Memorial Day Wrap-Up

My Travis is home again, safely and finally rested. He did come home with ticks attached to him however, and we have been pulling them off as best we can. We thought we got them all, until tonight when he spotted another one on his stomach. How we missed that I do not know, but at least we got the nasty little thing. Ticks are one of God's creatures that I just don't appreciate. I have no idea what their role is, although I suppose they were created for some specific reason, but I can't see any value in them. They just really gross me out and they anger me because they're sneaky! It's very hard to tell the difference between a nasty little tick and a mole. But I think we're in the clear now. At least I hope we are.

Paradise was a good event, but maybe not quite what they hoped it would be??? Kind of a long day, in the hot sun, in a field with ticks...but Travis said the worship was good and He was glad they went. I am glad he's home. God answered my prayers too, because they left early and did not have to drive through the night on the way home...that gave me much peace of mind when Travis called to tell me. Plus, I also knew that meant I wouldn't have to sleep alone Sunday night and that also made me much happier! Travis said Ryley barked a couple of times when he heard Travis outside our front door at 2:00am and also when he opened the door. He said he couldn't believe he was barking at him, but I said it made me feel good to know that Ryley was barking to protect me. I'm not sure what our neighbors thought, but hopefully they were all asleep and never heard the commotion!

Yesterday was a fun day for us. We slept in (one of us more than the other) and I greeted the Dish Network guy (our 4th encounter with Dish Network over the weekend...long story) to get our satellite working. I encountered a little decorating challenge when the technician moved our actual dish a little farther into our balcony that I would have preferred. He kind of threw my whole "look" off and then acted like a total guy when I asked him, "does it have to go right there?? So close to my plants and furniture?" He just looked at me and said, "yeah, you get the best signal there. You could probably just move the furniture." Seriously. As if i just threw everything out there and didn't care what it looked like??? I politely thanked him and waited for him to leave, then I had a panic attack trying to figure out how I was going to mask a very ugly satellite dish that didn't go with the ambiance of my previously cute little balcony. Ryley must have thought I was crazy too. He kept trying to lay out there with me, but I kept telling him to move while I arranged and re-arranged my love seat, my plants, and my new candles. I seriously had to stop and walk away for awhile because I'm pretty sure my neighbor was watching me. I'm sure they've caught me talking to Ryley before and they probably think I'm wacko, but I do have my limits about how wacko I want them to classify me as. I waited until I didn't see them outside anymore and then I resumed my balcony shuffle until I finally found an arrangement that didn't make me crazy. I'm sure this was a 45 minute ordeal. I just have a thing about space planning....as my husband and my family can attest to, I cannot leave something alone until it's just the way I want it. Even still I've walked out there a few more times and adjusted things a bit...I know, OCD is probably not a stretch for me! Regardless, everyone is happy now. Our TV viewing has been corrected and our balcony is once again cute. I consider that a double victory.

After the Dish Network guy left, I had our mission's pastor's wife over and her oldest daughter, who is getting married in November. I'm going to be doing the flowers for her wedding, a favorite thing of mine to do, and we spent two hours just talking "wedding". It was so much fun. They are a sweet couple and her mom has become a good friend of mine. I brought out all of my wedding flower books and pictures from other weddings I've done...it was great to talk about the world of floral design again. I was a florist for 8 years and I truly miss it. I'm hoping to start freelancing again on weddings and special events, we'll see what God brings. I just know that floral design is the thing that comes most naturally to me. I can feel inadequate about a lot of things, but when it comes to talking floral design, I have lots of experience to draw on and I just love it. So, the wedding should be fun and hopefully my part will be beautiful. Christa is going to make a gorgeous bride! Travis left us in "wedding land" and decided to have a quiet time at Dunn Bros. coffee shop. I don't blame him...we were a little giddy.

In the afternoon, we made a quick trip to Target (my second home) and then went on to Jed and Sarah's house for a birthday party. Little Kaelem turned one and was the star of the party. He is the cutest little thing, who looks just like his daddy (sorry Sarah) and watching him try to open his presents was hilarious! He cared so much more about my pink purse and my camera than the gift we brought! I predict next year will be a different story, but it was still sweet and we had a great time.

We had to leave a little early from the Culbertson's so we could make the next party, a barbecue at my cousin Robyn's house. We were celebrating a day off and all of the April and May birthdays in our family. April is a month packed full of birthdays and Travis and I fall right in there too. We had a full house, lots of little kids running everywhere and tons of good food! We laughed about some funny stories, ate, talked about my sister's upcoming wedding, ate, and then had dessert! It was lots of fun. Once again, we were reminded of how thankful we are to be here in Minnesota and so close to family. There were 23 of us there and a few missing...although it's chaos when we get together, it's a very sweet chaos. I look forward to the day when we can throw our kids in the mix too!


Hope your day was as fun as ours! We have a full week ahead of us and then next week is Jennie's wedding already. Where has May gone already??