Blockage

I don't know what to post about. I'm really, truly blocked.

Well, I guess that's not true. I have plenty to blog about, I just don't know what to say about all the topics. Nothing really important -- just life stuff. Just the same old nonsensical life stuff. I guess I'll just kind of ramble, so prepare yourselves for pretty much nothing.

The fourteen-year anniversary of my dad's death was two days ago on July 15th. I can't believe it's been that long. He died five days before I turned 18. Needless to say, that was a pretty confusing year and the timing of his death always puts a damper on the day of my birth -- particularly since my dad's birthday was the day after mine. (My birthday is the 20th, his was the 21st.) What used to be a happy connection of days was forever altered.

Chelsea's boyfriend flew down for a visit this past weekend. They spent two solid days at Six Flags, and Chelsea learned the ins-and-outs of driving across the Metroplex, meaning she discovered what traffic really is. Last Sunday, they spent the early part of the day with us. She drove back to Arlington to pick him up at his hotel, and he joined us for church and lunch. We, of course, grilled him and have determined that he is a very nice young man. We've also discovered that we're a lot older than we thought we were because we keep referring to someone in their early twenties as "a young man."

Bub participated in a local golf camp this week. Though he already plays golf with James and I, we thought it would be helpful to sort of hone some of those early skills we see emerging. He enjoyed himself immensely and learned so much more than we thought he would in one week. He even won the chipping competition, beating out 25 or so other kids ranging in ages from 7 to 13. He's already asking to go back to camp next summer. If this week is any indication of the learning potential he'll have, he can go back anytime he wants.

This is Chelsea making the most of her situation (namely, hanging out in the kid's section of the library). While we do lots of things centered around Chelsea and her stay in Texas, she's been very gracious tagging along with us as we do all the things we do with and for the little ones. Having Chelsea here this summer has been an interesting experience, one which I think has stretched us all in the best possible way. While we've always been close, Chelsea and I, her staying here this summer has allowed her to reach out to me and trust me in a different way than I think she ever anticipated. Recently, I was able to be a sounding board for her as she opened her eyes to the truth of a certain situation in her life and worked through a very difficult decision regarding where she'll be attending school next year -- a decision that ultimately brought her such peace and lifted a visible burden from her shoulders.

More important than anything else, Chelsea seems to have reconciled some spiritual struggles she was having. We've had some long talks about God and about the fact that as believers, it's OK to have questions and emotions about situations in our lives we don't like. Ultimately, God is gracious and loving, and it's our being honest with him about the true condition of our heart that draws us nearer to Him. It is that nearness that makes things right (in the sense that they're minimized in His presence, not always that they just go away). She's been going to church with us where she's heard messages saying essentially the same thing, and she's already begun looking for a new church home and places to connect with other believers when she goes off to school.

Because Chelsea's going off to school, we took a trip over to IKEA this week to begin picking up some dorm decor. The multi-colored color scheme reflected in this pillow is what she's opted to go with, so we picked up the pillow and a few accent things in the dark navy, olive green, and orange. We have a few more specific things yet to get (like extra-long bed sheets), so we'll do a little more shopping before she goes home. I suggested she wait to get everything until she's actually on campus. Once she's there, I'll make the drive up so we can scope out all the local thrift stores and resale shops together.

And now, speaking of shopping -- well, not so much shopping as standing dumbly in the middle of some retail establishments -- I've been living in here and here over the last several days. Yes, Homeschooling Resource stores.

We've been talking and praying about homeschooling now for years -- since before the kids were ever even enrolled in public school -- but we could never come to an agreement on the matter. After a couple of years of struggle and dissatisfaction with the public school, the discussion about homeschooling became more serious. We have dinner plans this weekend with some friends we respect greatly to talk about their homeschooling decision and experiences, and I think that meeting will help James with those last few concerns he has on the matter. However, after some extensive research (which is not limited to me standing among the curricula, mouth all agape ), we're (dare I say it? should I say it?) planning to move forward with homeschooling in the fall.

The End.