Well...well...well...

Here I am again! Don't know where to start...for the time would fail me to tell you about all that took place...school fields day...field trips...the last day of school...picnic...graduation.

And then the next week they youth went camping...they took 4 from our household this year. Its amazing how much less work there is when 4 of them are gone...and I know the story...but look how much they help when they are there...and yes they do...but they need to for the extra food they eat and clothes they wear! LOL! And then they got back and the stack of laundry...Ryan left the next morning to fly to ND to visit a BS buddy, who's mom had passed away...and the anxious day he spent in airports that he wasn't planning too...plane mechanical failures...thunder storms...and top that with a serious headache that he asked for prayer for...was so hoping he could have a nice flight home...but had a few more delays...he is sick of airports!! And then the other day, my eldest son turned 21...and it just seems like yesterday...that Sat when I was doing my cleaning and fretting about whether or not this was the real thing!! Ryan told us the other day that all his birthday pictures for the last 10 years are always the same...taken at lunchtime... in his work shirt...at the picnic table! Ha!

Last week I went to my garden and picked the last of the 'English' peas, some broccoli, some cukes, squash...and the first of my gr beans! That is unusual for the south to have peas and beans together...the hot weather usually dries out the peas way before the beans come on the scene! Don't know what I was thinking...but had picked the beans Thurs, then was hoping they would wait till Mon...sometime yesterday I remembered that I should go over the cukes...and groaned when I saw the beans...and then remembered the children are hoping to go to the zoo tomorrow...and knew the beans wouldn't wait till Tues! I needed some things at Walmart and was going to go right after lunch...but Ivan said he would take me later on...well...he called about 4:30 and said to go ahead and go. Andrea and I went...I told Maurita before we left if she felt ambitious that she could go out and at least pick the 2 short rows...the more I thought about it...I didn't like the thought, but knew the beans needed picked before bedtime! Surprise of surprises when we got home at 7...there were 3 baskets of beans on the front porch...I didn't know whether to be happy they were picked, or groan because there were so many at such a time Sat night!!! Maurita said she picked over them all...I didn't even go check to make sure she got them all...didn't really care if she did miss some of them! LOL! I really don't like to start projects like that after Sat noon! But many hands make light work. Gwynndon found the leftovers in the fridge and engineered the little boys supper, while the girls and I started snapping beans. Somehow Gendeva and Ryan missed out...they had gone shopping to Aiken after Geneva got off work...and Ivan was out working on his shop addition. We ended up with 21 qt of squashed down runnin' over qt jars...I debated about freezing some of them...but thanks to a pressure canner I turned the last burner off about 11:30! And yeah...sometime I was nostalgically remembering that once upon a time...42 pt of beans would have been a great portion or what we need for all year!!! But I am grateful for this stage in life right now...cause I am sure one day soon...we may be back there!!

So how is that for one big runon paragraph!! And then this morning we were blessed with a chorus from VA who shared in song...after which we shared lunch with them and the youth and sent them on their way with a packed supper. Once again...many hands make light work...we actually were leaving by 1:30 with a clean kitchen behind!! ...and then Friday Ryan leaves us again...this time headed for LA street meetings!...and the next week is summer Bible school...so looks like the trip is still on a roll! Hang on for the ride!!