It is ....

It is May 27th and where have I been?

The past two weekends I was away.

The weekend before last Mike & I were in Florida getting some much needed couple time! We had great weather, sunny, breezy, a little little rain which was very much needed as our sprinkler system is shot to hell. Mike also repatched an area of our roof that has a little little leak (knock on wood).

The million dollar question is "Did he patch where the leak actually was?"

The million dollar answer is " I don't have a clue!"

The weekend went fast with us arriving late and leaving early but who cares. It was what we needed and I'm grateful for it.

This past Friday I took my mom and drove up to my sister's house. We piled ourselves, our bags, and my nieces in the car and went on a road trip. The trip started at 1:50 a.m. and ended EIGHT hours later. I guess I should be happy that my nieces slept, we hit little traffic, were able to fit in breakfast at the Waffle House, and still made four bathroom stops.

We got there and boy was I happy to be out of the car. We caught up a little with my Aunt and Uncle during lunch, toasted to a glass of wine, and spent hours just catching up. It was great to see my mom and her brother together. It was so important to me that she have that time with him. Is the process of getting older getting to me? Probably. I also had a chance to speak with my cousins and sadly one of my cousin's boyfriend is battling cancer and the battle has been very brutal. After seeing Mike's Dad fight it I am hoping that my cousin's boyfriend doesn't have to face the same painful ending. I'm keeping my fingers, toes, and everything else crossed plus I have God on my side.

Saturday mooring I woke up with a headache, very little voice (cold), poopey stomach virus, URGH! and knowing this decided to go on a walk with my sister at 6:50 a.m. in the morning. Now I had already clocked the mileage the day before and I knew we had a little over 4 miles to walk. We were just going to pick up bagels. BAGELS! That is it! Well, we started walking uphill then downhill then uphill then downhill when my sister asked if there was a closer bagel place. We decide to go to the nearest bakery but their assortment is not good enough for our very specific bagel minded already know what type of bagel we will eat family so.......we walk on.

We arrive a short while later....select our bagels and cream cheese and.....walk on.

While walking my stomach virus acts up and well you can take a wild guess what happens next. My sister decides that we should use her GPS to find a shorter route. We start walking.

We walk some more.

and then more.

and then uphill

downhill

uphill

The GPS states only .9 miles left and dies.

I miss the landmark turn by walking on the wrong side of the street.

We keep walking

walking

walking

uphill

downhill

uphill

downhill

What were we thinking?

walking and walking and walking until

I see

a

street sign

and I know

WE ARE FAR AWAY

FAR AWAY

My sister calls my uncle who sends out the Rescue vehicle

his Volvo station wagon.

We wait

what I think is a long time because

WE ARE FAR AWAY

and my sister spots my uncle.

WE try to get his attention but he doesn't see us.

This is bad, so bad, on so many levels.

We jump in the street, wave our arms like fools, he turns around, picks us up with a

SMILE!

He saw us and all he could do is laugh!

We asked if the kids had eaten breakfast yet.

Stupid question, we had breakfast with us!

The total time walked: 2 hours and 40 minutes.

I later went out with my aunt to clock the mileage because it was killing me not to know.

Guess how far we walked?

Over SEVEN miles. Just a little walk with GPS to guide us. Wow! I won't make that mistake again.

We really had a nice time. I even read a book!

Sunday we drove home with two cranky nieces, one cranky Grandma, and two (one silent one not so silent)sisters. (I still did not have my voice back completely and my sister was the acting referee!)

Total driving time TEN hours.

After I got home I ate two waffles and spent the next few hours getting acclimated to my mentorship forum. Next Monday I start teaching two online course in Juvenile Justice. I am very excited to get going but would really like to get rid of this sore throat!

On the adoption front: No news. As it stands China has way too many more important things to take care of. I do not say that lightly but with the most sincerity I can muster. Prayers go out to all those families. There isn't much to say except that pray.....

On the work front: I still love my three year olds, my three fish made it thru the weekend alive, I have butterfies to free tomorrow, and I need very little encouragement to WALK away from it all. It is always the same no matter where you work. The workers work and the non-workers continue not to work. Some things never change.

It will be pretty quiet around here while I get myself into a routine with my classes. I'll try to post as often as I can.

Happy Tuesday!