um, I lack a lot of creativity, and I am no florist. My mother-in-law is an artist who loves Georgia O'Keefe, so we were going for that sunflower look with a pop of color.  The final result which is clearly not professional was the result of teamwork from Andy, Julia and me.

My sister-in-law celebrated a decade birthday this month, so she got a cake too. 

Everyone made it except Zach and Savannah.  Back to school stuff kept them away.

Jean was truly surprised, and it was a great day of catching up with family.

A new school year and a new major

 It's interesting how God weaves our goals and plans.  Years ago when we first realized that Savannah had a love for art and math, we considered what she might do with that unusual combination.  Early on, architecture made the list.  However, a college economics class and a love for chemistry led her to start school last year as an economics major meeting pre-pharm requirements with the ultimate goal of pursuing a bachelor's in economics and a doctorate in pharmacy.  After a year of study, she started second guessing this plan, and then a job in a pharmacy totally changed her mind.  Savannah has always said that she did not want her art to be her way of living as she wanted to continue to enjoy it rather than depend on it to feed her. However, pharmacy work allowed her to see that she wants some creativity in her job, so now Savannah returns to school to pursue architecture.  Interestingly, she chose college based on the strong pharmacy program, but this school also has a strong architecture program.

Nobody joined us to move Savannah into to the dorm, but they all got their goodbyes in before we left.

Zach wanted this picture taken, so that he could post it on social media.  I think the thing I might love most about Zach is that he encourages people and works to build them up.

His post read: Sister is going to college, couldn't be more proud, you're going places Savannah, right after you get done building them! You're family is always here for you, ah yeah rock out this semester with straight A's!

We arrived on campus after 8:00p.m. which made for some ease in securing carts for her stuff and less traffic inside and outside of the dorm.  However, it was a late night.  We realized that Savannah had forgotten hand soap, so we had to make a store run for that and a few other items such as Command strips to replace the ones that did not work.  Nobody had eaten, so we grabbed dinner, and it was well after midnight before Andy and I made it home.

a penguin name tag makes this girl smile --She actually had the opportunity to pet a penguin on Monday. Check that off the bucket list.

How fitting is this shower curtain for an architect student?

So architecture brings a new set of challenges including a two page supply list.  She had to have a foot locker to leave in the architecture building and a specialized laptop that took every penny of her summer earnings.  I am hoping I can help her out financially this year since she did not get to save for the year, but I don't get any of my raise because of the increase in tuition for Wyatt and Julia.  Things have been tight lately.  However, God provides.

I should add that Savannah still plans to minor in economics.