The Start of the Summer

Tomorrow officially starts the summer of travel and speaking for my husband. I can’t believe it is already summer. How does it always sneak up on us so fast year to year? It is always a bitter sweet time for me. Bitter because it’s very hard having a husband who is consistently on the road for 8 weeks straight. Sweet because when he is gone I know his time away is worth it. He gets to do what he is called to do. Create collisions in people’s lives that hopefully challenge them and impact them in ways that they start and continue to become agents of change in this world.

The kids and I are heading to his first event with him. It’s just a 4 day camp in Hilton Head. I feel very blessed to have a job that allows me the freedom to travel with Dave when I can. I’ve just about got everything packed. I forget how much stuff is involved with taking an infant on the road. We won’t be traveling much with him this summer due to that fact. It’s just not doable at this stage with having Izzie so young. I’ve even begged my mom to go along this weekend to help out and she’s going. She loves traveling with us when she can and she is such a huge help to me. It will be nice because I’ll be freed up in the evening to sit in on the sessions.

Emma is so excited about going too. She loves to get to go with daddy on the road when he speaks to the kids about Jesus. She really loves it when she gets to go to the beach. She’ll have a blast.

For me personally I am not quite sure what this summer will hold for me. A lot of challenging times with being a single parent for sure. I am however really looking forward to some good reflection time. I’ve really been in a spiritual slump lately. Just going through one of those times when I sit on the back porch at the end of a busy day and look at the stars and wonder why they seem so distant and why it seems that have not even had time to sit down and think about them much less anything else. It’s funny that for me personally… the times when I feel closest to the Lord is when I am in the midst of great uncertainty and trial. I know it’s because that in those moments I am constantly seeking him and counting on him for every breath. It’s in the peaceful moments of life that I am trying to learn that he is still ever so evident even though I seek him differently and find him in other places. It’s a constant battle for me. It’s even harder in this season of my life because from the time the sun comes up until it goes down, someone is in constant need of my attention. It may be work, my children, my husband, the house, a meal to be prepared, clothes to be washed. And when all the stuff ceases… in most cases I am spent and get to bed so that I’m fueled enough for the next day. I struggle to find time for myself let alone investing in my relationship with the Lord. Although that relationship is constant, I still find in my heart this huge desire to know and discover yet time always intrudes. That was a little bit of a ramble I guess… Probably because it is past my shut down time for the day.

So yes, camp starts tomorrow and we’ll be there. And rest assured I’ll be seeking out ways to know and understand what is yet to be learned.

Congrats Chad and Wendy on 10yrs

Congrats Chad and Wendy on 10 yrs of marriage.

I think it was on one of our vacations that we came up with this crazy idea. As each of our friends celebrate their 10 yr anniversary of being married, that couple throws a bash for all the other friends. Everyone will do it one time and we’ll enjoy community in the middle of it. So the gist is that you will throw down a lot of money at one point in your life for this but it will all come back to you as more friends celebrate their 10 yr. I think it’s a fabulous idea.

Well last night the party was thrown and it was fabulous to say the least. We now all have a lot to live up to. It was an all paid 3 hour dinner with lots of toasts and roasts. It was wonderful. It’s hard for me to realize that I’ve known them for 10 yrs now. Both Chad and Wendy have had such impact on my life as a person. They have always been there through the great times and the struggles. Our older children Sam and Emma have spent every day together since they were 3 months old. So Chad and Wendy.. thanks for letting me have a daily peak into your life and your marriage. Thanks for always living hard but loving harder.

I am going to have a niece!

We just found out tonight that my sister and brother in law are having a little girl. Caitlyn Elaine Pruitt. I am so excited for them and now I can get rid of all my girl clothes!

I’m having an off day

I have had a crappy day.

I just got back from seeing a surgeon today about a possible hernia. Well I have one. Not only one but two. They are from my last pregnancy. They don’t hurt me and they are very small but in time they will only get bigger and they will have to be surgically taken care of at some point. No rush from my end on this. The other news is that he once again confirmed I have recti diastase. And the news on that is not very promising either. What did he say??? HMMM… I think it was unless I have a career where my midrift is making me money the risks of getting it surgically corrected far out ways any future benefits. I think that is how he put it. So for now I permanently have a ridge in my belly area that will always be there unless I have it taken care of. It’s pretty major surgery and they can’t promise that it will hold up down the road or that I won’t have other complications from it.

It really does bother me but not enough at this point to take action on it. And he said he would not recommend us doing anything until we are finished having kids. I mean I think we are finished but I guess I always know there is the .001 % chance something crazy would happen. So I guess till I’m a little older I don’t feel like even investigating things any further.

On top of all of this, work has been very overloading with last minute stuff trying to get 3 guys on the road traveling all summer at various locations. I try to plan ahead but somehow the curse of the last minute stuff won’t leave me alone.

What do I do in these moments… I try and put life in perspective. I’m not dying, I have food to eat and a roof over my head. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally. I’m not dealing with cancer or a loss of a loved one. Then I realize that my crappy day is actually not that extreme and could be upgraded to maybe an off day.

So that is what I am having. I’m having an off day and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

A Grandfather I’ve Never Known

My dad flew out from Greenville today to visit his dad, my grandfather in Upstate NY. He has not seen him in 5 years. I can’t remember how long it has been since I last saw him. I really don’t have a relationship with him. It’s kind of sad. He was there at my wedding 10 yrs ago and then I think I’ve just seen him a few times inbetween. I have no idea what went wrong in the grandfather/grandaughter relationship. I just know we’ve never really had one. So as I was thinking about him today I did have a few memories of him that I wanted to share. They are very random.

1. He always made me toast with honey on it when I was little.
2. In his cellar he had a magic 8 ball that you would shake and as questions too. For a young kid this was very facinating.
3. He always had wine in his cellar so I thought he was a bad man. Thanks mom and dad for instilling in me that wine was bad and that I was going to hell if I looked at it! Thank goodness we can laugh about that stuff now and that our family has been liberated from that aweful theology!
4. He lives on this big steep hill.
5. He gave me a valuable piece of art at one time.
6. He came to my high school, and college graduation.
7. He was at my wedding.

Isn’t it sad that this is all I have of memories of him. No relationship. I think that is why weekends like this weekend is so important to me. To have Emma go visit her Grandparents is something I want to make priority. I want her to know them as such. As her Gma and Gpa. I want her and Izzie to have a unique relationship with them that is all their own. I don’t want them to have fleeting memories with their grandparents.

Emma is on her way back from FL. She cried and did not want to leave. I am happy about that but sad too. I’ve missed her so and I hate that she did not want to come home. But I love that she is making memories with her Grandparents that will last for her lifetime. That she will know them.

Church was interesting today… Dave and Chad happened to speak and they used some illustrations about us wives.. and let’s just say I think it was the first time I was embarrassed about being talked about. It was the whole topic of giving grace which is a set up to talking about marriage relationships etc. Isn’t marriage the place where we see grace put in play the most? Well at least for me it is. I think I was in shock because if you don’t know me, then you would proabbly walk away from today thinking I’m a terrible person/wife. Dave did not mean to have it come across that way. He was just poking fun at relationships. I just think I was not in the mood today to hear it or to have our marriage put on such an open display with people I don’t know. I know I was totally over reacting but it just rubbed me wrong. I showed Dave grace today and had a good laugh about it.

Which lead me to think about knowing me. I had someone come up to me the other day who reads my blog and they went on to say how they loved reading my blogs because they feel like they know me when they don’t see me often. Yes, this is true, but I could not happen to think… you really don’t know me. Because I really can’t be honest and opened in my blogs. There is always a part of me that holds back on things because in the end I don’t want to affend anyone. A stranger or a friend. But I have a lot to say on a lot of things that I just normally know that I can’t share about. Do any of you who actually read this feel that way at times? And then I get in random moods like I am tonight and I want to go off at all the things I’ve wanted to say about a lot of things… And then I chill out and know there are people out there that I can probably count on one hand that truly do know me. That would never question a part of my lifestyle or things I would say because I make sense to them in teh big picture. Isn’t it good to be known. I am so thankful for those people in my life.

At the end of a day when things may seem a little out of the box for me I have one comfort. The Lord my father knows me. And for that reason alone, I don’t have to always explain everything in a blog even when I want to.

1000 miles away

Yesterday we did something very last minute. The Reichleys were heading to FL to visit their family and we came up with the idea of “Hey.. maybe they can take Emma to see Dave’s family” If you know the Reichley family well, you know that nothing stresses them out. Even adding 1 more child to a van of 4 children already. They were very gracious to take Emma along. Both Reichley and Dave are from Rockledge FL.

Now let me say.. both Dave and I had very mixed emotions about sending Emma off on an 8 hr trip and us not go along. It’s wierd to wave goodbye to your kid and say see you in a few days. I love to have control over situations so it was hard for me to let go. It will be the first of many of these moments for us.

Emma.. I doubt she is missing us much at all. She LOVES her Gma and Gpa and Kayleigh and could not wait to go. I miss her terrible. And I am realizing how much of a help she is to me with Izzie. You would think having one less child around would make your life a little easier. But it’s not. I am thinking I’ve even had more to do without her here. She’ll be back Sunday and we can’t wait for her to safely return!

Congrats Robert and Lindsay

They are engaged! Robert popped the quesiton last night at Clemson. Dave and I are thrilled for them. I even played a part in them meeting when they first met! I believe a November wedding is on the calendar. We are all excited.

We will soon initiate Lindsay into the wild world of the Wayfarer Wives. We are glad we are adding to the posse.

First Tooth

Izzie got her first tooth today (Wednesday). Can’t believe time is flying by so fast. Soon she’ll be crawling!

Sad and Unhappy

Heard this today and made me think on it….

Sad – Loosing something you had.

Unhappy – Loosing something you never had.