Wow, where does the time go?

I can't believe it's been 12 days since I've posted. A lot has gone on since June 30. We had a terrific holiday weekend. All the kids and grandkids were over for a BBQ on the 3rd. The weather was glorious. We put up our little portable fire pit thingee (it looks kind of a like a giant wok with supports that keep the lid about 2 feet above the bottom) and had a campfire where we all roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. When it got dark, Jonathan and son-in-law Ryan set off fireworks we had gone to the reservation in Worley, ID to buy (in other words, the good illegal kind) from the far edge of the backyard. The kids had set up their tents earlier and they all camped out in the backyard. Jonathan had to get up to go to work on the 4th at 4:20 AM so he didn't join in the camp out, nor did we. The next day we all went downtown to watch the annual parade featuring logging trucks, cement trucks, fire trucks, antique tractors, an array of horses and their riders, a few floats, several marching bands, and various local "dignitaries" in convertibles - your typical small town Independence Day parade. After the parade we trekked down to City Beach to join the crowds taking in the gorgeous sunny day and enjoying the lake. The local Lions club always does a neat thing on the 4th. They organize all sorts of contest for kids by age group wherein they win $2, $1, or $.50 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. The contests run the gamut from sack races to wheelbarrow races to belly-balloon races. Our oldest granddaughter, Sydney, participated and ended up taking home $3.50. She was pretty happy! It was funny - her dad was exactly her age - 11 - the first time we ever participated in these events 22 years ago.

After a few hours at the beach we headed back home for another BBQ. Tommy and his clan had to get back to Spokane and Shana and her kids went home so the kids could take a nap before the fireworks show at the beach that night. Jonathan had to work the next day and Tom and I had to begin our building project early in the morning, so we opted out of joining the kids at the beach and turned in about 9PM. For the first time in 22 years, we did not watch the fireworks being shot off at City Beach by the Lions. It gets dark so late around here that the fireworks don't even start until 10PM. They end about an hour later and then you have to fight the traffic leaving the beach, which is practically everyone in Sandpoint, so you don't get home until pretty close to midnight. The 4:20AM alarm comes far too quickly when you don't go to bed until midnight. I didn't want to be a grouch all day while we tried to work on our project so figured I'd seen more enough fireworks in my lifetime that missing this year wouldn't matter. Besides, the ones we set off in our yard were amazing!

Tuesday AM Tom and I started on our project. He's been talking about this project for a couple of years but we've never had time to do it. Since we're saving up for a trip to Europe next May, we decided to take "stay at home" vacations this year. That meant we had plenty of time to finally undertake this project. Tom has wanted to build a "lean-to" onto the shed for parking the riding lawn mower and other mowers and yard implements in instead of lifting the mower in and out of the shed every time we use it (which I cannot do). He had it all figured out in his head. Good thing, because construction is not my forte. I was concerned, though, that he'd get frustrated and things would go wrong, which would mean I'd be getting yelled at a lot. Well, God is truly wonderful! I won't give you a blow-by-blow, but the project went really, really well. It turned out far, far nicer than I had imagined it would, and we never fought one single time! I even contributed ideas and solutions as we went along and they helped! It was awesome! I had the best time with Tom I think I've had in years, maybe ever. We just worked really well together and built a great addition. "Lean-to" is not a very good description. It's more like a carport attached to the shed. Another miracle happened to... my dad and mom stopped by, completely unexpectedly, to check out our project. Now, you may wonder why that is a miracle. Well, my parents haven't been to my house in years; I'm not sure how many - at least 3, and they and Tom have kind of been on the outs for the past couple of years. So, for them to drop by and check out the project, tour my yard, and spend time talking to Tom... well, I just wanted to cry with happiness. Instead, I just praised God. He is SO good! He has been blessing the socks off of me lately, and I'm not totally sure why. It's not like I've done anything to deserve all His recent blessings. I just know He loves me and thank Him for being so wonderful, even when I'm not.

So, it's been a great 12 days since my last post. I will post some pix of the shed, the flowers that are incredibly gorgeous in my yard right now, and some from the 4th later today after I do some actual work.

Jesus ROCKS!!!!