weekending and catching up with grown up kids

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. How was your weekend? Mine was really good! 

I got it started off with my sweet Daddy. Some of you said some really kind words about prayers for my dad, and I want to thank you. We are so grateful that it is this and nothing worse or life-threatening. I will cherish each and every moment with him that the good Lord gives me. Friday was one such day, and the Lord was sweet to answer my prayer for a good, fun, and easy day for him. His memory wasn't too bad, even though I did figure out that he doesn't grasp the year that it is. I think he thinks that we're earlier in time, maybe even up to it being thirty or forty years prior to today. I'm not sure what that means that he thinks my age is, but I do think this is the case. Be what it may, I will cherish all the moments we have until God calls him home. I don't want to take one second of our time together for granted, and for this reason, I am so relieved (once again) to NOT be returning to fulltime work in the fall. How good is God to keep showing me that He helped me decide what was best?

Todd worked that night, and I stayed home watching Sweet Magnolias. Check out my dinner!

My stomach wasn't feeling so great (thanks to weather and sinus problems), so I was trying to eat something that would "stick" with me. It was a peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread and the grapes Graham picked up last week. I was comfy and in pj's before six, which is pretty much my dream come true. I did feel better as the night went on, but this weather and me are not getting along very well. It's been super humid, which is seriously messing with my head. 

I didn't really do anything all day Saturday, except read. I had grand plans to get together with Trish, but because of heavy rain that was expected, we both decided to just stay inside instead. Todd was home all of that day, but he did go to work that night. I watched a few great movies!

I'm not sure how I missed this one the year it came out, but it was excellent. Is Tom Hanks ever anything but that? I think not. I also watched these two on Netflix. Sully was on Prime.

And then on Sunday, I got a huge surprise! I had sat way over to the side after choir, because I wanted to catch Drew on his way out. He'd brought a friend (more about this in a few) and as we were talking, Todd called me. All he said was for me to come to the front of house sound booth, someone was asking about me. When I got close, I heard my name being said very loudly, and my mouth fell open in shock.

These are my dear friends and some of my favorite people on earth, Kent and Kathy. Kent was my old worship leader and choir director fifteen years ago. They resigned from our church that we went to at the time and moved back to the Rocklin, California area, where they'd lived before. I consider them friends and spiritual mentors, as they both taught me such valuable lessons and walked through a very difficult time in my life with me. Kent is the one who first invited me to sing on a praise team, so I am still that same choir girl today, thanks to his encouragement. Kathy taught me to love studying the word of God, and Bible study is still one of my favorite things today! I will always love, respect, and look up to them both. They've recently moved back to our area, and they're trying out different churches. Today they came to mine, and I was thrilled to see them, as you can see from my huge cheesy smile. These people mean so much to me! I thank God that He put them in my life fifteen years ago, and that even though we've not seen other since, we picked right back up like old friends. Believers usually experience that heart connection, and ours was still there, needless to say. 

As for my sons, I thought I'd share a little about them. Graham was out of town all weekend, at one of his favorite events of the year, The Music City Truck Show in Nashville. He loaded up his fancy truck early Thursday afternoon and came back Sunday afternoon. He said he had a great time, and he made money polishing while he was there. It paid for his entire trip, plus some extra! That is definitely a bonus, thanks to his friend for letting him stay at his house. 

I love his mentality about his vehicles. He loves being a positive role model for younger kids, and they're kind of the ones who motivate him to keep doing this kind of thing. He's such a special young man, and one day he will make a great husband and dad, if the Lord has that instore for him. 

Drew brought a friend to church on Sunday, someone he's been seeing for a few weeks. He really, really likes Caitlyn, and he made me promise to just act like they were nothing but friends, and to not make a big deal about her being there. I would never embarrass him, so I find it funny that he felt like he needed to say that. She is a doll and so sweet, and she made him breakfast when he picked her up this morning. He may be in love—I have always said that whoever wins his heart will have to get through his stomach first. They went to lunch after church and then hung out here with us for a bit before leaving again. It was so good to see him and we enjoyed getting to know her a bit. 

Jonah stayed home all weekend, but he stayed in the country Saturday night. He had plans to detail vehicles this weekend, but the rain ruined his plans each time he tried to schedule an appointment. Have I ever mentioned that detailing vehicles is his side hustle? He's been doing this since he was fifteen and has his own business, The Auto Salon. He makes great money doing it, and he loves to detail. He also loves to pressure wash and does that when the detailing is slow. 

Noah spent the weekend at the lake with some friends and our bonus son, Alex. I'm so glad he was able to do that! The rain might have messed them up some, but I know they had fun in between. Having grown kids is so strange. I know I say that a lot, and I'll continue. I am so proud of the young men they've turned into, and that they're all such hard workers. I love knowing that they schedule time for lots of fun things, because even if they don't travel all that much, they really do enjoy their lives. I'm so glad for this, because I think it's so important to have something to fun to look forward to. It's good for them mentally, and it's good for my heart to know they have plenty of fun. It's so crazy that they're all the ages they are right now, but we've always loved them at whatever age they were at. 

It kind of seems they should be these ages instead. (My handsome nephews and step-dad Bill are pictured with them here.) Time never stands still, but I'm grateful that I have such a great relationship with each of them. People used to ask me how I raised four boys so close in age and how we're so close, and the only thing I ever did consistently was listen to them. Kids want someone to listen to them and to care about them, to be invested in what they enjoy doing. Anyway, thanks for letting me share about them! It's something I don't all that often these days, so I like to catch up for my own personal reasons on occasion. 

Tell me something great about your weekend, I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all.