Thank You Thursday...FINALLY!!

Well, here I am again...after a very short and VERY busy summer!!

Since I have been MIA since June (gasp!), I am uncertain as to whether or not I should try to fill in the gaps...try to explain what has kept me so busy for so long. But since my Fall schedule is shaping up to be even busier than my Summer schedule was, I've decided to just press on ahead.

I will mention, however, that my summer included fourteen different states, four weeks of various camps (all of which we worked at), and two weeks of a really awesome vacation!

Now on to my Thank You Thursday...

(Just a reminder that this is not my idea...I linked up with Debra over at Our Imperfect Life.)

Thank You to my dear blog friend Emily for, first of all, still being my friend after so long an absence from blog land, lol. But also for being the inspiration that she is to me to begin blogging again. You really need to check her out here. She is so inspiring!


Thank You to my dear husband for walking the puppy tonight. It may seem like a small thing, but it freed me up to attend to other things.

Thank You to America for the freedom to worship the One True God without fear of persecution or peril.

 
Thank You to the awesome Missionaries who give up so much to take the Truth
to places that don't have that freedom. You are true heroes!


Thank You to my daughter's doctor, Jeanie. You took the extra time to treat my dd as your own and to put our fears at rest. Thank you for treating us like people.


Thank You to God for my too busy, crazy, absolutely insane life! Thank You, because it is Your grace that sees me through each day, Your strength that keeps me going, Your wisdom that helps me to make the right decision at least 1,000 times each day. Thank You, because it is all of the wonderful blessings that You have blessed me with that keep me so busy...my husband, my children, my church, my friends, my school...and so much more. You are so way beyond what I deserve!

Thank You for the few quiet minutes that I found tonight to write these words. Everyone is asleep...even the puppy. *phew*!

Stay thankful!
*smiles*
debbi

Bad Blogger! Bad, BAD Blogger!!

Okay, I know, I know that I am up for the Bad, Bad, VERY Bad Blogger Award! I know I've been MIA for several days (*gasp*)! But I'm back, so won't you please give me another chance??

All joking aside, I am sorry to be away from you wonderful blog friends for so long, but I have a great reason--

MY HUSBAND IS HOME!!! (*cheers! cries of delight! BIG SMILES!*)

:-)

DH came home on Memorial Day, and we drove to Chicago to surprise him at the airport (he was planning to take the School Van home with the students). I am SO glad that we did, too, because a) it was great fun to surprise him (although I was quite emotional in the airport, lol!), and b) the school van went home a different way and got stuck in traffic. We would have been waiting for them for an extra two hours!! I think I would have died...

Well, enough blubbering, lol, because I have LOTS to catch up on! I have been busy while dh was gone--my parents and I remodeled our laundry room. I will have some pics later, but dh had my camera and my dd took pics on her camera (which is currently in her bedroom where she is sleeping, lol). So I'll have to post about that later!

I do have some pics from Ireland:

Here's DH. Isn't he handsome!! <3

So gorgeous! Yes, he is already talking about taking a group of students again next year...but NOT without me! :-)




When we arrived home from the airport, there was a HUGE welcome back message in chalk on our driveway! (Our neighbors claimed it was elves, lol).

Not a very great picture, but my dd took it and it was dark! :-) We got quite a chuckle, though, because it must have taken our sweet neighbors a long time to write.



DH brought us all back some wonderful gifts. He brought me a gorgeous necklace (what a great man!) and some awesome Irish chocolate (I'm a certified, 100% chocoholic!). He brought a necklace for our oldest dd, too, and a beautiful Irish doll for our younger dd. He brought a rugby jersey for ds:

Yes, that is a deflated rugby ball on his head, lol! DS didn't take his shirt off for two days! I finally got him to take it off so I could wash it (pew! Oops, I mean phew!).

Since DH is a teacher, he is home almost all of the time now (hence, the long absence from my blog!), so we have been really enjoying a lot of family time. SOOOO wonderful!

DH has made pancakes for us several times:

The girls got Mickey pancakes. :-)

Of course, ds wanted a snake! :-)

We have done lots of gardening (okay, I helped water...and amazingly the plants haven't died yet!), gone for walks, spent wonderful evenings visiting with friends, and just enjoyed being together.

I even found time to make some cards!

 A birthday card for my brother-in-law. 

A Father's Day card for my Father-in-law. Here's the inside:

Oops! Sorry it's sideways, lol. I used my new Verve set, Father Figure, that I won from Jodie (thanks, Jodie!) I really LOVE this set!

This one is for my Dad for Father's Day.

Nope, you can't see dh's yet. :-) 

Well, that's about it for now. I hope I will be a little more faithful in blogging, but summers are always Uper B.U.S.Y. for us. We will be gone for a couple of weeks this month (our first family vacation with "just us"...ever!) I will definitely post when we get back...

So please don't abandon me, my dear friends. I will be much more faithful once Fall routine hits, but I will probably be more sporadic until then. 

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful morning like we have here...sun shining, birds singing, perfect temperature...God is SO good to us!

 Did I mention that my dh is home?? (lol)

 *smiles*

debbi