I have no pictures (today, anyway)

Another week has flown by at our home and it was a busy one!  My brother Mark and his wife Beth (some of my most favorite people in the world) were out of town and we had the joy of keeping their girls all week.  It was girls, girls, girls around here--lots of giggles and high pitched voices, a few tears as well, but on the whole, lots of fun.  My girls (especially Clara Anne) were really sad to see them go, even if it was just to their home across town!

The week was marked with some notable events.  Sunday morning the girls arrived about 9 and we headed off to a busy day of church, a quick lunch at home, then a trip to the History Museum which had free admission last Sunday.  We had fun looking around!  After a quick trip home and a very brief nap for me and Christin, we went to our small group which was full of other kiddos too--the girls played hard and loved being with friends!

On Monday the weather here in Louisville was just beautiful.  The sun was shining and there was only a very slight chill in the air.  We took the opportunity to play outside at a park (where there was only a tiny bit of mud but the girls managed to find it!) for the majority of the morning and then the afternoon was spent out in our smooth, lovely parking lot riding bikes!  My nieces can already ride without training wheels, and John took some time on Monday afternoon to teach Clara Anne that same skill.  And she did it!  It only took one afternoon and she was already riding like a pro!  Wow!  (but did I get the camera out?  NO, I totally forgot!--next time!)

Tuesday was my niece Annika's birthday, so I made cinnamon rolls (PW's recipe) for breakfast.  Unfortunately pregnancy nausea reared its ugly head again most of the day Tuesday so I didn't enjoy them, but the girls surely did!  Annika had a fun morning opening a gift from Grandma R, talking to her parents briefly on the phone, and then the girls had some playtime too.  We did our read-aloud, Bible memory, and morning devotion faithfully all week so all the girls have almost all of Psalm 150 memorized now!  We are currently reading E. Nesbit's The Railway Children and the girls are loving it!  It's a fun story and written in a very engaging style.  The rest of the day was spent in more bike riding, a play date with friends at the park, and then a movie for the evening--Dolphin Tale.  Fun!

Wednesday was full of home school in the morning and swimming in the afternoon!  The girls are making very good progress in their swimming lessons.  Marin and Annika are already pretty confident swimmers, but we all had fun playing in the water and my girls had their lesson, too.  I enjoyed being in the water too!  It is good exercise!  We had church Wednesday night and by this point, all the girls were pretty tired.  They had been sleeping together in the same beds and I finally wised up and separated them.  I think they just weren't very comfortable--it was a little crowded, and by Wednesday night everybody was getting tired and cranky.  So, we made up separate beds for the cousins and my girls slept in their usual places, and everybody did much better--nobody stirred before 9am the next morning!  Wow!

Thursday we were all ready for a day at home.  There was still school and plenty of playtime  (the girls love to play Chronicles of Narnia with their cousins and often call each other by their narnia names!) and then we were invited to a pizza fellowship in the evening for those who had lived in Asia or were hoping to live there.  So we attended and then I went to my cross-cultural ministries class.  This past week I just participated but next week I will be speaking about Asian worldviews.  I'll be working hard on that this week!

On Friday we had another full day, home school and then swimming in the afternoon again.  The girls are doing so great in the water!  I couldn't believe it--this was only their fourth lesson but the teacher already had them diving for rings (not from outside the pool but just swimming down from their spots at the edge).  It was impressive!  Both Clara Anne and Chloe can do it!  Again, do I have any pictures of swimming lessons yet?  Argh!  I will have to figure out how to safely bring my camera next week.  These last two times I swam with them so was all wet myself, not exactly the best circumstances to carry my camera in with me.

The girls had such a fun time playing this week, watched plenty of "What's in the Bible with Buck Denver," enjoyed their dressing up time, did great when I asked them to do school, and loved being together.  What fun memories we made!  We didn't get to do this kind of stuff when we were in China, so it was a real privilege that I don't take lightly.  We're very thankful for the opportunity.

Yesterday the girls and I went to a fun story time at a local bookstore and had a really great time with some other friends there too.  Mommy couldn't resist another E. Nesbit book (only $1.50!) and the girls all got a free book to take home.  Lovely!  We actually had a free night at home last night and spent it by having supper at a normal hour, doing family devotions, and then playing a game.  Uno Attack was enjoyed by everyone; it's truly fun and Christin can play as well as anybody.  I love the laughter and giggles that come along with playing games together.

John and are starting a new schedule--to bed earlier and getting up earlier, with time built in to exercise.  I think we are finally figuring out that there is never any time for exercise, so you just have to do it!  If we waited until the "time was right" or we "had time" we would never do it at all!  So, today was our first day (again) of getting up right at 6.  Now that I am not quite so desperately tired, I think I have to just make myself do it.  I did today and got a remarkable amount of things done before we left for church at 9.  I enjoyed having time to linger over my Bible/prayer time--that alone should be sufficiently motivating.  I got to finish my cup of tea while it was still hot, and no little people were asking for my attention that early in the morning, which was very nice.  There was time to ease into the day before being immediately needed.  Admittedly I'm pretty tired tonight but that's ok--I won't be tempted to stay up late, right???  :)

And tomorrow is a new week!  So, off to bed I go, thanking the Lord for His grace and blessing through this past week.  He is my sustainer and gives generously to all who ask.  Trusting Him for strength for a new week.  Plus, tomorrow maybe there'll be pictures!