A month

Wow, if I had waited to post tomorrow it would have been a whole month without me posting! Crazy. So, we haven't even really been busy. Since we finished with all of our trips, we've pretty much just been staying at home and doing our summer routine. We go to the YMCA three times a week for me to go my class. Danny finally loves being in the Childwatch as much as his sister does, and sometimes we stay after to hang out in the pool for a while. Jill had another round of swimming lessons. She cried quite a bit during about half of the lessons and doesn't seem to want to do anymore. I think I'll wait until this winter to try again. She has so much fun at the pool and swimming with her floaties. And she just started taking showers two weeks ago, so she no longer freaks out about water in her face. Maybe this next round will go smoother. By the end of the class, she would jump in the pool to her teacher. Her teacher would let her go under the water and then catch her, turn her around, and then Jill would swim back to the edge unassisted. So, Jill did progress a lot.

We have been going to the library once a week for story time. Danny thinks he should stand the whole time and touch the book, and I haven't figured out how to help both of them do a craft at the same time, but it's usually a fun time for all.

We also go to the park once a week with friends. It has been unbelievably hot. I think that has been pretty standard for all over the States this summer. I couldn't believe that I would get sweaty watering my plants at 7:00 in the morning. There's just something wrong about that! It was really, really dry for a long time, and the grass went brown and dormant, but for the past while we've been having a lot of summer rain storms, which I love.

My flowers are still ahead of schedule. My sedum is about one third pink already, and my mums started blooming the beginning of July. Due to all of the rain, my resurrection lilies (so cool!) are in bloom as well. My hydrangeas weren't able to stand the heat, but my black-eyed Susans have stayed in bloom for a really long time. They are so cheerful. And it's funny to think that I almost weeded them out earlier this summer, because I didn't recognize the leaf. I am glad I left them. There is one huge weed in my backyard flower garden that I also didn't recognize but decided to leave, and it is definitely not a flower. It's very ugly. But it has been too hot for me to be motivated enough to remove it.

Let's see . . . Jeff has started running in the mornings, so we've been going to bed earlier. (That's one reason I haven't been blogging.) Jeff's parents also lent us a few different season DVDs of different shows that we've been watching in the evenings before bed. (Another reason why I haven't been blogging.) And Jill stopped napping about three weeks ago. (The third reason why I haven't been blogging.) So that's why I haven't been blogging. Jeff also joined a Cincinnati ultimate frisbee league (CUPA). He has games once a week in the evening, and then he gets to play ultimate on Saturdays too with a group of friends from church. The little kids play on the playground and ride bikes while the older kids and parents play frisbee. I've only played twice, because I get nervous leaving Danny unsupervised on the playground equipment (twice other people have watched him for me), but it was fun. I didn't think I liked it, but apparently I do. I wish we were playing soccer though . . .

I auditioned and made it into a choir! I'm pretty excited. We are doing a lot of Disney and Broadway songs for this show. It is the Ohio Metropolitan Theatre Orchestra. I haven't heard the orchestra play yet (we've been practicing on different nights), but I'm really excited about singing with an orchestra!

Speaking of choir, for my birthday my mother-in-law gave me tickets to the World Choir Games that were held in Cincinnati this year. It was such a fun evening! She babysat the kids, and Jeffrey took me out to a nice restaurant (The Lager House). It was right next to the Reds stadium and had two levels. We ate on the upper level, and almost all of the exterior walls were windows, and there was a stunning view of the stadium, river, downtown, and the cool old bridges. The food was amazing. Jeffrey and I both ate every single bite of all three courses. Then we walked to the Masonic Center (Temple?) to watch the performance. We heard three choirs—from South Africa; Hong Kong, China; and Columbus, Ohio. They were all so talented. And so different. It was a really wonderful evening.

I'm trying to think of other news. Daniel and Jill are both still sleeping through the whole night, which is such a blessing. And the last two Sundays we haven't had to take either of them out of the chapel! Last Sunday after church was over, Jill went up to the stand to practice bearing her testimony. (She really wants to on fast Sunday.) The first time she said, "I am a child of God because I am." And the second time she said, "Jesus loves me." Pretty sweet.

Danny is still talking nonstop all the time, but finally we are starting to understand some of the words he is saying. That makes everyone very happy. He's really excited to finally get through to us. Ha.