Don’t know how I ever found time to blog for 40 plus days during Lent, but it was such a good and healing experience for me. Today I’m sitting down catch up here when I really have a million other obligations awaiting. But I can hardly move this morning after the activity level of the past few weeks, so at least I can sit here at the dining room table and tell you what’s been going on around here…

We celebrated a bit early with friends and a cookout and ice cream cake and basketball. He’s blessed to have such a great group of friends.

The reason we celebrated early was because we had to leave the day after his birthday and drive to Cape Cod for the wedding of Lamar and Tamara. Lamar is a long time member of our church, and Tamara will join him here when they get back from honeymooning. Incredible testimonies of God’s grace in each of their lives made the celebration extra-special.  Robert and I stayed with a DELIGHTFUL retired couple in their beautiful Cape home for the night which was also such a highlight of our time away. We even got in a morning run to the beach, and returned to one of the most amazing homemade breakfasts either of us have ever had!

We made a stop in Providence, RI on our way back to home to have dinner with my old friend from MIDDLE SCHOOL ~ Mike and his wife Leslie.  It is just guaranteed laughter and good times with these two.  Mike will soon be a Colonel in the Air Force, and we were thankful to catch them in our neck of the woods before they head to Colorado Springs for their next assignment.

And then there’s baseball.  Everyday, baseball.  It’s either a baseball practice or a baseball game or washing baseball uniforms {WHITE ONES WITH MAROON EMBELLISHMENTS} or packing lunches or driving to away games or deciding who will use what vehicle to go where, etc.  But, I do love baseball and have been trying to be at as many games as possible.  I will really miss sitting out at a spring baseball games after Kory graduates.  Cooper doesn’t even acknowledge baseball as a sport, so no chance of future games for me after this season!  It will be cross country and basketball from here on out!

Classical Conversations days and weeks have been especially full, too.  We’ve had presentations, and quizzes, and debates…

Noah and Ryan are debating whether or not gun control legislation reduces crime and violence here.

 And though we still have two weeks left of class, our end-of-year Protocol Night was last night.  We’ve been reading bits of Protocol Matters in class and discussing the hows and whys of protocol and etiquette.

…and then got dressed up last night to practice all of our appropriate attire and good manners in semi-formal settings.  Coop shopped for some new clothes, got a lesson in ironing, and then got to pose for photos with mom.  He didn’t even mind it that much. ☺

 With students and parents we had a party of 23 last night for dinner at a historic New England Inn in Essex, CT ~ The Griswold Inn, and then attended a musical at the historic Goodspeed Opera House nearby.

 This is a gorgeous and quintessential New England area ~ near where Long Island Sound and the Connecticut river come together, and I can hardly wait to go back and soak in more of it than we were able to yesterday.  We saw the musical “Good News” which takes place in the 1920’s on a college campus.  So funny and highly entertaining!

Got home about 12:30am last night and am feeling pretty worn out this morning.  Looking at a very full weekend of birthday parties, church meetings, final small group gatherings, baptisms on Sunday afternoon, and a senior dinner at my house on Sunday evening.  Tuesday holds another debate on childhood vaccinations, philosophy presentations, science research papers due, more baseball…

Seems like each day brings more opportunities to be completely dependent on the Lord for strength and sustaining. “Catching up,” I’m learning, is not something I’m going to be able to accomplish at all, really, and certainly not without grace and power from Christ.  Life feels very out of control lately, but it’s really only out of my control.  I’m learning to trust that His control is much better than mine anyway.